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It's $30 (I picked it up at the motorcycle show for $20) and it took about 30 minutes to wire up.
Tools required:
Butane Soldering Iron ($10 at Radio Shack)
Solder
Multimeter (also $10 at Radio Shack)
Wire stripper
Zip ties
Wrench for a chassis bolt (8mm on the Ducati Supersport)
Your push-button garage door opener
Your bike may require a different kit. There's another part number on that website - this 5pg2 model is the "Universal" one for most sportbikes.
First locate a good spot for the wiring harness. You'll need access to:
- power (a cable that comes on only when you turn the key on)
- switched power (headlight flashers or brake)
- somewhere to store/stick the circuit boards
I chose to install this all under my seat and use the brake instead of the headlight flashers.
Using a small eyeglass screwdriver, pry open the garage door opener to expose the circuit board.
You're going to use the multimeter in continuity mode (basically select any of the modes on the Ohm selections). Touch each prong of the multimeter to a couple of the points where the button hits when you press it.
I've marked my points with a red Sharpie - you can see the small marks in the picture.
When I touched these two points with the multimeter, my garage door opened.
On the wiring harness, there is a black and white cable that are bonded together. These are for the points we marked in red on the opener circuit board.
Using a wire stripper, expose a small amount of wire in the black, and then the white wire.
Lightly coat each wire with a small amount of solder. Hold the exposed, coated wire to the point on the circuit board, and touch the point with the soldering iron lightly. Pull up quickly to solder them together.
Do the same for the second wire and point on the board.
After the solder has cooled for a bit, wrap the wires around the assembly once or twice, then cover in some plastic and electrical tape. This will serve two purposes:
- it will hold your soldering points better, as a slight tug on the cable won't loosen the joint
- it will protect the opener board from shorting out if it touches a bolt or other metal
Again we will use the multimeter to check the wiring on the bike. Unplug the brake harness, which is located under the seat.
Lay the negative terminal of the multimeter so that it's touching a bolt that's connected to your frame.
Turn the bike on (do not start it) and touch the positive terminal to each of the exposed connectors. Note which wire is "power". Mine was the yellow, center wire.
Now hold down the brake and again check the terminals to see which one has power while braking. Mine was the green, outside wire.
Strip about an inch of the black cable. This is your ground - either wire it directly to your negative terminal on the battery or a bolt attached to your chassis.
Turn the bike on and test it all out. The small LED on the kit should light up when you turn it on.
Tap the brake twice quickly to engage the opener.
Assuming everything is working correctly, now select a location near the gauges for the indicator LED. Thread the LED cable up to the front to the location.
Zip tie everything to the frame or other cabling. Be sure to keep cables away from excessive heat, such as the engine or the exhaust.
I'm a little unclear what the little black box is with the 4 or 5 wires coming out of it? Details please.
You have to make sure the garage door opener is a 12 volt, right? A 6 volt opener won't work?
I've seen a lot of people hook them up to their highbeams switch. Flick the highbeams once and POOF, the door opens. Handy trick.
The black box with the wires detects the input from the brake switch. You have to tap it twice quickly (like double clicking your mouse) to activate it.
That way it's not going off all the time draining the opener's battery.
The black box is 12v. It does not matter what the opener is, the black/white wires just create the circuit. when the switch is activated.
And yes, you could also do the highbeams - it's basically the same thing, but I'm usually on the clutch when I'm pulling into my driveway... tapping my rear brake twice is much easier since the rear brake on the Ducs are pretty useless
The black box with the wires detects the input from the brake switch. You have to tap it twice quickly (like double clicking your mouse) to activate it.
OK, thanks. I didn't realze the opener still was using the original battery.
Going off the highbeam switch can be done without that box, but then then the opener is wired so that it gets power from the bike and not it's own battery. Then of course you couldn't do the whole "double click" thing, which is kinda cool.
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How To: wire up a garage door opener to your flashers
