Tomtom Rider wiring - help needed

Hi Folks,

I have a UK spec K4 SV650s. I have a tomtom rider and today, finally got round to doing the wiring for it. I put the wiring into the front RHS sidelight (amber/brown cable coming from it). I split this wire and soldered the red and black tom tom wire into it in series, black wire going back towards the sidelight, red wire obviously going in the other direction.

The sidelight came on (albeit a little bit dimmer) and the tom tom automatically came on when inserted into the cradle. It didn't appear to be charging though. After re-assembly, the sidelight isn't coming on and the tom tom appears to be tempremental in its auto coming on now. Any ideas? Do I have the wire the wrong way round? Did I make a mistake in selecting the sidelight as a point to wire it in?

I'm an electrical numpty, so any advice gratefully recieved!

Thanks in advance,

Ceri

I did exactly the same thing with my Zumo. However I pulled the plug apart that connects the wiring loom to actual light, then pulled the wires out of the plug. I then soldered them both in on the bulb side of the wire and forced them back in the plug. Works a treat on my bike and lights don't dim either.

I've found the problem, it wasn't actually my soldering joint at all!

It was the mount that the tomtom sits in that had a loose connection (internally, not where the wire clips in). Luckily I have a spare and hopefully replacing that will sort it. Ta for confirmation danf1234.

glad you got sorted, i'd be interested to know if the lights still dim

Originally Posted by danf1234

glad you got sorted, i'd be interested to know if the lights still dim

Will update you once I have replaced the defective part later today. It was only marginally dimmer (MOT inspector would have to be really petty to fail it), but I'd like it to be perfect, you know?

I've just replaced the part and sure enough, that was the problem. Looks like it's all working okay now. I will need to take her out for a long run to ensure it's actually charging the GPS's battery/powering it, but it seems to be okay. Only niggling problem is that with the tomtom rider not in the cradle (even if it's turned off it's fine, it just has to be there), there's effectively a break in the circuit and the sidelight doesn't come on.

I suppose it's logical enough that this happens, my connecting it in series basically makes the tom tom a switch to the sidelight. I would have assumed the wiring of the tom tom rider cradle would have been a bit more clever to prevent this, but seemingly not. As an aside, the sidelight bulb is still dim (irresepective of whether or not the tomtom is turned on). Am I right in thinking that the way yours in wired in makes it effectively in parallel and it's that which prevents the bulb dimming?

This is normally the sort of thing I'd live with, but I have an MOT coming up and I'm not sure I want to have to leave the GPS on the bars to pass.

In case I do choose to rewire it the same way as yours, where is the plug going to the sidelight? Is it a faring-off job?

Cheers,

Ceri

i did mine with the fairing in place. The light comes on also with the Sat Nav out of its cradle.

Ta danf. I shall post an update once I get round to rewiring mine.

Did you say you wired it in series? Is that what the instructions told you to do? Just seems like a strange way to wire in anything... What Voltage is the Tom Tom? I would expect it to plug in to a car cigarette lighter socket, which is 12 Volts...

You mentioned your lights are running a little dim now, that's what happens when you wire something in series with a lamp! You split the voltage, 12 V in this case, between the two devices dependant on there resistance. Either way your 12 volt lamp no longer has a 12 volt supply and neither does your Tom Tom.

I would have thought the way to do this would be to wire it in parallel with an existing device, like a lamp, or straight off the battery with a wee in-line fuse. If all else fails, read the instructions!

Just read over your posts, looks liked you've worked this out already!

Just a quick update. Reconnected the device in parallel and it works fine and the bulb is always on and is at full brightnes. I managed to disconnect the sidelight plug okay (easier if you take the sidelight out). All soldered/greased/taped up and it is still working 500 miles (including a torrential downpour today), so it looks like the jobs a good 'un.