air horn, led headlight, oil sensor installs

[4redjf]

new to the forum. recently got a 96 Voyager xii. wanted to add the wolo air horn and use the factory horn button. Of course, install the relay. But i see that the R side horn has power on both wires at the horn and left side has power at one side, till the key is on, and then both of them are hot. How to use the horn button with existing horn wiring is my issue.
2nd thing is i changed out the headlight to led bulb. now the RLU causes the headlight warning light to come on. So i unplugged the RLU relay. Didnt notice the changing to high beam but the light still comes on. How do i remedy this issue? I like to keep the LED headlight.
3rd thing changing the oil sending sensor since it appears to be leaking a drop of oil. Does installing a new oil sensor require anything on its threads, looks tapered so no crush ring, and if i am fast enough will i be able to replace it without loosing too much oil?
Appreciate any advice from those who have had these issues and solved them.
Thanks, Jeff

[SgtSlag]

(Air) Horn Replacement:

I installed a sub-fuse block beneath the faux gas tank. I also installed a relay within that space, being turned on/off by the OEM horn button. I installed a Hi/Low Tone car horn pair, drawing power, through the Relay, directly from the battery's terminals, to allow it to draw as many Amperes as it needs. I had no issues, whatsoever, blindly wiring into the circuit without doing more than to wire them according to the wire markings as they were. I never metered them to verify anything.

LED Headlight Replacement:

I replaced my halogen headlight with an LED bulb, fitted with heat-sink copper ribbons, NO FAN, no moving parts to clog and stall, leading to a complete burn-out. The Headlight Failure Circuit light flashes -- see below.

I run an LED-specific Headlight Modulator. This makes me smile... The Headlight Failure Circuit kicks on/off with every Modulator cycle, causing my LED Headlight to cycle between Hi/Low Beam, as opposed to cycling on/off. It is every bit as effective as the normal On/Off cycle the LED Headlight Modulator is capable of, under normal circumstances, in the absence of a Headlight Failure Circuit!

Bottom line, I ignore the Headlight Failure Circuit, as it does not impede my headlight function, as described previously. Sorry, I really can't help you on this issue.

Oil Sensor Thread Sealing:

I installed an oil cooler on my Honda CB750K, using an adapter, with brass fittings which screwed into the adapter plate. I tried Plumber's Teflon Tape... It oozed hot oil, at 40 PSI. No good.

I found a thread sealant, sold for use with hot, hydraulic oils. It had to be applied to the threads, inserted and secured, then left to cure for 24 hours, before running the hot fluids past it. This solved my leak issue with the Oil Cooler -- it worked flawlessly for 1,000+ miles.

Not exactly your situation, but I believe it will work for you, as well. Cheers!

[4redjf]

Thanks for the info.
I currently have a fanless LED bulb installed. but was wondering if completely unplugging the SLU would solve the problem.

On the air horn, i have a WOLO that i wanted to use the regular horn button with. I have the relay and wires for hooking it up but still have not had time to go back to the factory horn wires to see exactly which two of them can be used to activate the relay. Brown is suppose to be constant hot and i did not see any of the 4 wires to be negatives..

The oil sensor will need some more cleaning off to make sure it is causing the oil drip.

Talking about under the top gas tank cover, doesnt appear to be alot of room there for things. Not sure where you are talking about putting electrical blocks.

I had to put things on hold due to other pressing issues this week. But hopefully will get back to it by saturday.
Thanks again for your knowledge on these.

[Nails]

This might help: https://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/view ... 167#p94167

[SgtSlag]

The LED Headlight bulb will draw such a low amperage, the headlight failure circuit will always be triggered, even on Hi Beam: it senses the lower power draw. I have no idea what will happen when you disconnect it. I wish you luck, and I hope you will post back here as to how it worked for you. My fan-less LED bulb burns 35 Watts on High Beam, compared to 55 Watts for the OEM bulb. My LED Modulator only works with the Hi Beam, not the Lo Beam, so it basically alternates between 35 Watts and maybe 20 Watts? Can't remember how many Watts it draws on Lo. My LED Bulb is no longer offered, and I don't have the spec sheet anymore. Installed it around 5-10 years ago? Love the LED replacements I installed everywhere but the instrument cluster! More amperage available for accessories, and the idle charging Voltage came up by 1+ Volts. Fantastic upgrade, especially if you can install LED's with higher Lumen output in each light... Not too bright, but brighter is always better for visibility on the road, day, or night.

On my '93, there was sufficient space atop the plastic wiring(?) block, beneath the Cruise Control module, sitting atop the faux tank -- there was a large enough gap between that, and the CC wiring. I just wired the OEM horn switch directly across the two relay terminals, to activate it. The Horns likely use the chassis Ground (screw mounted to the bike's chassis -- negative Ground, so no discernable wire for their Ground connection).

