P3 & P3+ Lights
™
►9. Turn on the motorcycle’s ignition and check for correct operation. If the LEDs only
come on when you activate the brake, the tail light and brake light wires are reversed. If
the LEDs do not come on at all, you may have reversed the ground and tail light wires, or
improperly installed the crimp connectors. All inputs are protected, so no damage will be
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caused by incorrect wiring. ►10. Place the P control module under the seat or in the tail
light section of the motorcycle. Secure it in place with the provided zip ties.
Programmable Triple-Function Lights
Tail Light / Brake Light / Emergency Flasher plus Voltmeter (P3+ version)
Installation Instructions (more details may be found at: P3Lights.com)
►1. Mount the two aluminum LED brackets between the license plate and its mounting
bracket on the left and right sides using the screws and nuts provided.
►2. Attach an LED module to each bracket using the supplied locking nut (7 mm wrench).
►3. Route the wires from the LED modules up through the tail section of your motorcycle
and under the seat. Ensure that the wire insulation is not pierced by sharp projections on
your bike. Use the provided zip ties to secure the wires.
►4. Locate your motorcycle’s tail light, brake light and ground wires. (* For the BMW
R1200RT, K1200GT and K1300GT, see note below)
►5. With reference to the sketches on the right, unscrew the gray end
on one of the small, red, cylindrical Posi-Tap connecters. Insert the
first wire identified in step 4 above into the slot of the gray end
(Sketch 1). You may need to spread the two halves apart a bit,
depending upon the gauge of wire used. Then screw the red body
firmly back onto the gray end (Sketch 2). Repeat steps 1 & 2 for the
other two wires.
►6. Remove the red end from the connector attached to the tail light
wire, and insert the RED wire from the Control Module into it
(Sketch 3), then insert this back into the connector body, and tighten
firmly. In the same manner, connect the BLACK wire from the control
module to the ground connector and the WHITE wire to the brake light connector.
►7. Locate the remaining, flat thin black cable coming from the control module and the
LED modules. The two wires in these cables have been split into
3 silver wires
a silver and a copper colored wire.
Twist together
►8. With reference to the sketchs on the right, twist all of the three
silver wires together (2), then take one of the supplied, grey, twist
Insert
connectors, unscrew the end and push the silver wires into the
Hand tighten
connector as shown (3). Screw the end back on and firmly hand
tighten (4). Do the same for the three copper wires using the second grey connector.
LED Module Alignment
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IMPORTANT: In order to maximize the conspicuity of P Lights to vehicles behind you, it
is very important that the LED modules be correctly aligned. Sit on the motorcycle on level
ground, and have an assistant stand approximately 50 feet directly behind the vehicle.
Then adjust each LED module by bending the aluminum bracket so the LED beam is
angled very slightly upward such that the maximum brightness is visible to the assistant.
P3 Operation
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The P Lights operate as a combined tail light, brake light, emergency flasher and
3+
voltmeter (P version).
Tail Light
In tail light mode, the dual, 12-LED modules rapidly alternate between a higher and a
lower intensity. The modulation rate has been carefully chosen such that it maximizes your
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motorcycle's visibility, without being distracting. P Lights have been designed to take
advantage the difference in persistence of vision between the eye's central field of view
and its peripheral view, and incorporate a high-speed microprocessor and fast-acting,
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high-intensity LEDs to accomplish this. When viewed directly, P Lights appear not to
flicker, yet when seen out of the corner of the eye they have a noticeable flicker,
significantly enhancing your motorcycle's conspicuity to drivers who are not looking directly
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at your bike. Tail light modulation may be enabled or disabled by reprogramming the P
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Lights. The intense point-source lights used by P Lights cut through fog and haze, and
make them highly visible over a long distance, unlike your stock tail light.
There’s even a high-brightness setting you can enable in low-visibility conditions.
* On the BMW R1200RT, K1200GT & K1300GT, use the front parking light wire instead of the tail light
wire. Connect one end of the separate, black extension wire to the front parking light wire using the gray/
red Posi-Tap. Attach the other end to the RED wire from the Control Module using the all red PosiLock
connector.
