Need Wiring Advice

Not sure if this is mod related or technical related....

I am hooking up some new Denali lights today. The Denali instructions simply say "Use one posi-tap connector to tap the white wire into any switched 12 volt power source. For example, your motorcycles running light wire or dash light wire are a switched 12 volt power source."

Can anyone tell me where/what wire I need to tap in to? Photo would be of huge help too! Thanks very much in advance!!

[edit] just in case I'm not clear: I have all the wires routed through the bike, and the lights mounted. I have a white wire from the Denali harness, which needs to be tapped into a "Motorcycle Running Light Wire". I just need to know what wire that would be.

Do you have the option relay and accessory harness? If so, one of the 2-wire option connectors would be ideal. That way it is properly fused. The switched 12V+ wire on the option harness is brown in color. The wire from the option relay to the 6P option harness connector is violet / red. To simply tap a random switched 12v+ wire is unscientific and as a scientist I am duty-bound not to help with that.

Beemerphile said:

Do you have the option relay and accessory harness? If so, one of the 2-wire option connectors would be ideal. That way it is properly fused. The switched 12V+ wire on the option harness is brown in color. The wire from the option relay to the 6P option harness connector is violet / red. To simply tap a random switched 12v+ wire is unscientific and as a scientist I am duty-bound not to help with that.

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I am an IT guy - network engineer - so I absolutely appreciate doing it correctly. Unfortunately, motorcycles are new to me, and this wiring is really confusing. Thank you for getting me started in the right direction.
No, I do not have a "Relay and Accessory Harness", if that is an aftermarket harness that must be purchased separately. Is this the most recommend way to finish this project, or can you specify another wire somewhere that I can safely tap into? If I need this accessory harness, can you point me to one online to purchase (I did a quick search, but did not find what you are talking about).

SilverNC700 said:

I am an IT guy - network engineer - so I absolutely appreciate doing it correctly. Unfortunately, motorcycles are new to me, and this wiring is really confusing. Thank you for getting me started in the right direction.
No, I do not have a "Relay and Accessory Harness", if that is an aftermarket harness that must be purchased separately. Is this the most recommend way to finish this project, or can you specify another wire somewhere that I can safely tap into? If I need this accessory harness, can you point me to one online to purchase (I did a quick search, but did not find what you are talking about).

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I didn't want to answer with "tap" instructions because it is not clear from your post whether the 12v+ you are tapping is going to provide coil power to an accessory relay provided by the light manufacturer, or it it was expected to drive the lights directly. Honda uses an option relay, fuse, and option harness for connecting the factory options to the bike. Several people here have homespun their own with good results. I did not. I used the Honda parts from my dealer for the take-of point. After that, I went pretty crazy on my own. Most people don't get by adding just one extra circuit and the consensus seems to be to use the Honda option connection to provide reliable switched power to an aftermarket fuse block that you can then populate with many different things. Tapping here to do this and there to do that eventually makes a mess of things and fuses start popping. Better to start out from the beginning with a good system for adding optional electrical loads. That is the path Honda chose for their own factory accessories, and I personally believe it is the correct approach. There are several options for power distribution already posted on the board that will make good reading.

Okay, got it! Well, when I look at the Honda Accessories page, I see that there is a "Relay Kit" and "Sub harness" for all Honda accessories. I think this is what you are talking about. I am having these overnighted to me. I'll get these installed and if I have any further questions, I'll come crawling back here for help. Thanks Beemerphile.

SilverNC700 said:

Okay, got it! Well, when I look at the Honda Accessories page, I see that there is a "Relay Kit" and "Sub harness" for all Honda accessories. I think this is what you are talking about. I am having these overnighted to me. I'll get these installed and if I have any further questions, I'll come crawling back here for help. Thanks Beemerphile.

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I hope you get the relay and harness quickly. Mine has been back ordered by Honda for a month and it's just now shipped and on the way to me.

Greg

The sub-harness and relay do not come with instructions. They are in the heated grips installation instructions which also has the plastic removal instructions to get to everything. This thread has a link to download the instructions in PDF. http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-...ory-user-guide-installation-instructions.html
Basically the bike side sub-harness connector is on the left side of the bike in a hold built into the bottom, left, rear of the frunk tub. It has ground, switched 12v, batt 12v, and high beam terminals. Unfortunately Honda doesn’t pass the batt 12v through the sub-harness though you could add it if needed. The sub-harness has three 2 pin (ground, switched 12v) connectors for accessories and one 3 pin connect (ground, switched 12v, high beam) for the Honda fog lights which they don’t offer in the U.S. I haven’t found, I didn’t look hard, a connector that is direct fit for the Honda connectors. Instead I order connectors from here: 34-6932 2-pin Male/Female coupler set ,Electrical items sold here are some of the best OEM quality replacement connectors, terminals and plugs I have found.
Probably not the cheapest place to get them but someone else had posted them so I didn’t have to waste time looking. They come with the correct size pins for the sub-harness. I pushed the pins out of the Honda connector and into these. This place also sells just the pins. They are listed as H-F/H-M pins.

