Headlight Wiring

[Chokse]

I recently bought a 5-3/4" X 9" Chopper style headlight with a mount that will allow it to fit my Magna.  However, the new headlight has only two wires coming out from it, and the hole they come out from is very small.  I noticed that the Magna's OEM headlight is filled with all kinds of wires.  Does anyone know a source for a wiring diagram of these wires, or can anyone tell me what they are all for.  I am trying to find out if most of them can be pushed back to a hidden location under the tank.  They guy who owned the bike before me messed around with the wiring a bit, and I think he messed things up.  One of my summer projects is going to be cleaning up the wiring on the bike and getting the headlight installed.  However, I think a wiring diagram would really help me with this task.  Thanks-

[Jerry G Turner]

Go to the MOOT home page and click on links it has manuels and wiring diagrams that you can download

[John Luttrell]

Sent the diagram to you via e-mail.

[Greg Cothern]

I always very much dislike when folks butcher a stock wiring harness when adding extra's on a bike.  
If I can I try and build a stand alone wiring harness with its own switch and fuse all rated for its intended use.
One could choose to when installing a different headlight setup to make a new harness that attaches to the stock socket instead of cutting things up.
Sorry to swipe your post, this is something that has always had me at a quandry to understand that approach.

[Chokse]

Greg.  I think you misunderstood me, or maybe I just wasn't very clear (It certainly wouldn't be the first time).  When I bought my Magna, the wiring was pretty messed up.  The guy who owned it before me had added many electronic extras and had done a really sloppy job with wiring them up. (He even had the horn wires cut off at their ends and had run the horn directly into the battery, with no fuse).  There are all kinds of wires that have been cut and have not been spliced properly.  I need to fix this, so I am planning to fix all the areas where he cut wires with properly soldered splices.  I want to get the main wiring harness back to its original condition before I add my new headlight and LED turn signals and tail light.  Regarding the headlight, I just need to figure out which of those wires in the huge clump inside the headlight housing can be relocated to an area under the tank.  I don't want to cut them or get rid of them, I just need to hide them as they will no longer be able to be hidden inside the light housing where they currently reside.  I need to know which wires are needed for something up front, and which ones are just there and can be moved.

[Chokse]

John-  Thanks for the quick reply and the email with the wiring diagram.  I have a CD with all the Honda manuals and wiring diagrams.  However, while the service manuals and parts lists are in PDF format (which I have no problem opening), the electrical info requires the installation of an EXE program, and I use a Mac, so there is no way I can install and run it.

[Greg Cothern]

Sorry if it sounded as if I was directing that towards you, it was meant towards the feller who sabotaged you LoL.

[Chokse]

I didn't know who you were venting at.  It kind of ticked me off too when I found out how messed up the wiring was.  But, I got a good price on the Magna, so I figure I'll have to deal with some headaches along the way.  Part of that discount.  Now that I have the wiring diagram, I am going to try to get everything patched up and back to OEM specs.  I will try to find the correct sizes and colors of wire, and will splice and solder where I can, and will use good quality connectors where I cannot splice and solder.  Hopefully, I can get everything back into good shape.

[MagnaMan]

Check with Jerry Turner here on the forums. He is parting out his 3rd gen after he wrecked it. Maybe you can buy complete wiring harnesses from him and just save yourself a ton of trouble. Less wrenching, more riding.

[dc112675]

I, too, have a headlight on the way, and hope to mount it this weekend.  However, I have no clue how to make a harness.  I have a solder gun and can use it, but other than that I am clueless.  Are there any how-to's on this topic?  I have no intention on butchering my wiring, and want it to look as professional as possible (coming from an amateur).  Thanks, dc

[MagnaMan]

You may not have to make a wiring harness. If your new headlight housing large enough to hold the current plug that is in the stock Magna headlight then you'll probably just be able to run the wires into the new housing and plug it in.

[Chokse]

I thought about doing that when I first got the light.  But, because I am installing a Hi-Lo HID ballast in the housing, I am going to have to do a bit of custom wiring, and I won't be able to use the headlight connector on the harness.  Everything on the HID system has to run through that external regulator box.  Because of the small size of the wire hole on the housing (and because I don't really want to drill into that nice shiny chrome) I have already had to cut, insert, and solder all of the HID ballast's wires as the end connectors were too large for the hole in the headlight housing.  I am thinking now that I will put off doing the lights until the summer when I have more time.  I also have four Kuryakyn LED Silver Bullets (2 amber for the front and 2 red for the back) and a Clear Alternatives LED Tail light for the Magna.  I also got the Kuryakyn Run-Turn-Brake controller for the two red tail lights in the back.  I am thinking that this might be a multi day install, so I think I am going to wait until summer vacation to get it done.

[dc112675]

Well, from the sound of it, this is going to be a little more difficult than I expected.  The light I am getting is quite a bit bigger so I was hoping I could stuff the wiring harness in there like the las one . . . is that not an option?  I don't mind drilling into the housing, as it should be hidden from sight.

I also thought about LED's for flashers, but for now I will hold off on that.  The ones I like are $70 a pair, and then I would have to add a signal flashers ($20), and clamps for the front ($30).  That puts it at about $120 just for the front.  

I then glanced at the rear, and it would need extensive work to just get rid of the old lights.  They are a "package deal" with the tail-light and the license plate, and so something would have to be done to address that issue.  I maybe wrong about the rear, as I only glanced at it.  At any rate, it looks like all in all, the LED's would run in the $250 - $300 neighborhood.  I'm not quite ready to spend that.

[MagnaMan]

I think you'll be able to just use the existing wiring with the headlight. It really just depends upon the opening in your headlight shell.

[Greg Cothern]

The VTX units sure are starting to look cheaper hehehehehe.