timminator wrote:
What year was your top box manufactured Casbar? I can't explain the difference, all I can do is tell you is what this box does. Maybe I have a slightly different version that you. The behavior this box exhibited is when unlocked, a push of the button popped out the release handle as expected. When locked (by the servo),the button still pushed in but the handle does not pop up. The act of locking it was aligning some plastic parts so that the button was no longer engaged with the latch mechanism. The key position did not change whether locked or unlocked.
After I removed the plastic pieces connecting it to the motor, the key turned perfectly. Now when the key is turned it goes back to the traditional locking behavior of the button being frozen in place and unable to push it in. At this point, I don't care what is going on, I'm just happy my box works!
Cheers all!
Very strange, my box is from 2014. Just tried it again and works as described
Yes, as do the locks on the panniers, the actual slot doesn't move. But that is very much from memory as the top box isn't on the bike. Will let you know for sure next week
RTman10 wrote:
Thought you said your bike did not have the plug under the pillion seat for the top box. It looks like the Clearwater part plugs into that.
No the Canopener connects inline with the TPS and reads the data and that allows the operation of their lights like the Darla (which I have to the front of the bike) and for you to use their rear brake light although you can use any LED supplementary brake light which is was I do as it operates the rear as a side\brake light and not just a brake light.
Benchmark wrote:
No the Canopener connects inline with the TPS and reads the data and that allows the operation of their lights like the Darla (which I have to the front of the bike) and for you to use their rear brake light although you can use any LED supplementary brake light which is was I do as it operates the rear as a side\brake light and not just a brake light.
Correct, I went through my whole saga with the sales staff at Clearwater lights and they assured me this unit would do the trick. Plug into TPS sensor jack, and the red & black wires will power the topcase brake light, or any other brake light. And a number of other cool features as well. It is programmable, it can behave exactly the same as factory brakelight, or you can have it flash, strobe, or come on with increasing brightness in relation to the amount of braking pressure applied. Normally this only comes with one of their light kits, but they told me I could buy separately for $200.
Benchmark - One thing I am confused about, what happens to the connector that used to be plugged into the TPS sensor? Do you lose the function of the tire pressure monitoring, or does it plug back into the CANopener3 harness somehow?
timminator wrote:
Benchmark - One thing I am confused about, what happens to the connector that used to be plugged into the TPS sensor? Do you lose the function of the tire pressure monitoring, or does it plug back into the CANopener3 harness somehow?
Don't worry, it really is plug and go, remove the plug from the TPS and plug it into the socket on the canopener lead, the other lead out of the canopener is the plug so plug that into the TPS so the TPS is unaffected as the canopener is now in-line with the wiring to the TPS
Last edited by guest3074 on Wed Jun 08, 2016 4:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mission accomplished gents. I removed the large cylindrical plug from the top-case and replaced it with a battery tender cable using the brown/grey wires. Put the same battery tender end on the CANopener3 module, red and black wires. Crimped the connections tight, shrink-wrapped everything, and it works like a charm.
I must say, if I had to do this all over again, I would have purchased the standard version of the top case and given up the light. After paying for the CANOpener3 module, the damages came to about $1200 total. Still less than the $1600 the dealer wanted for the same thing.
Order the CANopener today from Clearwater. You have to call them directly to get the part, it is not listed for sell on the web site....$200.00 plus shipping. Thank you timminatior for posting this work around. I have the same case, but did not have the light installed due to no solution to power it. Looking forward to having the extra lighting working this weekend. Don
lonestar4569 wrote:
Order the CANopener today from Clearwater. You have to call them directly to get the part, it is not listed for sell on the web site....$200.00 plus shipping. Thank you timminatior for posting this work around. I have the same case, but did not have the light installed due to no solution to power it. Looking forward to having the extra lighting working this weekend. Don
Terrific lonestar, glad you will benefit too! One other cool thing, you can program the module so that the top-case brake light flashes. I am attaching the billie brake light manual, which describes how to change the settings. It was a little tricky at first, but I finally got it working. I put the module in Mode 4, which is flashing, with brightness changing depending on how hard you hit the brakes.
Let me know if you have any questions about the installation, you can email me directly at [email protected].
timminator wrote:
I just received the deluxe BMW topcase and extra brake light from KFM in Germany (part# 77 43 8 544 631 and 77 51 8 520 044). I have a couple issues with it, one is the wiring harness and the other is the locking mechanism. The case came with a large round plug, and there is nothing on my bike that's even close to fitting it. After talking to my local dealer, it turns out I cannot connect it to my wiring harness, since my bike does not have central-locking. So, currently there is no way to connect the electrical. The other issue is the lock itself. I had the dealer add a lock cylinder, but the key won't turn. Again, it turns out that the case was designed for central-locking, so the only way to lock and un-lock is through an electrical signal to some servo inside the case.[/size]
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So this is my dilemma. As I see it, my options are:[/size]
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1) Sell it and get the less expensive version that doesn't have the light/locking support builtin.[/size]
2) Attempt to color match the wires that go to my current brake light and splice them together.[/size]
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I would also like to get the lock working, but I have no idea what my chances are there. If I could get to it, it might be possible to disconnect it from that servo mechanism and turn it into a normal lock.[/size]
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Has anyone run into this problem or tried to wire something like this? The dealer told me that if I break into the wiring harness, I void my warranty, so that scares me a little.[/size]
I didn't get the BMW aux tail light for that very reason. There are many threads on here that speak to that problem. I opted to get an aftermarket LED, add a fuzeblock, and have the added benefit of it working as both tail light and brakelight.
mercator1 wrote:
I didn't get the BMW aux tail light for that very reason. There are many threads on here that speak to that problem. I opted to get an aftermarket LED, add a fuzeblock, and have the added benefit of it working as both tail light and brakelight.
Intrigued by your solution mercator1. I looked at the fuzeblock online, but how did you tie it into the CANBUS system so it knows when to activate the brake light? Did you have to splice into the brake wire?