670cc said:

I hope you get the relay and harness quickly. Mine has been back ordered by Honda for a month and it's just now shipped and on the way to me.

Greg

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Just got off the phone with my Honda dealer. He says his computer shows the Honda warehouse had plenty of these in stock. He says they will be in on Wednesday, which is when I can pick them up. So...maybe I lucked out and Honda just restocked their warehouse?

Quick follow up, because I promised. This post is for anyone, like me, who has ZERO knowledge on adding something like lights to your motorcycle. Here are some search keywords: LIGHTS, DENALI, INSTALL, WIRING, HELP

#1. Check out Beemerphile's post above. It has nearly everything you need to know when hooking up lights to your NC700X. Namely, you must have a Relay Set (OEM part #08A70-MGS-D30) and a Sub Harness (OEM part #08A71-MGS-D30) to properly do anything.

#2. Install the Relay Set and Sub Wire Harness by the instructions included with the 12V Accessory Socket (just a few posts above this, bamamate gives a link to the instructions). The first couple pages of these instructions show how to remove the plastic sides, remove the seat, unhook the battery, and install the Relay and Sub Harness. Just take your time, and keep all the bolts/clips together with each piece you remove.

#3. Mount your lights. These could be on the Honda OEM Light Bar, or somewhere else. I mounted mine to the fender where the existing fender bolts are. I had to go shopping at the hardware store for some spacers, longer bolts, and ultimately a small steel "L" bracket to get the light precisely how I wanted them. I am really disappointed Twisted Throttle does not offer more mounting hardware like this, but oh well.

#4. Carefully route your wires along the paths where existing wires are. Used the included Posi-tap connector to tap in to one of the accessory lines on the new Sub Harness you just put in. As Beemerphile pointed out, it will be one of the brown wires on one of the three 2-wire connectors.

#5. Follow the instruction backwards to remount all your plastic. Despite my most carefully attention to detail, I had one screw left over that I could not locate where it went. All the plastic is secure and there are no rattles, so I guess it is okay. Next time I dive into it I'll see if I can discover where it goes.

And here they are. People may ask if the Denali DM1 Micro lights are bright. The answer is yes, they will help light up the road ahead a bit and make me more visible to others, but if you really need some serious lighting then these might be a bit under-powered for you.

In addition to all the above, I definitely recommend getting FUZEBLOCK FUZEBLOCKS.COM. I am IT guy too...

There is one screw in the frunk. Could be the one you missed.

defiantly a relay for any high load item as the NC700 has a 420 watt stator, which is fine, But the gauge of the wire is probably small, also Honda is known for running high load through ignition & starter switches that end up putting way too much load on them and destroy them or wiring slowly over time

Has anyone found a source for the 2-pin connectors that would plug into the accessory subharness?

I answered my own question by purchasing the sub-harness and comparing the connectors to what I could find on other Honda forums and retailers. They are commonly called Hitachi connectors, but I've found that's not correct.

These connectors are made by Sumitomo and are referred to as MTW .110" or just MTW 110.
(credit to Eastern Beaver for the photo)

Eastern Beaver seems to be a good source for these connectors, as you can even purchase the male or female ends separately. The owner - Jim - resides in Japan and is crazy about his Hondas. They have lots of other common connectors that would really come in handy, however they do have a $20 minimum. For that reason, I decided to go with Electrical Connection. They only offer the connectors as a set but I was able to get 3 of them for under $13 shipped.

Another option for a switched 12v power source is the tail light. On our NC700X we used the pink wire with the blue stripe and the included Positap connector.

Kevin

VirginiaCreeper said:

I answered my own question by purchasing the sub-harness and comparing the connectors to what I could find on other Honda forums and retailers. They are commonly called Hitachi connectors, but I've found that's not correct.

These connectors are made by Sumitomo and are referred to as MTW .110" or just MTW 110.
View attachment 4146(credit to Eastern Beaver for the photo)

Eastern Beaver seems to be a good source for these connectors, as you can even purchase the male or female ends separately. The owner - Jim - resides in Japan and is crazy about his Hondas. They have lots of other common connectors that would really come in handy, however they do have a $20 minimum. For that reason, I decided to go with Electrical Connection. They only offer the connectors as a set but I was able to get 3 of them for under $13 shipped.

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I have ordered the Honda harness and was wondering the same about the connectors as I plan on making my own "ends" on some of the accessories. VirginaCreeper, in your first post you ask about the "2-pin" connectors but in the picture they appear to be 3-pin connectors. Which are the correct one's for the Honda harness? (Sorry, I probably could just wait until it arrives to see but I'm impatient like that )

From memory they are 3 pin - but only 2 pins are actually fitted

woodbar said:

From memory they are 3 pin - but only 2 pins are actually fitted

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Right on the money.