A forum for owners of Yamaha TTR250 trail and enduro bikes!

TT-R250M · Super Guru

Fitting an On/Off switch for lighting components

TTRfan · Super Guru

RE: Fitting an on/off switch for lighting components (move over Cobra)

TT-R250M · Super Guru

I just tried this & it was easier than I thought. The headlight switch does not affect the tail-light or ilumination instrument so you can fit this without running wires from the CDi. I think that I got a little mixed up with the ''Fitting additional lights & components'' thread when I wrote this, either that or I was trying to follow Cobra's version (good excuse I know) lol . At the time I did not have my bike together to test this but rest assured that it has been tested now

TTRfan · Super Guru

That really is simple Jarrah! It takes a big man to admit a mistake

I have been thinking about this. If an owner just wants the headlight off then an even simpler method would be to cut the dip beam wire which runs to the actual headlight bulb and run it back through a switch. To achieve the"headlight off" mode, run the bike in daylight on dip beam with the switch "off". Put the switch to "on" and you have both dip and main back in action for night-time riding. The advantage I see for this is that you don't even have to take the tank off - call me lazy if you like

Does anyone know off-hand which is the dip wire - yellow or green - please?

Brian

TT-R250M · Super Guru

Not quite sure what you mean Brian, but from looking at the high/low switch The yellow is high beam, the green is low beam, the yellow with a red stripe is the main feed wire. If you fit the switch on the feed wire you will be able to turn the headlights off/on. If you use the yellow or green wire to fit a switch it will only turn off when you turn it to high or low, depending on which wire used.

All this said, you would be better of using the yellow wire with the red stripe so you can turn them off without having to touch the low/high beam switch.

TTRfan · Super Guru

Thanks Jarrah.

I had the tank off to check the valve clearances and it was easy enough to tap into the red/yellow wire so I decided to fit a light switch. The switch I used (see here) has long enough leads to reach the 9-pin connector which made life easier.

I run heated grips and a GPS so think that it is probably worthwhile being able to switch the headlight off. A few extra amps to the heated grips won't go amiss in the weather we are experiencing at the moment. Spring has arrived apparently but you wouldn't know it

I cut the red/yellow wire and double checked and, yes, both headlight beams were off and everything else, including the parking light, stayed on

I remembered to slip some heat shrink tube over the switch wires well out of the way of where I was going to solder.

Light switch fitting 1.jpg

My soldering isn't brilliant but the joints were strong enough so that was the trickiest bit of the job done!

Light switch fitting 2.jpg

All back together and the switch did what it was supposed to do - phew!

Light switch fitting 3.jpg

The switch was easy enough to fit and I like the "idiot" on/off markings as I get easily confused

Light switch fitting 4.jpg

Job done - about 30 minutes tops.

Brian

TT-R250M · Super Guru

Good work Brian

Glad to see there is a method to my madness :) I just can't believe it is so easy, nothing else joins to the headlight so BONUS!

If I had a decent switch I'd fit one myself.

pedrosan · Senior Member

RE: Fitting an on/off switch for lighting components

Livotlout · Member

Switch here :- (if link works)

https://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m123/Livotlout/Headlight/P1280002.jpg

Alec.

There - a picture paints a thousand words?

Edited for you

-- Edited by Cubber on Saturday 23rd of March 2013 11:44:16 AM

Livotlout · Member

Hi all,

Even easier, just fit a switch in the earth wire at the headlight, I mounted my switch on the headlight cowl.

Yes Brian; GPS, grips and headlight will compromise the battery - last year whilst crossing a mountain range near Irkutsk in poor weather and slow traffic, I wondered why the horn did not work, found out next morning when I had to use kickstart!!!!!!!!! although the battery soon returned to full charge in good conditions.

Alec.

ttr250slw · Veteran Member

so could you use one switch to turn off the headlight and tail light or would you need 2

TT-R250M · Super Guru

ttr250slw wrote:
so could you use one switch to turn off the headlight and tail light or would you need 2

You could use one switch, provided that you run a wire from the brake light wire (yellow wire leading from the harness side) to the power feed side of the switch. Then splice/join it to the headlight wire that you cut (Yellow with a red stripe) and the switch power feed wire. You will then need to run a wire back to the brake light (yellow wire leading from rear fender) from the other side of the switch.

Jarrah

ttr250slw · Veteran Member

Thanks just fitted my switch and can turn the tail light and headlight off :)

TT-R250M · Super Guru

ttr250slw wrote:
Thanks just fitted my switch and can turn the tail light and headlight off :)

Oh yes, I was thinking about this and realized that I wrote Yellow brake light wire lol. It was blue for the taillight lol.

