Keyless Ignition Mod (Rocker Switch & RFID-enabled Smart Relay)

So after dealing with a melting contact armature for the fourth and last time, I said eff it and decided to tear the whole ignition out and replace it with some kind of keyless mechanism (thanks Saml01 for the inspiration). Yes Yes I know--why not find out why the contact arm is melting in the first place:ummm: But this was more fun HEHEHEHE:rofl_200:. Strapped for cash and space on the bike, I elected with a rocker switch and one of these Digital Guard Dawg RFID-enabled Smart Relays. Granted, this isn't a "totally keyless" solution because of the rocker switch, but at half the cost of Digital Guard Dog's alternative, hey...


EDIT: Digital Guard Dawg states that this gadget is a Passive Starter Interrupt System and that many insurance companies offer discounts up to 25% off of comprehensive coverage for a system of this type. So, I contacted my agent with this information and he adjusted my policy with a 20% discount. :eusa_dance:.



The Rocker Switch

Here's a "before" and "after" lineup.


1) After removing the ignition switch assembly, I separated out the circular contact plate.



2) Next, I snipped off the contact plate and attached some spade connectors I had lying around such that the brown wire that feeds the fuse box and the blue wire that feeds the various lights and signals were crimped into one; and the battery feed was crimped into another.



3) I got lucky and happened upon the perfect grommet/plug that was buried in the back of a specialty drawer of my local home improvement store. I drilled a hole in it for the 12V/30A rocker switch I got from the local electronics store.



4) I, then, made a grounding wire and assembled the pieces, insulating all exposed contacts with heat shrink.



5) Finally, I pushed the bundle into ignition switch hole of the cover and put the whole assembly in place.




The Smart Relay

1) The biggest problem with the Digital Guard Dawg Smart Relay, was that it is engineered with the assumption that the host bike's starter switch provides a Positive(+) feed. This is not the case of the VMax, which provides a Negative(-) feed. To counteract this, I spliced the starter wire to a 12V/30A automotive relay that is commonly found at any electronics store; and fed the output of the automotive relay into the Smart Relay.



2) Several feet of wire, solder, and heat shrink later, I ended up with the following "masterpiece". I used an old "coiled" car charger cable to keep the mess together in something somewhat aesthetically pleasing. Dang what a pile uke:. Oh well, wtf, it's not going on display. Hehehehe.



3) I strapped the bundle underneath the passenger seat pressing it against the toolbag and holding it in place with the seat's rubbery hold-down strap.




I suspect that there are a lot more elegant solutions, but I must say that I'm very pleased with the results. And now all I have to do is flip the rocker switch and press the starter button to fire 'im up; "cruise" down the road without worrying that the bike's gonna shut off because the contact arm suddenly melted; and flip off the rocker and walk away from the ride worry-free of would-be thieves.:eusa_dance:

Cool stuff. And who cares what the wiring looks like, it's hidden behind panels anyway. Pull the seat off my bike and it's a rat's nest of wiring for gauges and add-ons.

Problem is I never trust those keyless things. I will not buy a car that uses one. They usually have far too much range to them. If you're in a restaurant and the car is parked out front, someone can just hop in and drive away. They tested this on Top Gear and found it to be true, there's lots of youtube videos of people messing with this also. Sometimes it takes miles for the car to "realize" it's lost "sight" of the keyless thing, and some cars will not shut themselves down because if your car suddenly goes dead in traffic it's a safety hazard.

Same deal on those self-locking cars that use the same technology. You never "know" if it's locked, because by the time it does you're so far away you wouldn't notice. Come back to check and it automatically un-locks again. That's be extra-worry for me, since I don't trust technology for stuff like that. I'd rather just press the "lock" button on the door as I get out and see the little tell-tale shoot down.


Don't get me wrong, nice work though....first I've ever heard of something like this.

RaWarrior said:

Cool stuff. And who cares what the wiring looks like, it's hidden behind panels anyway. Pull the seat off my bike and it's a rat's nest of wiring for gauges and add-ons.

Click to expand...

Yep, I thought the same.

RaWarrior said:

Problem is I never trust those keyless things. I will not buy a car that uses one. They usually have far too much range to them. If you're in a restaurant and the car is parked out front, someone can just hop in and drive away. They tested this on Top Gear and found it to be true, there's lots of youtube videos of people messing with this also. Sometimes it takes miles for the car to "realize" it's lost "sight" of the keyless thing, and some cars will not shut themselves down because if your car suddenly goes dead in traffic it's a safety hazard.

Click to expand...

I had the same reservations, but I rest OK with the notion that I've adjusted the range so that the relay only enables when the fob is within 5 feet. Also the relay splices into the starter circuitry, so even after the relay automatically shuts off after the pre-programmed 30 seconds after losing communication with the fob in "automatic" mode, or after the 30-second shut off timer expires in "manual" mode, no worries of the bike shutting down while tooling down the highway as a result of the new electronics.

RaWarrior said:

Don't get me wrong, nice work though....first I've ever heard of something like this.

