KymcoForum.com

I need an instrument cluster for my Xciting. Older style or newer I don't care I just need one that works.

Well here is my problem, when I shut the bike off something is remaining energized. The only way I can keep it from killing the battery overnight is to disconnect the battery.

Here is what happens:
I drive the bike,
I get to my destination,
I turn off the bike,
The bike shuts off as normal but, the oil pressure light comes on,
If if put the kick stand down the kick stand indicator comes on,
If I put it back up it goes out but the oil light remains on.

I only mention the kick stand light to show that other systems are operating normal. I know that the kick stand light should come on with the initiation in the off position.
When I start the bike the oil light goes out as it should.

I am sure there is more but I have not seen it as of yet. I feel there is a relay that either is not releasing or that the ignition switch is somehow not operating right and is keeping something on.

Has anyone seen this before? Does anyone have any ideas as to what may be causing this problem? I am looking for a direction as this weekend I will be pulling the faring and starting to get it fixed.

Any and all help is much appreciated.

I have anothera new upgrade on my scoot. My last upgrade was a great HID headlight upgrade. Here is a link to that thread.
http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=24316.0

Here I will be changing all other indicator lighting to LED's. I will also be changing the 1156 (single filament) outlets to 1157 (dual filament) outlets to make the switch back lights function as I need them to. I am not recommending specific parts. I will tell you that all parts came from eBay. No one sponsored a single part or opinion here. I paid for everything myself.

The Scoot is still the Kymco Xciting 500cc 2007 to 2010 version. However there is little difference in doing this job on any scoot. I did it to my other scoot a CF Moto E-Charm just before I sold it. The only challenging portion of this was the changing of the sockets that hold the bulbs from single to dual contact.

Well first you need a few tools. Here is a photo of what I used. Nothing fancy just the basics.



With my scoot I have a GIVI trunk and mount.  This was the first part that need to be removed because the support arms block the removal of the clear tail light lens and the seat and liner block all access to the bolts retaining the light. housing. Also it is clearly necessary to remove the seat and full under seat trunk liner.

With these out of the way I have clear access to all areas and can now start removing the light housing.




I already love the factory brake/tail LED array. Although this design is a bit dated as compared to what can be bought now it is still a very bright assembly that I will not be doing anything to.



On the Xciting there are no less than 6 bolts you need to remove to allow the removal of the entire rear light housing. Very few of them are easy to get to. But full removal is necessary so you can perform all the work needed easily on your bench.



Once you get it free its time to go to the bench. On my scoot I have electrical connections going to my trunk, so the small cover panel had to come along also.






It is at this time I also removed the front of the scoot so I can also take it to the bench to modify the light sockets and to get to the flasher unit which also needs to be replaced.(If you need to see how to remove the front please look to my http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=24316.0 thread as there are good instructions for the Xciting there.)

The factory flasher unit will NOT work with LED lights unless you go and add the resister packs that some recommend to use. I do NOT recommend you use the resistor packs as they take away one the biggest factors for using LED's, power savings.



Now the we have our parts on the work bench it is time for the technical part. This is not difficult really it just requires good attention to detail and time. Proceed slowly and methodically and this will work perfectly for you the first time.

Lets look at the bulbs I am using for this.

The front is getting set of white (6000K) / amber switch back LED bulbs. These bulbs will have a normal running of white giving much greater frontal illumination to the scoot in both day time and night driving. When you turn on the turning signal the white will shut off and the amber LED's will illuminate and the white will turn off. One second after the turn signal has canceled the white light will re-illuminate.

The rear is getting a pair of red / amber switch back LED bulbs. These I am wiring so they illuminate red when the brake is pressed and amber when the turn signal is used. These light up differently then the front light set. If you are just driving and turn on the turn signal they will light up and flash amber. If you are just driving and hit the brakes they will just light up in red. Now if you are braking and turn on the turning signal it will alternate red/amber/red/amber. As soon as you turn off the turning signal it will just remain steady red if the brake if still pressed. Now you can buy these to act like the front ones but I felt that the changing of the red to amber would garner more attention than just flashing amber. But you can buy either.

Also keep in mind that you could wire your rear lights to be running lights so they are always on. Or you can add a strober to the front lights causing them to flash like many older motorcycles have done with their headlights. It is up to you. All these options and more are just up to you. If you have any questions please email me.

Here you can see the dual contact pig tails I bought and a pair of LED bulbs. These bulbs are the Red/Amber ones.




