led turn signals

[vwdoctor3]

I just added new led turn signals. now my directionals light up but dont blink. I have tried a couple of different flashers.
they worked before I replaced them with the led's & when I plug my old directionals back in they work fine. & if I just plug 1 led directional in that side wont work. hhhmmm, stumped.

[runewolf]

Search the tech info section of this forum for LED and you will find many suggestions for adding a flasher unit for a car to your bike, the LED's do not draw enough power to make our unit flash.

[Go Mifune]

Sounds like you need a resistor of some sort. Try connecting a stock type bulb and the turn signal at the same time in parallel if they both work normally then you definately need a resistor.

[baldbastard]

You can get LED specific flashers which need to be grounded, that's what I did. One thing you should be aware of though...make sure the terminals match up.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my LED specific flasher wouldn't work, so I made a little harness of my own, and through trial and error I discovered that either a PO did some creative wiring somewhere,
or not all flashers are routed the same way....

[vwdoctor3]

its a 1977 gs 750 "very simple system". I have tried a car flasher unit and a couple different flashers. I did see there was a led flasher unit available in the book I ordered the led blinkers from. I have ordered that and will see if that corrects it.

[scotschult]

I just put LED's on mine, and the fix is actually pretty simple. Head down to your local parts store (I found mine at Checker, hanging with all the lights, LED's, etc.) You need a resistor. Mine was labeled as an "LED Resistor". It's about 1/2 inch square, by about 4 inches long. One end of the resistor goes to the positive T/S lead, the other to ground. You're just adding more resistance to the system to "fool" your flasher. I put LED's in the rear only, and needed one per side. If you're doing all 4, you may need 4, I'm not sure. For me, this was easier and quicker than searching flashers. Hope this helps!

[hp1000s]

I'm not an electrical wizard, so I'll ask a question here;
Wouldn't an advantage of the LED lights be less strain on our light-weight charging systems; and if so, wouldn't installing a resistor re-load the system?
I know it's only a momentary load. Maybe I answered my own question.

[jtolbert]

An LED on its own will draw less power than a bulb. However, if your flashers don't work, well, what's the point of having the LEDs? The flasher depends on a certain amount of "load" on the system to flash. Six of one, half dozen of another...I have no desire to replace my bulbs with LEDs in the turn signals unless I can find a system that actually works without requiring resistor hacks.

[Killer2600]

I just put LED's on mine, and the fix is actually pretty simple. Head down to your local parts store (I found mine at Checker, hanging with all the lights, LED's, etc.) You need a resistor. Mine was labeled as an "LED Resistor". It's about 1/2 inch square, by about 4 inches long. One end of the resistor goes to the positive T/S lead, the other to ground. You're just adding more resistance to the system to "fool" your flasher. I put LED's in the rear only, and needed one per side. If you're doing all 4, you may need 4, I'm not sure. For me, this was easier and quicker than searching flashers. Hope this helps!

It's the opposite, your reducing the resistance in order to draw more current so the flasher will operate the way it should. LED's use alot less current than the regular bulb.

An LED on its own will draw less power than a bulb. However, if your flashers don't work, well, what's the point of having the LEDs? The flasher depends on a certain amount of "load" on the system to flash. Six of one, half dozen of another...I have no desire to replace my bulbs with LEDs in the turn signals unless I can find a system that actually works without requiring resistor hacks.

They have such LED bulbs, but adding the resistor really isn't a hack it's the proper setup. The LED bulbs that don't require the use of a resistor already have one built in.

[Cathy344]

Which all begs the question, why not replace the now errant flasher module (errant in that it expects more current to be drawn to actuate its flashing function than the newly installed marker lights are capable of drawing) with a new flasher module that doesn't have that limitation, and by replacing the high current flasher module, actually lower the current load on our bikes' precious electric systems.

I plan to eventually fabricate, from the microcontroller, discrete LEDs, and PCB layout software on up, my own truly custom LED marker and tail lights. Part of my design will include things like glitzy LED animations for when the bike is parked or high-speed flashing for when emergency stopping, or chaser turn signals, or whatever else I can think to program into the EEPROMs. This will necessitate the removal of the stock flasher module/ blinker relay as it will no longer have any function to perform at all. My blinker function will be handled at the microcode level in the lighting effects microcontrollers.

My singular worry in such a project is selecting LEDs of appropriate brightness for day and night use, and sufficient half-angle beam width to make my signals amply visible from the sides. Sites like http://www.lck-led.com/ offer many different LEDs that might cover the applications I have in mind, the question is getting right one to most accurately meet (or exceed) the performance of the stock incandescents I'm replacing.

Anyone know now many millicandelas, candles, lux, lumens, mcds standard tail-lights, head-lights, marker lights, and while we're at it, gauge lights put out? Obviously, incandescents' beam angle is determined by the geometry of the reflectors and housings in which they're mounted.

[jtolbert]

They have such LED bulbs, but adding the resistor really isn't a hack it's the proper setup. The LED bulbs that don't require the use of a resistor already have one built in.

I do know a thing or two about electronics and, IMHO, it's a hack. You're adding parts to sink away more juice. The correct solution would be to get a different flasher.

[vwdoctor3]

Which all begs the question, why not replace the now errant flasher module (errant in that it expects more current to be drawn to actuate its flashing function than the newly installed marker lights are capable of drawing) with a new flasher module that doesn't have that limitation, and by replacing the high current flasher module, actually lower the current load on our bikes' precious electric systems.

I plan to eventually fabricate, from the microcontroller, discrete LEDs, and PCB layout software on up, my own truly custom LED marker and tail lights. Part of my design will include things like glitzy LED animations for when the bike is parked or high-speed flashing for when emergency stopping, or chaser turn signals, or whatever else I can think to program into the EEPROMs. This will necessitate the removal of the stock flasher module/ blinker relay as it will no longer have any function to perform at all. My blinker function will be handled at the microcode level in the lighting effects microcontrollers.

My singular worry in such a project is selecting LEDs of appropriate brightness for day and night use, and sufficient half-angle beam width to make my signals amply visible from the sides. Sites like http://www.lck-led.com/ offer many different LEDs that might cover the applications I have in mind, the question is getting right one to most accurately meet (or exceed) the performance of the stock incandescents I'm replacing.

Anyone know now many millicandelas, candles, lux, lumens, mcds standard tail-lights, head-lights, marker lights, and while we're at it, gauge lights put out? Obviously, incandescents' beam angle is determined by the geometry of the reflectors and housings in which they're mounted.

HOLY S#!T.. who let EINSTIEN in on this conversation. girl you are way over my head, but if you can make a black box that just plugs into my exsisting harness I will buy it. I already have an audi in the drive way. and with 2 old gs's and an audi I dont have much time for creativity.

[vwdoctor3]

so I need to get my flasher relay to a full charge at a lower voltage or get the slew rate to change.
is there such a thing as a 6volt flasher ? would that work ?
with a resistor in line on the ground side that would just cause the voltage to stay in the circut untill the resistor reached its flood point and then discharged to its holding point so wouldnt a low capacitance flasher module make sense ????

now i'm realy confused....[-o< oh suzuki god hear my prayer.