[vscoy00]

So my bike (1996 Vulcan 1500L-C3) is finally coming back together and ive moved onto aftermarket blinkers/brake lights -- I want to upgrade to LEDs. Heres the brake light I want:

I made sure that the blinkers for the front are dual filament bulbs so I can have flashing signals....

NOW heres my questions: Will I have to install relays to slow the rapid-blinking most people experience with aftermarket LED blinkers? IF so, will any type that I can find on amazon.com work, or do I need specific ones...I was thinking something basic like this:

Thanks for all the help so far guys, bikes starting to look better!

 

[sunnybob]

So my bike (1996 Vulcan 1500L-C3) is finally coming back together and ive moved onto aftermarket blinkers/brake lights -- I want to upgrade to LEDs. Heres the brake light I want:

http://www.amazon.com/Ediors-Integrated-Taillight-Eliminator-Kawasaki/dp/B00MMUM3BA/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1421431115&sr=8-12&keywords=motorcycle+brake+lights

And the Blinkers for the front:

http://www.amazon.com/Short-Stalk-Signal-Black-Filament/dp/B002SZN764/ref=sr_1_36?ie=UTF8&qid=1421431831&sr=8-36&keywords=dual+filament+motorcycle+turn+signals#productDetails

I made sure that the blinkers for the front are dual filament bulbs so I can have flashing signals....

NOW heres my questions: Will I have to install relays to slow the rapid-blinking most people experience with aftermarket LED blinkers? IF so, will any type that I can find on amazon.com work, or do I need specific ones...I was thinking something basic like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFXJHRI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AROFT13VPEY5E


Thanks for all the help so far guys, bikes starting to look better!

brake and running lights are fine as LED's. the problem is only with the flashers, which rely on the resistance of the filaments to time the flash. Low resistance (led's) equals very rapid flash. The easiest way to rectify this is to fit a "non load" flasher unit, widely available at auto parts stores, which just works as a timer. Other wise you will need resistors in each sides wiring to take the place of the filaments load.

 

[vscoy00]

brake and running lights are fine as LED's. the problem is only with the flashers, which rely on the resistance of the filaments to time the flash. Low resistance (led's) equals very rapid flash. The easiest way to rectify this is to fit a "non load" flasher unit, widely available at auto parts stores, which just works as a timer. Other wise you will need resistors in each sides wiring to take the place of the filaments load.

Thank you for the help!! Could you maybe provide me some insight to what a non-load flasher unit is, and maybe a link to something that would work on my Vulcan?

Thanks!!!

 

[sunnybob]

Thank you for the help!! Could you maybe provide me some insight to what a non-load flasher unit is, and maybe a link to something that would work on my Vulcan?

Thanks!!!

I dont live in the USA, so have nowhere to point you, but an auto parts store will sell you a "timed " flasher unit, as opposed to a "reisistance" unit.

 

[vscoy00]

Okay. I ordered the resistors as they were super cheap. Thanks for the information!

 

[VulcanDrifter]

There's not much of an advantage of going to LED's on these bikes unless you're wanting to redirect the 'saved' power (power can't actually be saved on these bikes) to some other accessory. LED's in theory last longer than regular incandescent bulbs but is there another reason why you want to change? Just curious.

 

[vscoy00]

Well the front are standard bulbs, but the rear is the LED unit.

The reason being is I trimmed the rear fender and want a minimalistic look, and this unit (link in original post) is very small and is all-in-one blinkers/brake/running/license plate light.

Here is a response from a fellow rider that I got on reddit.com (no one seems to be able to help me get these blinkers working, but this response is the best ive gotten thus far)

"You could be connecting them perfectly correctly but it still won't blink the turn signals and here's why. The turn signal relay (what makes the lights blink) works by having current trip a fuse after X seconds which then resets after it cools down. When you only have one light hooked up at a time (front or rear) it wont cause enough current to trip the relay, so the light just stays on. SAME THING WITH LED's! LED's use VERY little current compared to blubs, so they wont trip a standard turn signal relay. If you switch to only LED's you need to get an LED turn signal relay which has a lower tripping current."


AND:

"Don't mix bulbs and LED's. They have different current draw and might make your blinking relay not work. I've posted about it before and how it works, if you really want, go look for it in my previous posts.

Try to get ONE thing working at once, pick either the front or back. Us reading YOUR Bike/light wiring diagrams and trying to trouble shoot 2 different installations is going to be labor intensive and very boring (and that's coming from an electrical engineer).

Having said part 2, lots of bikes are wired differently, you need to find someone who knows your bike and has both of those mods or a lot of time on their hands.


Thoughts?

 

[VulcanDrifter]

Ahh ok. Didn't realize there were already LED's in there from the factory. As the Rededit dude points out, an electro-mechanical flasher does require a minimal amount of current to work properly. Typically, they contain a 'bi-metal' strip wound with the wire feeding the lamps. When the lamp is on, the current passing through the wire around the bi-metal strip heats up bending the metal which at some point breaks off the current. When the strip cools, it makes contact again and the process is repeated. LED's draw little current, typically not enough to cause the metal strip to heat up enough to bend enough to break contact. In an older vehicle this is easily resolved by swapping the electron-mechanical flasher for an electronic flasher, one that does not rely on the heating and bending of a bi-metal strip. Electronic flashers have been available for years and used by folks that pull trailers which would have the opposite problem - the additional trailer lights pull too much current causing the lights to flash too fast. On modern bikes, I don't know if one can simply swap out the flasher for an electronic one or not as the ECU may play some role in the flashing (as in self cancelling signals).