Ever use a CANsmart controller? Pretty cool device. Many new motorcycles today (and almost all new cars) have a Controller Area Network (CAN) of some sort. Instead of having huge fuse boxes, dozens of relays and miles of wiring the bike has several brains that talk to each other and the components. Want to blow the horn? Press the horn button, the computer gets the signal and then sends current down the network to the horn. I wanted to add auxiliary driving lights to my bike for night riding in desolate areas. Years ago you would wire the lights direct to the battery through a relay and a fuse, then have a wire from the relay to the light switch and to some connection that only has power when the key is on, like a headlight or taillight wire. The problem these days is that with the advent of LED lighting, not everything gives out a steady 12 volt signal for the relay to see. Plus, modern LED auxiliary lights are dimmable, and using the relay method means you lose out on the dimming feature.
This is where the CANsmart controller comes in. It connects to the bikes wiring using an inline OEM connector, and talks to the bikes CANbus. There are 4 outputs on this device that allow you to hook up lights, a horn, heated gear, additional turn signals, brake lights, tail lights, etc without cutting into any factory wiring. You connect this device to a laptop to program it with an easy menu driven application, and a few minutes later you are done. I set up my aux lights to be on at 10% during the day and 40% at night when using low beam, and then 40% during the day and 100% at night when using the high beam. I can also turn them on or off completely using the turn signal cancel button as the switch, and I can program the intensity on the fly using the OEM wonder wheel on the left grip. When I honk, the lights flash like a strobe for the duration, and when I use my turn signals the aux lights turn off for the duration so that the signal is better visible. Pretty impressive. Could I have accomplished this without the CANsmart ? Sure, with enough wire, time, patience, logic, soldering, programmable relays, etc. I could have gotten this same functionality. It would take days, not minutes, it would cost significantly more and there would now be a few dozen crimped connectors on the bike, which are oh so fun to trouble shoot when something goes wrong.