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Thanks

Looks great! :clapping:

RaWarrior said:

Problem is I never trust those keyless things. I will not buy a car that uses one. They usually have far too much range to them. If you're in a restaurant and the car is parked out front, someone can just hop in and drive away.

Click to expand...

I own a 2010 Mazda 6 that has the 'Advanced Keyless Entry' system that uses no key to open the doors or start the car, just a fob. I can't speak for other cars but the range on this is about 4 feet for whatever you are trying to use/open. Any further than that and it won't work. Like most things, it seems stupid until you use it. When you are carrying two bags of groceries and a child its nice not to fumble with keys, just touch the door handle to unlock. Its a novelty, and I'm sure it would cost big bucks to fix.

Its probably only a matter of time until this becomes mainstream on bikes, like ABS and traction control.

I think that its a cool and original idea Ninja!

Looks Great man!!!

Cool gadget. Have you taken a look at this before? I still have mine in a box to install it...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Moto...1654913QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

I think this could be worth a mod monkey award :clapping:

I checked that digital guard dog few months ago, found it a nice geek add-on to the bike but I didn't make any move yet, monkey is still behave lol
But damned, that's pretty cool With smaller switches like those:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Moto...1654913QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

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Wow! That's neat, but I'm not too sure about the "remote starting" feature--I always leave Max in gear out of fear of the bike rolling forward off of the side stand). I did Google up a cheaper "alarm/keyless/security", all-in-one gizmo, but the vendor never responded to my emails, so I figured that he was still trying to build up his clientele and his gadget was probably still in the introductory phase. I settled on DGD, because based on their website, and various other forums, that their products have been "out in the wild" for some time now.

regards from my tapatalking android...

ninjaneer said:

...but I'm not too sure about the "remote starting" feature--I always leave Max in gear out of fear of the bike rolling forward off of the side stand).

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It wouldn't start (or shouldn't) if it was in gear.

An interesting project - well done.

A couple of questions:

1) There are Type 1 & Type 2 relays listed. Which one did you use?

2) Am I correct in assuming that you still need the tag to enable but have to switch the system on as well?

3) If you need to have the tag then does this come with the relay or does it need to be purchased separately?

MaxMidnight said:

1) There are Type 1 & Type 2 relays listed. Which one did you use?

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Not really sure what you are asking. Please tell me which, if any, of the following responses answers your question

• if your asking about the two relays in my wiring diagram, then one is the DGD Smart Relay and the second is just an off-the-shelf automotive relay.
• if your asking about the two kits sold by DGD, then i bought the M1, which contains a "dawg tag" and a smart relay that controls starter solenoid. the DGD KIM is a smart module that turns on/off the entire bike as well as controls the starter motor.
• if "Type 1" and "Type 2" are industry terms to classify an "automotive" relay, then the best that I can offer is that it's the 12V/30A, 4 terminals (no 87a pin, not that it should matter), SPST, 160mA, 400-ohms, model sold by RadioShack

MaxMidnight said:

2) Am I correct in assuming that you still need the tag to enable but have to switch the system on as well?

Click to expand...

Correct. This mod could really be thought of as two independent mods--meaning the Rocker Switch mod can be performed without installing the Smart Relay, and vice versa. The particular kit I bought contains a DawgTag that signals the Smart Relay to complete the Starter Button-to-Starter Solenoid circuit. However, DGD does sell an "all-in-one, true keyless" model that also enables/disables the ignition switch on top of enabling/disabling the starter motor, but this is almost twice the price; and as such I elected for the "rocker switch" alternative.

MaxMidnight said:

3) If you need to have the tag then does this come with the relay or does it need to be purchased separately?

Click to expand...

the kit comes with one fob/tag and one relay. additional tags can be purchased separately.


Thanks for the kind words!

Thanks for the feedback. Ref the relays:

If you have a look here (top RH corner) they list Type 1 & Type 2.
A relay 'kit' is also listed so I guess that is what would be required?

Your decision to fit the rocker seems entirely reasonable.

Could you also arrange so that if the switch is activated when the tag isn't in range (by some errant skally for example) a loud voice announces 'Stand back the flame thrower device will activate in ten seconds!'?

Happy to give praise when warranted.
However, projects like this can be somewhat annoying - just when I think there isn't any more that I can do to my Max along comes something else!

Thinks: How can I explain yet another bike related package to Mrs Midnight?

MaxMidnight said:

Thanks for the feedback. Ref the relays:

If you have a look here (top RH corner) they list Type 1 & Type 2.
A relay 'kit' is also listed so I guess that is what would be required?

Click to expand...

Ahhh now I understand. To explain this, you have to keep in mind that DGD started making these with the intention of directly replacing the OEM starter relay. "Type 1" is a replacement for motorcycles with "full size" Start relays, "Type 2" is for motorcycles with "mini size" Start relays. Type 3 (or M1) is for Metrics without Start Relays (e.g., VMax). Go here to DGD's fitment page.

The M1 comes with an additional wiring harness that is suppose to be splice-n-play. However, as noted in my original write-up, not all metrics are the same and I ended up tossing the harness in the trash.

