Head light Switch

[markarie76]

Morning all,
Not found this topic anywhere so here goes, i have a OCD thingy in regards to Battery life, my tiger headlights go on as soon as you turn the ignition, normal i know, it has had the twin relay modification done so happy there, i want to run a switch which will be operated from the dash which will enable me to have the headlights off when i turn the ignition, Sidelights only, once the bike has started i can then flick the switch (illuminated when live) and headlights on. Riding bikes with switches on for years so wont forget to switch on LOL!
I have already bought the switch and will be doing the mod later on with pictures of it, Stretch has made life easier already with his How To on replacing Bulbs, (Thank you)
Any thoughts, comments would be appreciated,
Later,
Mark.

[cosmo]

I did that, though I used two switches and can switch either h'lamp on or off at will.

Don't forget the diodes, or you'll be scratching your pate bald...

Cosmo

[metalguru]

Use a lamp switch from an earlier Tiger or T/bird (900) as it will retro fit without any extra wiring and fit the relays to enable both lamps on.

[markarie76]

Thanks for that, all i am doing is breaking the live (purple+pinkish) top of light bulb connector and putting an inline switch breaker, should not need anything else as it is a simple circuit with no additions.
The alternate switch for each headlight sounds a great idea 

[Mustang]

Morning all,
Not found this topic anywhere so here goes, i have a OCD thingy in regards to Battery life, my tiger headlights go on as soon as you turn the ignition, normal i know, it has had the twin relay modification done so happy there, i want to run a switch which will be operated from the dash which will enable me to have the headlights off when i turn the ignition, Sidelights only, once the bike has started i can then flick the switch (illuminated when live) and headlights on. Riding bikes with switches on for years so wont forget to switch on LOL!
I have already bought the switch and will be doing the mod later on with pictures of it, Stretch has made life easier already with his How To on replacing Bulbs, (Thank you)
Any thoughts, comments would be appreciated,
Later,
Mark.

are you sure it doesn't drop the headlights out as soon as you push the starter button already ?
Both of my 98 steamers came from the factory with a relay that drops both headlights out as soon as you press the starter button . Then once running both headlamps come back on automatically when you let off the starter button .

[Bixxer Bob]

   Top marks!! The Girly does that too.  My reason for fitting a pre-Girly switch was so I could turn everything off while working on maps instead of pulling fuses.

It's not legal though.  It is a legal requirement that new UK bikes after 2004 (or was it 2005?) should not have a light switch.  MOT man never bothers though....

[markarie76]

All done and dusted, only sidelights are on when ignition is turned on so goal achieved. i do a lot of touring and camping and need to use the power supply from the tiger now and again without lighting the whole place up LOL! Placed the switch left of the Heated grips Control switch,
Thanks for the comments,
Mark.

[Fross]

I have a 2005 bike and I also disliked the lights coming on every time I turned the key. I bought on eBay an earlier model Triumph RH handlebar control switch which was exactly the right one. It just plugged straight into the existing switchgears wiring connector. Plus it looks correct on the bike. Incidentally it was advertised as "Triumph 1999 ST955i Sprint RHS Switchgear" so obviously the same item was used on other Triumphs as well as earlier Tigers.
BTW. my Tigers auxiliary power socket is live without the ignition being turned on.

[NKL]

  Top marks!! The Girly does that too.  My reason for fitting a pre-Girly switch was so I could turn everything off while working on maps instead of pulling fuses.

It's not legal though.  It is a legal requirement that new UK bikes after 2004 (or was it 2005?) should not have a light switch.  MOT man never bothers though....

I believe it's an EU law rather than UK, but it's obviously cheaper to not fit one to any bike regardless of where it's going.

[Bixxer Bob]

They all are (the aux socket that is), unless they've been farkled

[cosmo]

It's not legal though.  It is a legal requirement that new UK bikes after 2004 (or was it 2005?) should not have a light switch.  MOT man never bothers though....

T'was 30 YEARS earlier than that for the USA.

FWIW the US Tiggers have an interesting wire loop to keep the h'lights "ON". Without looking, I'd suspect that a UK left control would indeed be a 'plug-n-play' for light switch.

Still prefer my solution, as I also relayed each beam/each unit for four relays total. And this with a 10ga wire direct from the battery through a 30 amp. circuit breaker. Power to the Beams!!
Oh, yeah, 10 ga earth wire, too. Steel is not as good a conductor as copper.

Cosmo

[metalguru]

A good point to make here would be to ensure the switch is water proof or at least covered if using a toggle type and is capable of handling the current if not using relays. Its a pain when the lamps go out on a dark, wet and windy middle of nowhere, (Lucas, prince of darkness) been there.
Seems like a lot of work when the right side switch is a retro fit, reliable and made for the bike/job.

All the girlies and beyond should be equipped to douse the h/lamps on starting and will be relay controlled for the high and low beams. (Even if routed via the starter relay).

Incidently some useless info here but one never knows,
I was doing the switch and relay mod to my Rocket3 headlamps and although the cable is not in the loom, the right side switch components minus the contacts and the operating button are in the switch which is blanked off. I would like to presume that the rest of the range with blanked off switches are the same??????
Needless to say the Rocket is now capable of switching the headlamps on the 1st position and second position switches the aux lamps. (for maintenance purposes of course occifer).

[Bluto]

Another possible solution would be to add a relay and two diodes to the HB circuit....when the key is turned on and the HL switch is on HB the headlight is off, once it is switched to low beam the relay latches and everything works normally.  I did this on a Ducati and it worked great also the blue HB indicator was a good reminder to switch to LB before rolling.  I learned of this mod at http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=506789&highlight=Headlight+switching+idea
and did a post with some additional info that might be helpful at http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=32045
Not positive that this would work on a Tiger but is should and is a very clever low cost (like $10 US) way to add headlight switching

[Bixxer Bob]

Incidently some useless info here but one never knows,
I was doing the switch and relay mod to my Rocket3 headlamps and although the cable is not in the loom, the right side switch components minus the contacts and the operating button are in the switch which is blanked off. I would like to presume that the rest of the range with blanked off switches are the same??????
Needless to say the Rocket is now capable of switching the headlamps on the 1st position and second position switches the aux lamps. (for maintenance purposes of course occifer).

When I did mine the wiring to the switch block I bought wasn't exactly the same as mine but when I took it apart, all I had to do was swap the switch lever itself for the blank. Everything else was already there.