Wiring in a Voyager GPS onto an 02' XR400R

[byracki]

Greetings all

 

I am starting what seems like a simple project where I will be wiring in a Trail Tech Voyager GPS into my XR400R. The reason for this mod is the internal battery of the GPS will not hold a charge when the bike is not in use. While replacement batteries for the GPS are offered, they cost about $45 just for the battery and shipping. I believe I can mount a D/C charging system much more cost effectively and then not have to worry about it 'ever' again.

 

My sister rides a Honda 400EX, so we have service manuals and wiring diagrams for both machines. The XR400R and the 400EX are very similar. The only differences I can see is one wire has changed color (but not purpose) and there is a 5th wire on the EX that goes from the regulator/rectifier straight to the battery.

 

So here is the plan: Buy an OE regulator/rectifier that fits the EX. Wire it in place of the stock XR AC regulator. Yellow to yellow, pink to pink, green to green, black (EX) to white/yellow (XR). This will keep the XR headlight and taillight still AC (as an AC regulator is an AC regulator, they both should function the same way.) If I left it like this, the bike should be in the same shape it was before the mod. But now I will have a red wire that is rectified to 12v DC. So put the red wire to a 12v Nimh battery under the XR seat. Ground the black battery to the frame and run a red wire to the GPS which is also frame grounded.

 

And ta-da, a battery charging system.

 

Now... I am posting because I want to know if there is ANYTHING I have not thought of that would cause a problem with this plan? I have included the stock wiring diagrams as well as a modified one in case you want to see them.

[byracki]

No advice, thoughts, comments, or help after 144 views?

 

I am disappointed.

[michigan400]

I think the trail tech stuff, including the Voyager (not 100% though) can run from the stock AC on the XR. It would still rely on an internal battery for trip memory and stuff but the bike would power it when the motor was running.

 

I would compare prices on the OEM reg/rec vs. the Trail Tech unit. I converted mine to DC power but I used a Ricky Stator DC kit for the XR4 because I also wanted the bigger generator but you can get just the R/R and battery from them to do it. I have not priced it out but it most likely would be cheaper and easier than getting the OEm Honda quad parts.

[byracki]

I think the trail tech stuff, including the Voyager (not 100% though) can run from the stock AC on the XR. It would still rely on an internal battery for trip memory and stuff but the bike would power it when the motor was running.

 

I would compare prices on the OEM reg/rec vs. the Trail Tech unit. I converted mine to DC power but I used a Ricky Stator DC kit for the XR4 because I also wanted the bigger generator but you can get just the R/R and battery from them to do it. I have not priced it out but it most likely would be cheaper and easier than getting the OEm Honda quad parts.

a. A new quad R/R is $32 off eBay and includes the plug and wire terminals to attach to the wires. Not genuine Honda, but a third party manufacturer and assumed to work as advertised.

The battery is $20 off eBay as well. Just 10x Nimh AA in a brick with wire leads.

 

b. Holy freaking crap. All of my literature that came with the Voyager says it takes DC voltage of 12-60v. No where does it ever even mention AC direct from the stator will work. So you got me looking through the internet:

 

http://www.dirtrider.com/community/staff-blogs/trail-tech-voyager-gps

 

http://www.trailtechproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Voyager_FAQ_s.html

 

Both places I would say are reputable sources. And they clearly say AC power from the stator will work. This made everything 100x easier if it actually will work.

Edited June 16, 2016 by byracki

[Chuck.]

Call Trail Tech, great technical support!!!!!!!

[byracki]

Tested a jumper wire off the blue headlight wire. Totally dead Voyager kicked on and started reading RPMs.

 

So I wired it in directly behind the headlight. It flashed on and off every second as I was riding it because my back light timeout was set to 1 second for both external and internal battery configurations (attempting to save battery in the past). It was doing this flashing because what the unit is actually doing is switching between charging and running on internal battery.

 

Because of this, the back light will NEVER turn off because every time the unit thinks it 'connects to a charger' or 'disconnects from a charger' the light comes on again. But a very small inconvenience to suffer in order to never need to run a charging cord to my bike.

 

After riding only 10 mins or so, the battery had stopped flashing low voltage and was charged to one bar.

 

Big thanks to michigan400 for mentioning that it might be AC compatible!

Edited June 16, 2016 by byracki

[Trail Tech]

Tested a jumper wire off the blue headlight wire. Totally dead Voyager kicked on and started reading RPMs.

 

So I wired it in directly behind the headlight. It flashed on and off every second as I was riding it because my back light timeout was set to 1 second for both external and internal battery configurations (attempting to save battery in the past). It was doing this flashing because what the unit is actually doing is switching between charging and running on internal battery.

 

Because of this, the back light will NEVER turn off because every time the unit thinks it 'connects to a charger' or 'disconnects from a charger' the light comes on again. But a very small inconvenience to suffer in order to never need to run a charging cord to my bike.

 

After riding only 10 mins or so, the battery had stopped flashing low voltage and was charged to one bar.

 

Big thanks to michigan400 for mentioning that it might be AC compatible!

 

Our Voyager GPS computer can ONLY charge off of DC power, AC power will ruin the Lithium Ion battery.

[byracki]

Our Voyager GPS computer can ONLY charge off of DC power, AC power will ruin the Lithium Ion battery.

Is this Voyager user manual somehow incorrect?

 

http://trailtechproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Voyager_Users_Manual.pdf

[Trail Tech]

Is this Voyager user manual somehow incorrect?

 

http://trailtechproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Voyager_Users_Manual.pdf

That is not from our website, and is outdated information. Here is the current user manual, http://gallery.trailtech.net/media/instructions/computers/voyager/Voyager_Users_Manual.pdf. 

[byracki]

That is not from our website, and is outdated information. Here is the current user manual, http://gallery.trailtech.net/media/instructions/computers/voyager/Voyager_Users_Manual.pdf

Thanks for the updated manual.

 

Voyager was halfway confirmed to work with AC, but in the long run it proved bad on the battery. Hence why the manuals were updated.

Edited June 18, 2016 by byracki

[byracki]

My original plan involved replacing the entire XR regulator with EX reg/rect... but dumby me, the EX headlights are DC, not AC. While it may have still worked, I modified my plan to match the new wiring diagram I attached below.

 

The unregulated AC from the stator is now split between the stock AC regulator and the new 400EX quad reg/rect that is mounted on top of airbox.

 

From the 400EX reg/rect, I am getting 12v DC that will charge a 12v volt-2000 mAh battery on top of the airbox.

 

The power wires of the GPS are connected directly to the battery.

 

Works like a champ. The 400EX reg/rect should charge and also prevent overcharge of the 12v battery.

Thanks again to Alex at trail tech support (Same trail tech guy that posted this thread) for clearing up my question about Voyager on AC. That gave me the incentive to wire it in how I knew was right, but was hesitant to do.