To be honest, because the VMax doesn't have an OEM starter relay, I'm thinking that the M1 is just a "Type1" with the extra donglings; and I would think that if you asked DGD, they would say that that replacement/standalone unit you found should work the same. But don't say that I said that . However, you would still need to buy a Dawg Tag and then synchronize it with the Smart Relay--and that, my friend, is something that I cannot help you with (the relay and tag that come in the kit are already paired by the factory)

EDIT: From your link it looks like RockyMountain is also selling the Type 2 with a tag. That might work as well. The additional harness that comes with the M1 kit is worthless and a "VMax"-specific kit might as well just be a smart relay and a dawg tag. The size of the relay is neglible and a smaller footprint might just be better. As long as the "Type 1" and "Type 2" relays behave as the "M1", then my write-up is applicable to all three packages.

MaxMidnight said:

Could you also arrange so that if the switch is activated when the tag isn't in range (by some errant skally for example) a loud voice announces 'Stand back the flame thrower device will activate in ten seconds!'?

Click to expand...

HEHEHE. That would be something now, wouldn't it.

MaxMidnight said:

However, projects like this can be somewhat annoying - just when I think there isn't any more that I can do to my Max along comes something else!
Thinks: How can I explain yet another bike related package to Mrs Midnight?

Click to expand...

HMMMMMMMMMMM

If the DawgTag battery goes dead do you loose info that operates the relays ? Another good mod Greg......:worthy::worthy:.just my .02 cents

alorio1 said:

If the DawgTag battery goes dead do you loose info that operates the relays ? Another good mod Greg......:worthy::worthy:.just my .02 cents

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Had the same question for them, well not exactly the same question, but similar--I was wondering how the information was stored. At any rate, the answer is "No", the information is not lost once the battery dies because the information is in stored non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) which retains the data bits and bytes through power cycles.

ninjaneer said:

Wow! That's neat, but I'm not too sure about the "remote starting" feature--I always leave Max in gear out of fear of the bike rolling forward off of the side stand). I did Google up a cheaper "alarm/keyless/security", all-in-one gizmo, but the vendor never responded to my emails, so I figured that he was still trying to build up his clientele and his gadget was probably still in the introductory phase. I settled on DGD, because based on their website, and various other forums, that their products have been "out in the wild" for some time now.

regards from my tapatalking android...

Click to expand...

What made me buy it wasn't the remote start eventhough thats cool. Having people looking around and start it from distance or just crank it for a second... that would awe for sure. My aim was the alarm and the remote engine stop and anti-hijack... and of course the price... And it works!!! the remotes are good quality also... For 26 bucks delivered i think we cannot ask for more... I will install it with a master switch so i can disconnect the power to the alarm inside my garage not to drain the battery...

Weasel, great find!

regards from my tapatalking android...

wildweasel_pt said:

What made me buy it wasn't the remote start eventhough thats cool. Having people looking around and start it from distance or just crank it for a second... that would awe for sure. My aim was the alarm and the remote engine stop and anti-hijack... and of course the price... And it works!!! the remotes are good quality also... For 26 bucks delivered i think we cannot ask for more... I will install it with a master switch so i can disconnect the power to the alarm inside my garage not to drain the battery...

Click to expand...

So I finally took a closer look at the "Steel Guard". Pretty neat for the price--an alarm system certainly would be nice, but it doesn't provide the feature that the monkey demanded. plus some of features don't seem practical for my situation.

• Vehicle overtaking: press the remote and lights will flash and siren will sound for 6 seconds to act as an overtaking warning signal Neat, but practical? I'm driving the bike and have to reach down and press a button on the remote to activate this? I'd probably never take advantage of this feature
• Remote engine start: if engine is not running, press the remote to start it from a distance Like I said in my initial reaction, I'd probably never use this because I leave my bike in gear and the starter cutoff circuitry would prevent this feature from performing the function
• Remote engine stop: if engine is running, press the remote to cut the power supply I don't know why this useful...maybe if i used the remote start function...but usually when i'm done with a ride, the first thing i do before hopping off the bike is flip the kill switch and turn off the ignition
• Anti-Hijack: when bike is in motion, press the remote to immobilize the engine and activate siren and lights i dunno, i was hoping of preventing the hijack before max was in motion; and even if i just caught the thief riding off with my bike that i left running unattended, how quick do i have to react and click the remote button before the bike is out of range?
  

Don't get me wrong, aside from the novelties, for the price, I think, it's an excellent bargain for a deterrent. However, my monkey harbored around a hands-free security system which (dis)armed based on my proximity and not a system which required a conscientious action each time I needed to (dis)arm the security measure.

Thanks for the information, I'm sure there are forum members who would prefer the Steel Guard unk:

Of course mate. Nothing similar these 2 "toys". What i didn't tell you is that i don't have the key ignition and i'll be replacing it by this remote control instead of the key... I used to have a electronic "key" control (A kind of a battery like button like used on POSs) to close the master relay (touch on - touch off) and it gone bad so this will be replacing that one... No key just a remote that goes on your pocket... Like i said nothing similar to what you are talking about but regarding the subject i thought it would please someone... Sorry for the hijack...
Below a pic of the sensor for the "key" embedded on the coolant expansion reservoir (top left cylindrical shape).