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Brake Light
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When the brake is on, P Lights have 3 possible operating modes:
● turn on normally, with a steady, high-brightness light
● modulate 4 times, then revert to a steady mode
● modulate rapidly 4 times, then more slowly 4 times, then revert to a steady mode.
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Emergency Flasher Operation
Should you need to pull over in a high traffic area or you're in a situation where traffic
behind you needs to be warned of an emergency ahead, you can quickly switch your
P3 Lights to one of 3 different emergency lighting sequences:
● continuous flash twice per second, similar to 4-way flashers
● rapid continuous flash, 5 times per second
● quad flash: flash rapidly 4 times, pause, then repeat
Emergency mode is saved when the ignition is turned off. This allows this mode to come on
with your motorcycle’s parking lights. You can then remove the key without disabling the
emergency flasher. Emergency mode is cancelled as soon as the brake is activated.
Programming Details
P3 Lights can quickly and easily be programmed to any of several modes.
When the ignition is switched on, a programming window is enabled for 5 seconds. Simply
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activate the brake a given number of times within this time period, and your P Lights are
reprogrammed! The end of the programming window is indicated by a brief flash of the
lights. Do not activate the brake again until you see this flash. All modes are programmed
independently, and remain in the selected mode when the ignition is switched off.
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To program P Lights, turn on the ignition, then, within the first 5 seconds, activate the
brake the following number of times:
BRAKE LIGHT PROGRAMMING
4 no brake light modulation
5 brake light modulates 4 times,
then stays on
6 brake light modulates 4 rapid/4 slower,
then stays on (default)
TAIL LIGHT MODES
10 toggles tail light modulation ON/OFF
Default is ON
12 toggles tail light brightness between
normal (default) and high brightness mode
EMERGENCY FLASHER
7 medium repeating flash: 2Hz
8 rapid repeating flash; 5Hz
9 quad flash
Note: i. emergency flasher is disabled
upon application of the brake
ii. emergency mode is saved on power
off. This allows you to switch your
motorcycle’s parking light on, which
reactivates the emergency flasher, and
then remove the key.
Note: Depending upon local regulations, the user may want to disable tail light modulation
and/or brake light modulation.
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Voltmeter (P
3+
version)
When the ignition is turned on and the brake is not activated, the P3+ will generate a
series of sequential flashes indicating the battery voltage. For example, if the battery
voltage is 9.2 volts, the P3+ will flash the LEDs 9 times, then pause, then flash 2 times,
indicating 9.2 volts; for 10.7 volts, the P3+ will flash the LEDs 10 times, then pause, then
flash 7 times, indicating 10.7 volts. If the battery voltage is 12.5 volts, the P3+ will flash
once, then 2 times, then 5 times.
Once the battery voltage has been displayed, there is a brief pause, then the P3+ reverts
to normal tail light operation. If the brake is activated at any time during the above
sequence, the P3+ will immediately revert to normal brake light operation.
Specifications
Current draw: tail light 100 mA, brake light 390 mA instantaneous, 150 mA continuous
Operating voltage: 9 - 16 VDC
Intensity regulation: LED intensity is controlled by an internal current regulator to
maintain brightness even under low voltage conditions.
Angle of half intensity: 4°
Wavelength: 612 nm
Voltmeter accuracy (P3+): ±0.1 V
Control module dimensions: Length: 2.36" Width: 1.58" Height: 0.59"
Control module weight: 1 oz.
LED module dimensions: 3" x 0.625" x 0.35"
LED module weight: 3/8 oz.
Fully compatible with BMW CAN-bus
Fully compatible with BMW 2-phase brake light firmware that illuminates a singlefilament brake light as a tail light, as used on the R1200RT and other models.
Comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome.
Please email us at: support@P3Lights.com
www.P3Lights.com
Intelligent lights for the intelligent rider.™
P3 and P3+ are trademarks of Skene Design, LLC.
Patent Pending
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© 2010
Skene Design
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