Seeing that we are going to be putting a offset bayonet 1156 bulb into a 1156 socket that in not made for off set bayonet we have to remove one of the bayonet nipples on the bulb base. this is easily done with a file and the use of elbow grease. Looking at the photo below you will see that the left bulb has both nipples while the one on the right has had one removed carefully. Don't worry, it will not come out as I have put over 500 miles on the bike since this mod was made with ZERO issues. So remove the nipple that is further from the bottom of the bulb.





You will need to cut the wire that goes into the socket and remove the original pig tail.



Now you can remove the spring loaded base from the socket.




Now grab the dual contact pig tail you have and take the bottom fiberglass round part off and replace it with the bottom fiberglass and rubber seal from the pigtail you just took off the light housing.
Before


After



Now you have to understand how the dual pig tail needs to be orientated in the socket. Note the locking pin is 90 degrees to the contacts on the bottom of the bulb. Now in the socket in this light housing has the locking pins going vertical. This means that the pigtail contacts must line up horizontal. So sometimes this is easy, and sometimes it is not, insert the wires through the front of the socket and pull the contact base into the socket keeping the contacts horizontal. Below is a 1:30 video showing how I install the bulb at this point and figure out which wire powers each color.



Here is another 1:30 video that shows the connections and the testing.



Here is another 1:30 video showing both turn signals hooked up and the brake light circuit hooked and all tested.



Again as I said in the video seal your connections. Heat shrink, or self sealing connectors, or I like using self vulcanizing electrical rubber tape. If you leave this stuff open you are asking for problems down the line.

Now you have to do the same to the front just as you have done to the rear. I'm not going through all that here as the process is identical to what you did here.

Here we have to now change the flasher unit.
The flasher unit is located up front close to the forks.
 







Kymco uses a is 3 wire flasher unit.




This is what the LED flasher unit I bought looks like. Notice how the unit is marked positive (+), negative (-), and load (L). Fairly self explanatory I think. Now you will have to use your meter to determine (or brake out the wire diagram you can download on line) what color wires are +, -, and the load. Now doing your Kymco Xciting please see the below photos this may help.




Also please take notice of the rod coming out of the top of the unit. This goes to the adjustment for how fast you want it to flash. No matter what the load is it will flash at the same rate. So install the rear lights and set your flash rate. You want to do this before the next step.




Here I put a plastic bag over the unit. Do not fully seal it. If you do try to fully seal it you will trap moisture in it and cause more problems down the road. This method allows it to be able to breath while protecting it from a drowning from the top. I have used this method many times and it works very good. Now I was unable to find an adjustable one that was water proof for less than around $45. So if you need to have a water proof one then pony up and pay for it. This unit was around $6.




At this point you can put the whole thing back together again because all you have done should be finished.

Here is a video of a walk around of my scoot with all the lights functioning and showing what they do.


If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask below or email me.

Hello all. what I have here is a 45 minute upgrade that i feel anyone can do. This is simple and direct. If you can run a screwdriver you can do this with half your brain tied behind your back.

Here is the scooter with the OEM headlamp bulb installed.



First thing you have to do is locate all the screws that hold on the front cowell of you bike. To make this easier I have photos of their locations. Please remove the front one last and install it first when going back together.









Be careful with the screws. I did brake one while tightening it too much. So use caution.

Now unplug the harness and then take your headlamp assembly to a large bench to work from. So here is the back side of the cowell looking at the rear of the headlamp assembly.
Here I have installed the HID bulb already but you get the idea.



Here are the new and old bulbs going in and the next photo is of the wire harness that comes with the HID bulb. The bulb fits like a glove.





This is how I laid out the harness in the cowell. I had to try 3 different times to get it right. The sub frame parts on the bike kept on getting in the way so this is where everything ended up.



Here is the front view once reassembled.



Now if you look here you will see the beam from old first then the beam from old.







These photos were take about 45 minutes apart inside my shop at about 11am and 11:45am. Bright and sunny outside here in Florida and no lights on in the shop. all ambient lighting is from skylights.

Here is the front view side by side.





Here is a link to the videos I shot both are less than 2 minutes. this is really a very easy install and the difference will be huge. I will post photos and videos during the night of the finished product.





Forgive all the background noise I was running the autoclave during all this and it is noisy even more so with the heaters on.

Here is the euro style headlamp housing.



This is not my image. I am using it only to show the euro style headlamp housing.

In any event have fun and do this upgrade to your bike.


 

Well I got a deal and bought an '07 500. It really is a great looking scoot.

I do have a few questions that I hope someone can help answer.

What should I expect for gas mileage?
In the mornings or after the bike has sat for several hours the first few accelerations I hear a whine from the transmission. Is this normal?
Will the flasher module handle LED light bulbs?
I want to convert the headlight to HID any suggestions?

Well here is a photo of my scoot. I am planning to repaint it but still thinking about what to do.