New From DENALI: CANsmart Two-Wire Dimming Software Update

New Features For The CANsmart

DENALI’s CANsmart system has been a popular addition for BMW owners who want to leverage their bikes’ CAN-BUS system for controlling accessories like high-intensity driving lights, more powerful horns, and modulated brake lights.

Because the CANsmart is a software driven device, it’s possible to add features without changing hardware. and a good example of that is a recent change to allow so-called two-wire dimming on all CANsmart modules.

The current DENALI 2.0 system uses three-wire dimming, meaning that two of the three wires going to each light are power and ground, with the third wire carrying a dimming signal from the CANsmart. the DENALI light pods themselves interpret the data on this line and adjust their brightness accordingly. it’s a sophisticated, stable way to dim powerful lights. But other lights, including some of the previous DENALI pods, didn’t have the third wire, so they could not be dimmed by the current CANsmart. they would work but they were either on or off.

That’s no longer an issue thanks to a firmware update for all current CANsmart devices. (You can download the latest version of the CANsmart software here: one for PCs, and one for Macs.) and a change in configuration found in the setup software, you can have the CANsmart dim any kind of light you’d like to install, even cheap Amazon specials.

Setup is easy. Select the two-wire dimming option from the software menu, and wire the lights to the CANsmart, using red for positive and black for negative. You’re not going to use the yellow wire so clip it off or secure it somewhere.

Now the CANsmart will operate the same as ever, turning the lights on and off using the turn signal cancel switch. and then the dimming can be controlled using the wonder wheel.

Search our full listing of CANsmart applications and bike-specific bundles.