Glad you knew what I meant wink

Jarrah

TTRfan · Super Guru

TT-R250M wrote:
Just a suggestion- Since this thread has already been of use, maybe it is worth being a sticky?
Jarrah

Done biggrin

Padowan · Senior Member

I just added a switch between in the feed to the low-beam element all wired inside the cover of the lamp and without needing to cut any wiring. That way, with the switch off, only the side-lights illuminate (front & rear), but the main-beam switch still operates the hi-beam, so I can flash traffic if necessary. In my opinion, having a couple of 5W lamps illuminated in the event that I kill the engine but leave the ignition on isn't such a risk for flattening the battery than leaving 25W+5W+5W of dip, and 2 side lights.

Simon

TTRfan · Super Guru

Padowan wrote:
I just added a switch between in the feed to the low-beam element all wired inside the cover of the lamp and without needing to cut any wiring. That way, with the switch off, only the side-lights illuminate (front & rear), but the main-beam switch still operates the hi-beam, so I can flash traffic if necessary. In my opinion, having a couple of 5W lamps illuminated in the event that I kill the engine but leave the ignition on isn't such a risk for flattening the battery than leaving 25W+5W+5W of dip, and 2 side lights.

Simon

Nice one Simon! I used to run a headlight bulb with a blown dip beam which gave a similar result - in the daytime....

Brian

TT-R250M · Super Guru

You don't actual have to cut the wiring as in my thread, that is just for the unexperienced. If you don't want to cut it, you can unplug the yellow wire with a red stripe by sticking a needle (or similar) down the side of the clip. It has a lock release tab on the one side of the connector. You then need a female connector that fits into the connector block to replace the yellow wire with a red stripe that you removed, and a male spade connector to join the yellow wire with a red stripe.

Jarrah

mossproof · Super Guru

I happened to find a left hand switchgear for a TDR250 (that's not a spelling error, old 250 2smoke) which is identical to a Raid/OE switch except it has a lights-off switch in place of the hazard lights switch. This got me pondering the possibility of using the hazards switch to turn off the lights instead of having another switch on the bars...

Well it took me half a day of head scratching before I took the plunge:

This is the hazard warning light switch backplate removed from it's housing and snipped free. Light brown and white=power in, brown and dark green wires feed the left and right indicators simultaneously when switched on.

If you're pulling these bits apart for the first time, I recommend you take pictures before every step. It's a bit of a 3D jigsaw putting it all back together and it's not always obvious where bits go!

The dark green and the brown are connected to wires of the same colour coming from the indicator switch, some way down the sheathed loom. (That's Yamaha dodgy insulating tape, not mine!)

I cut these bits off.

Next step I have to describe 'cause I forgot to take any more pictures - concentrating too hard!

The dip/main beam switch has three wires to it. The yellow/red is the power in and the switch diverts it to dip or main filament in the bulb. I cut the yellow/red, and soldered one end to the tail of the light brown/white wire, and the other to the tail of the dark green wire. Hey presto, headlights on/off switch!

Feeling confident, I found a bit of blue wire and pushed it through the sheath from plug to switch and soldered one end to the tail of the dark brown wire, then put the switch back together before I knocked all the little screws and backplates onto the floor, again!

The other end of the blue wire goes direct to the tail light instead of the permanent feed (more or less as described earlier in this thread) so the tail light goes on and off with the headlight.

Being real flash, I happened to have the right sort of terminals to fit in the multiplug, so I used the spare space in the multiplug to run the blue wire (as indeed the TDR does) so it all looks factory fitted.

Job done. Just need to modify the signage on the switch from hazard triangle to headlights...

The TDR switch would have plugged straight in, but the loom is about 9" too short so I'd have had to lengthen all 9 wires, but wouldn't have had to strip the switch at all.

-- Edited by mossproof on Saturday 2nd of March 2019 10:00:35 PM

mossproof · Super Guru

Proof: TDR switch and multiplug.

JOHNYBOY · Super Guru

i fitted one to my ttr a simple toggle switch mounted on under the plastic headlight shroud & a led rear sidelight & brake light

TTRfan · Super Guru

Great job Simon - very impressive - a man after my own heart biggrin

Just a thought on switching off the lights. The TTR alternator chucks out quite a wattage - would the spare current just be turned to heat at the regulator? Not very good at electrics other than tidying up wires and connectors

Brian

Fish13 · Member

The alternator only throws out amps as needed. Iirc. My electronics knowledge is a bit out dated

ttboof · Super Guru

TTRfan wrote:
Great job Simon - very impressive - a man after my own heart
Just a thought on switching off the lights. The TTR alternator chucks out quite a wattage - would the spare current just be turned to heat at the regulator? Not very good at electrics other than tidying up wires and connectors
Brian

As it's a Perminent magnet alternator the regulator shunts any saved current to earth.(total loss system)

Unlike cars where the magnetic field Is turned off and on to vary voltage and current

Turning off the light makes the reg run a bit hotter

Better to use the saved power elsewhere like heated grips

I went led everywhere and freed up out put for the heated grips

-- Edited by ttboof on Saturday 13th of June 2020 11:01:06 PM