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Aftermarket turn signals don't blink

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
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Anonymous

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I purchased some aftermarket short stalk turn signal/marker lights from Dennis Kirk for my 80 GS850. I hooked them but they don't blink... they light up, but they don't blink. My stock light worked fine before. I e-mailed DK to ask if the was a difference between marker lights and turn signals....... apparently not. The girl said I may need a LOAD EQUALIZER. Never heard of such a thing. Any ideas????

Thanks
Curt
 
Do the new signals use LED's or incandescent bulbs? If LED's, you'll either need a load balancer (basically, some resistors) or an electronic flasher.
 
All they state are single filament bulbs. So that tells me they are incadescent.
 
Re: Aftermarket turn signals don't blink

Were you stock lights dual element or single element? I the stock lights were dual element, then they were a three wire connection as opposed to the two wire connection you need for the marker lights. On the three wire connection, one wire is ground, one wire is always on, and one wire is the turn signal. you may have inadvertantly hooked up the always on/running light lead instead of the turn signal lead.

Earl

Curt Trenary said:
I purchased some aftermarket short stalk turn signal/marker lights from Dennis Kirk for my 80 GS850. I hooked them but they don't blink... they light up, but they don't blink. My stock light worked fine before. I e-mailed DK to ask if the was a difference between marker lights and turn signals....... apparently not. The girl said I may need a LOAD EQUALIZER. Never heard of such a thing. Any ideas????

Thanks
Curt
Click to expand...
 
Are you connecting the new lights to the same wires the old ones were connected to in the harness? Are the new lights/bulbs the same wattage/size as the old lights?

Earl

Curt Trenary said:
Stock are also single element.
Click to expand...
 
Same wires yes..... wattage I am not sure about. I will check that out.
 
The load on the flasher needs to be the same as original, so either fit the same wattage bulbs or put something in the circuit to increase the load
 
You could also try a solid state flasher - most automotive stores carry them.
 
A quick primer on standard flasher modules... basically there is a piece of "spring wire" inside that "springs" away from the contact when it heats up ... when it cools down (in a fraction of a second) it "springs" back and completes the circuit again. This cycle is what makes your lights flash. If your new bulbs are of lower wattage than the originals, you may not be creating enough resistance to heat up the flasher module and cause it to cycle. That's why you would need a resistor module.

An alternative would be to buy a new flasher that works at a lower wattage (or an electronic one that works regardless of wattage).

Good Luck!

Steve 8)
 
Turn signals

Turn signals

Your origional bulbs are rated at 23 watts(#1073bulb). If your replacements were of a higher wattage the lights would flash faster, more current drawn thru the bi-metalic arm of the flasher contacts due to the lower internal resistance of the bulbs. If they are of lower wattage they would flash slower or not at all, less current drawn thru the flasher, due to the higher internal resistance of the bulbs. Adding resistance to the circuit will only compound your problem. Adding a shunt resistance to draw more current would solve your problem but can get involved. Can you find a 23 watt replacement bulb for the new turn signal units? Easiest way out. Now for the obvious, turn signal assemblies are plastic. They require a ground connection to the bulb "socket". Not just to the housing. Check this out first. Jumper a wire from the socket to the frame to eliminate this possibility.
 
A simple, no cost solution is to take the bulb sockets and bulbs from your old turn signals and install them in your new marker light shells. You already have all the parts.

Earl
 
It could also be as simple as the signal is not grounding well enough to produce the load. One of my signals on the Yammie does it occasionally, i give it a slap and then it flashes.
 
So, can you control the flashing rate by increasing or decreasing your slapping rate? :-) Is that one slap for right, two slaps for left and a clap to turn the headlight on?

Earl :-)

Clone said:
It could also be as simple as the signal is not grounding well enough to produce the load. One of my signals on the Yammie does it occasionally, i give it a slap and then it flashes.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Turn signals

Re: Turn signals

MCMan said:
Planecrazy said:
A quick primer on standard flasher modules... basically there is a piece of "spring wire" inside that "springs" away from the contact when it heats up ... when it cools down (in a fraction of a second) it "springs" back and completes the circuit again. This cycle is what makes your lights flash. If your new bulbs are of lower wattage than the originals, you may not be creating enough resistance to heat up the flasher module and cause it to cycle. That's why you would need a resistor module.

An alternative would be to buy a new flasher that works at a lower wattage (or an electronic one that works regardless of wattage).

Good Luck!

Steve 8)
Click to expand...
Your origional bulbs are rated at 23 watts(#1073bulb). If your replacements were of a higher wattage the lights would flash faster, more current drawn thru the bi-metalic arm of the flasher contacts due to the lower internal resistance of the bulbs. If they are of lower wattage they would flash slower or not at all, less current drawn thru the flasher, due to the higher internal resistance of the bulbs. Adding resistance to the circuit will only compound your problem. Adding a shunt resistance to draw more current would solve your problem but can get involved. Can you find a 23 watt replacement bulb for the new turn signal units? Easiest way out. Now for the obvious, turn signal assemblies are plastic. They require a ground connection to the bulb "socket". Not just to the housing. Check this out first. Jumper a wire from the socket to the frame to eliminate this possibility.
Click to expand...

Ok, so just to verify what you're saying ... Higher wattage bulbs have a lower resistance than lower wattage bulbs? If so, thanks for the correction. I thought it was the other way around.

Steve 8)
 
Earl you're a funny guy :lol: :lol:
usually just hit it once and the connection is ok for the entire ride.
 
Re: Turn signals

Re: Turn signals

Planecrazy said:
Ok, so just to verify what you're saying ... Higher wattage bulbs have a lower resistance than lower wattage bulbs? If so, thanks for the correction. I thought it was the other way around.

Steve 8)
Click to expand...

/digs deep in to old military training...

P=IE Power (wattage) = I(current) * E(Volts)

So, if your voltage stays the same (12V) you need to increase current to increase wattage. Lowering the resistance raises the current in Ohm's law E=IR (R=Resistance in ohms)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
 
turn signals

turn signals

Right on Steve, Ohms law rules. The current draw of a lamp controls the heating of the flasher bimetalic arm. Example: My other ride, '72 Triumph Bonnie (check the avatar) takes a Lucas 382, 21W turn signal bulb. When the flasher went T/U I replaced it with an automotive flasher. The turn signals would not flash. The Lucas 382 draws 1.6 amps, with 2 in parallel, front & rear, plus the dash indicator, a 2 watt bulb, the total current draw is 3.35 amp. Replacing the Lucas 382 with the 1073 lamp (23w) the total current draw went to 3.75 amps, an increase of only 400ma. but the flasher now works. I dosen't take much.
 
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