Turn signals

[kaanderson822]

I wired in some new turn signals because the original one broke off. I just used the original wires from the original turn signals and attatched LED's. When i turn on the turn signal the lights just turn on and do not blink. Does this mean my signal relay is bad or am I heading in the wrong direction?

[terrylee]

I'm not electric a guru, someone will come along who knows for sure, but I think you have to replace your oem flasher with modern one for led lights. Should be able to get one at any auto parts store. Also would be great idea to post what bike you have, some have three plugs on flasher if have self cancelling turn signals, others only two if they don't. terrylee

[cableguy]

You either need a resistor to create the load necessary for the flasher to flash, or replace it with an electronic flasher. The latter will make the self canceling not work.

[Steve]

As good as we are, we still can't read minds, ... what bike are we discussing?

Please generate a signature that mentions your bike so you don't have to remember to mention it each time.



Terrylee and cableguy are both correct, but it also depends on your bike. Your turn signal flasher needs to see a certain load, which the LEDs are not providing. You need to either add a sufficient load (the resistor that was mentioned) or change your flasher. If your bike has self-cancelling signals, you will need to be aware that changing your flasher will eliminate your self-cancelling feature. THAT is why we need to know what bike you are working on.

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[kaanderson822]

It is a 1980 suzuki gs850G. It does not have the self cancelling turn signals.

[rustybronco]

Although they might not work, your bike did come with self cancel turn signals.

[AJ]

Strongly recommend going with a modern "electronic" flasher unit. You can buy a Tridon unit from an autoparts store for about $10. That's cheaper than adding the load resistors which is a stupid solution to the problem - they get hot and I've seen some of the cheapo chinese ones burn up (neighbor's bike).

[Steve]

It is a 1980 suzuki gs850G. It does not have the self cancelling turn signals.

That's funny. My '80 850G(K) has self-cancelling signals.

Look on the housing for the turn signal switch. Above and to the right of the switch, do you see the word AUTO? (Can you still see any lettering at all? )

Another test, just in case somebody might have changed the switch:
In the stock switch, there are actually FIVE positions, we will number them from left to right:
1. Activates the LEFT signal, and is spring-loaded to return to #2 position.
2. Holds the LEFT signal ON until the cancelling system turns it off.
3. Manual cancel of either signal.
4. Holds the RIGHT signal ON until the cancelling system turns it off.
5. Activates the RIGHT signal, and is spring-loaded to return to #4 position.

The self-cancelling system will turn off the signals when you have moved at a speed greater than 10 mph for more than 10 seconds. This means that they will flash forever while sitting at a light, but will cancel once you get going around the turn. Out on the highway, if you turn the signal on for a lane change, it will flash about ten times, then cancel.

Many people are aggravated by the system and remove it, probably because they don't know how it works and don't like it turning off before they want it off or because it stays on longer than they feel is necessary. Personally, I like the system and deal with its limitations. Since I know that it will cancel early if I turn on my signal as I am approaching a traffic light, I simply re-activate the signal (move the button to #1 or #5 position) to restart the timing cycle just before I come to a stop. This ensures that my signal will stay on for the duration of the turn.

By the way, the same thing happens with my Wing, so even with all of its improvements, it's basically the same system. The Wing also has a sensor to determine that the front wheel is straight and will turn the system off, but that is the only "improvement".

.

[kaanderson822]

The words are in fact gone on mine But before i replaced the original lights with the LEDs they stayed flashing even after i went 10+mph. So as long as I buy the tridon relay for example that should solve my problem?

[Steve]

MAYBE.

Have you verified five postions on the switch?

If you simply remove the stock flasher and plug in a generic 3-prong flasher for LEDs, you will probably get ... NOTHING.

That is because the third prong on the stock harness is the trigger wire from the control unit. ANY aftermarket 3-prong flasher will have that third prong (oh, yeah, they are not all in the same position, either) looking for a ground, so you will have to re-wire your flasher. A simple adapter or wire extenders would work. Extend the two prongs that bring in power and take away a flashing power, run the third wire straight to a ground point.

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[BassCliff]

Hi,

My bike came with auto-cancelling turn signals. When the factory flasher went bad I replaced it with an off-the-shelf part and I'm now using Superbright LEDs in the turn signals and brake light.

I've documented my modifications on my little website. See: Turn Signal Relay Replacement


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[PPPPPP42]

OK, so this is basically what I was about to ask, I plan to replace my smashed turn signals with LED's also.
I was under the impression that even with the electronic flasher it will still blink too fast from the lack of resistance, can someone confirm that it will actually work without the resistors?

EDIT: Just going to go with this:

http://www.customdynamics.com/trick_flasher.htm#Standard_DOT_Flasher

for the 4 LED turn signals as its fairly cheap and designed for no load which I don't believe is true of a regular electronic flasher.

I had future plans to make the turn signals stay on as marker lights with a second filament. That complicates this as I would have to choose an LED light that has 2 power levels with an extra wire or something. I was planning on just converting to 1157 bulbs originally.