One of the mods I'm doing to make more power available for accessories is changing out the existing incandescent OEM turn signal lamps with LEDs. Note I said lamps, not the turn signal fixtures.
Obviously the turn signal relay had to be changed out (I used the Competition Werkes MPH-U2R) to deal with the 'fast flash' syndrome...easy job.(See Post #3 in this thread for an explanation of fast flash)
Next came the selection of a replacement lamp; the front and rear turn signal lamps are Philips 10293 RY 10W NA (amber) with a BAU15s base. I wanted an equivalent amber LED lamp with similar or superior lumen output and much less wattage (on the order of 2-3W/lamp). I bought some thru eBay and they arrived today:
They are a bit longer than the stock lamps, but still fit under the lenses. At $7 per pair I figured I'd give them a try...make sure you measure and don't get lamps that are too long!
They appear to have similar brightness to stock OEM lamps; the video below shows the results...one of the lamps (RIGHT side of the screen) is OEM incandescent, the other LED:
https://vimeo.com/179816312
One thing I noticed...the first time I plugged one in it flashed, but only at about 1/10 the brightness of the OEM lamp....very odd. So I removed it, then re-inserted it while the emergency flasher was running. Upon placing the lamp in the base it shone brightly, but when rotating it to lock it went to a very dim level of flashing. [emoji848]
I checked the connections to the socket, did some additional checking and discovered THIS:
It appears that the lamp manufacturer is so proud of their product they put a small sticker on each lamp with their name...this sticker is just enough of an insulator (the way Kawasaki constructs the Vulcan S socket it does not have 360-degree contact with the side) to reduce the voltage/current to the lamp.:
Detail of plastic lamp socket with side contact strip.
Peel the sticker off the lamp and it acts normally. Geez, what a science fair project [emoji849].
Time will tell how this new relay/lamp setup holds up to the abuses of Pacific NW roads and rain...stay tuned.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Obviously the turn signal relay had to be changed out (I used the Competition Werkes MPH-U2R) to deal with the 'fast flash' syndrome...easy job.(See Post #3 in this thread for an explanation of fast flash)
Next came the selection of a replacement lamp; the front and rear turn signal lamps are Philips 10293 RY 10W NA (amber) with a BAU15s base. I wanted an equivalent amber LED lamp with similar or superior lumen output and much less wattage (on the order of 2-3W/lamp). I bought some thru eBay and they arrived today:
They are a bit longer than the stock lamps, but still fit under the lenses. At $7 per pair I figured I'd give them a try...make sure you measure and don't get lamps that are too long!
They appear to have similar brightness to stock OEM lamps; the video below shows the results...one of the lamps (RIGHT side of the screen) is OEM incandescent, the other LED:
https://vimeo.com/179816312
One thing I noticed...the first time I plugged one in it flashed, but only at about 1/10 the brightness of the OEM lamp....very odd. So I removed it, then re-inserted it while the emergency flasher was running. Upon placing the lamp in the base it shone brightly, but when rotating it to lock it went to a very dim level of flashing. [emoji848]
I checked the connections to the socket, did some additional checking and discovered THIS:
It appears that the lamp manufacturer is so proud of their product they put a small sticker on each lamp with their name...this sticker is just enough of an insulator (the way Kawasaki constructs the Vulcan S socket it does not have 360-degree contact with the side) to reduce the voltage/current to the lamp.:
Detail of plastic lamp socket with side contact strip.
Peel the sticker off the lamp and it acts normally. Geez, what a science fair project [emoji849].
Time will tell how this new relay/lamp setup holds up to the abuses of Pacific NW roads and rain...stay tuned.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk