Kisan headlight modulator problem

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ka5ysy
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Post by ka5ysy »

deilenberger wrote:Doug - looks like they did the same on the production unit as they did on my beta.. the ballast bulb. Last time I spoke with Andy (tech support) at that time they were working on having a resistor ballast instead of the bulb. I suspect the 20W resistor needed may be a bit large, making that impractical.

Question - besides possibly having weather related problems (besides corrosion of the plug connector - hot bulbs don't survive water hitting them) - doesn't the flashing of the ballast bulb bother you?

The one I used goes inside the headlight housing. The bulb is protected from the weather and it flashing inside the housing isn't bothersome since I can't see it. Not to denigrate what you've done - but for other R1200R owners - I'd suggest this is a better solution. It's really plug and play - no cutting, solder skills or splicing required.

I have photos of it that will be included in an article in the BMW-MOA Owners news.. a preview and photos can be found on my website at: http://www.eilenberger.net/R1200R_Roads ... or_fix.htm

The internal one is the one they list for the H9 bulbs (which have the same pin pattern as the H11 bulbs) - http://www.kisantech.com/view_product.p ... t=P115W-A2 - but with the ballast bulb. The ONLY modification required to the bike is enlarging the drain hole in the bottom of the headlight housing to allow passing the connector for the light sensor through. Easy to do since the housing is plastic.

If anyone is going to order one - I'd suggest talking to Andy BEFORE ordering it to make certain you get one with the ballast bulb.
Hi Don:

Actually I will be riding around tomorrow in all likelyhood. I did not get to ride today after finishing the installation because of some storms around. We were on the tail end of the weather system causing all the tornados today, so ended up in the Tahoe 4x4, so no opinions of whether I can see the flashing light setup.

I am going to play with replacing the bulb after I get my ohm meter out and see what the resistance is, and doing some Ohm's law calculations to see what I need in the way of a resistor. If your bulb is not melting anything, I might stick it inside too. Easy fix since I dont need to pass plugs though anything.

Doug
MSF #127350 NAUI #36288
2011 RT
WARNING: TEST RIDING THE R1200R IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR FINANCES
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ka5ysy
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A better Idea !

Post by ka5ysy »

Hi Again Don and all:

After looking at the setup that Don has for his Kisan installation, I went out and in about 15 minutes total, swapped the module into the headlight housing. My setup is now essentially identical, except that I hard-wired my module inside the housing. I did do one minor modification: there is a casting ridge in the plastic part of the reflector that was interfering with the position of the module. I got out the handy Dremel tool and cut the ridge out with a router bit.

I drilled a hole for the daylight sensor lead and resealed it with some silicone.

Final recommendation: Put the whole thing in the light housing. Much cleaner installation.
MSF #127350 NAUI #36288
2011 RT
WARNING: TEST RIDING THE R1200R IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR FINANCES
deilenberger
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Post by deilenberger »

Doug - cool! Mine has been in there for about 6,000 miles now - and no meltdowns have occurred.
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
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ka5ysy
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Post by ka5ysy »

I did a quick run down to our new Cabella's store in all the traffic and did the experiment of with/without the modulator on.

Without the modulator on, there are the usual vehicle movements when you are approach an intersection with the drivers trying to decide whether to hold or go.

With the modulator on, I immediately noticed that all drivers at intersections were not moving at all. Drivers ahead of me who I was following tended to slow down apparently thinking a LEO was behind them (technically true!) Oncoming drivers really looked hard at me trying to figure out the flashing lights too!

Overall, I can safely say I am much more visible to other drivers. This is a very good thing.

Doug
MSF #127350 NAUI #36288
2011 RT
WARNING: TEST RIDING THE R1200R IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR FINANCES
JGP
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Kisan Headlight Modulator

Post by JGP »

Greetings,

The following is a copy of the message I rec'd from Kisan on the headlight modulators. Should clear up any confusion.

JGP


All of the current applications of the new CAN-bus BMWs are being updated. Essentially they will have "Z" suffix to differentiate them. Please allow about a week to 10 days for this update.

In your case the part will be P115W-A2-Z


Andy
[email protected]
deilenberger
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Re: Kisan Headlight Modulator

Post by deilenberger »

JGP wrote:Greetings,

The following is a copy of the message I rec'd from Kisan on the headlight modulators. Should clear up any confusion.

JGP


All of the current applications of the new CAN-bus BMWs are being updated. Essentially they will have "Z" suffix to differentiate them. Please allow about a week to 10 days for this update.

In your case the part will be P115W-A2-Z


Andy
[email protected]
As I mentioned I think - Andy is the guy to talk to..

Have to add that PN to the article I'm doing.. Thanks! (I was going to call Andy today to ask him about the lack of a new PN on the website..)
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
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