I installed either a 4-fuse, or an 8-fuse block. I only used 3(?) of them: one for each new horn; a Lighter Plug Power Socket outlet, also atop the CC box, on top of the faux tank -- allows me to plug in my phone charger/GPS power adapter, when riding. Extremely useful addition to the bike. Inexpensive socket, with a rubber sealed, spring-loaded cap, to cover it, when not in use. I think I picked it up from Wal-Mart, 5+ years ago. Cheers!

[4redjf]

Thanks for the details.
Well i was able to re hook up the turn signal box that i mistakenly unplugged.
Note: when the RLU is completely unplugged the lights do not work at all...
So, per directions from another member, i removed the light green/red wire from the white housing of the RLU. Will see if that works once im back together. At least the headlights work now.

Here is where i am stuck. Got my horn, relay and wiring setup to figure out how to utilize the factory horn button.
I have the relay wired to the battery for the horn, but cannot figure out which of the BL/W wire i can use that will activate the relay. I can hook a separate switch for the relay and make the horn work but really do not want to do that.
Right now i still have both factory horns hooked up and wasnt sure if they , both had to be unhooked inorder to use the horn button for the air horn.
I prefer to check the voltage on the wiring, so Brown is hot when key is on and BL/w is also hot , nothing changes when i push the horn button except the other side horn blows. I am working on the left side horn.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[SgtSlag]

Do you have the detailed, color-coded, wiring diagram from a member of this site?... That thing is amazingly helpful. And it is free to download. I will need to search for the link for it, on this forum.

Print it in color, then laminate the pages -- worth whatever the cost is to get this done. Your local office supply stores, like OfficeMax, offer both color printing, and laminating services. They even offer large format color photocopying, with lamination, if you need it blown up beyond 8.5" x 11".

I don't remember which wires I cut into as I did this multiple years ago. Sorry.

Another suggestion...

Install a Voltmeter, directly across the battery terminals. Keep an eye on it, to ensure that the Charging System is, in fact, charging the Battery. These bikes came with a relatively low-output Alternator, so not a lot of extra Amperes for running accessories. If you draw too much current, the Battery will discharge, while riding, even at highway speeds: <13 Volts and you may want to turn some accessories off...

Converting almost all of the lights to LED's makes a very big difference in available Amps for accessories. One of the very best upgrades you can make to these bikes! Cheers!

[SgtSlag]

Here is the link to the Manuals, and Wiring Diagrams that are super-helpful, on this site. Cheers!

[4redjf]

Thanks again, and yes i have wiring diagram and i see the wiring from the horns and from the horn switch.
I must take a break and clear my head so i can clearly figure this out.
For now i may just hook up a alternate horn button for the air horn and later on figure it out.
Appreciate your help, and its always welcome..

[4redjf]

Thanks for all the input.
I was so puzzled about the horn wiring that i just wasn't thinking.
Well, finally figured out how to use the horn button with my air horn. Both factory horns must be disconnected. That was the key. By disconnecting both horns, then the brown and bL/W wire becomes the needed wires for activating the relay thru the factory horn button.
So, I mounted the horn on the R side, using a bracket i made to bend and twist and mount to the factory horn bolt.
The horn is done for now, next the LED headlight RLU light stays off but the bright light comes on due to the low current.
Have to live with that for now.
Cleaned off the oil sending unit to see if the small oil drip is coming from it and if so, will be replacing it.
Then, my next thing is the rear lights and rear turn signals bulbs. Want to change them to LED and the tail light bulb to a blinking/solid type bulb.
Appreciate all input and welcome any more.

[Nails]

All of those replacements are straightforward.

Search for LED dash lights. At least some white bulbs give off a gorgeous green cast at night. But they can be a PITA to replace.

Somewhat off the topic ... like basically everyone else, I disabled the battery check light. But in its place, I installed a battery monitor that has a small light for output: green when all is swell and yellow or red when there might be a problem (especially if they blink). This little pup fits where the battery-light bulb was; and the stock dash light has a red lens. So when all is well, I don't see anything (green light and red lens equals nuthin' -- I drilled teeny holes in the red lens just to check if it was even working). But if there's a problem, I can see it fine. A pissant little upgrade, but I just hate schlepping around unused stuff like a dead indicator lamp. This is described in some thread in here including the source for swell monitor. Only mentioning it in case you're screwing around in there to replace other dash lights.

[SgtSlag]

Use Red LED's behind Red lenses; use Yellow LED's behind Yellow lenses!...

White LED's will have precious Lumens blocked/wasted being stopped by the lenses. The lenses block the majority of the colors different from them, passing the super-majority of Lumens matching their color.

If you replace the instrument bulbs, I suggest using Red LED's as Red light will not affect your eyes' night sensitivity. It's a minor thing, not critical, but it may help some. Cheers!

[Nails]

If you replace the instrument bulbs, I suggest using Red LED's as Red light will not affect your eyes' night sensitivity. It's a minor thing, not critical, but it may help some.

I replaced my dash lights twice, first with red LEDs (based on Navy training); but that was butt ugly. The white LEDs are quite easy to see, no blinding issue (despite my sucky vision), and that subtle green glow really is gorgeous. For me, the real world trumped the theory -- the ugly was more blinding than the white. YMMV