LED turn signals

[VegasVMax]

I want to put LED turn signals on my 05. I have seen articles that say I need a led relay. Does anybody know where to get a LED relay that is plug and play? I have looked and cant seem to find one. Or maybe somebody has hard wired one?:confused2:

 

[naughtyG]

It's really easy. Just go to any car parts shop and buy a 2-pin electronic flasher relay.

Then remove your left scoop, and out of the big Yamaha flasher relay connector, either cut or pull out the pins for the Brown and Brown/White wires, and connect them to your new relay.

I velcro'd mine to the top of the fuel pump relay (smaller one next to it) as it fits there perfectly.

 

[MaxMidnight]

The downside of fitting a different relay is that you will loose the self cancelling function. For us duffers this is not a good thing to do!

An alternative is to fit ballast resistors in parallel to the LED's which will mimic the load that the bulbs would present to the relay.

 

[naughtyG]

I agree with Steve, however I fitted LED blinkers that came with ballast resistors yet they were still flashing irregularly (maybe the ballasts had a weird ohm value) so I did forgo the self-cancelling in favour of the electronic flasher relay

 

[[email protected]]

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=10877

 

[VegasVMax]

Is it one resistor per light or per pair? What size resistors do I need? Will a 10 ohm 25W do the trick?

 

[donnelly317]

HIGHLY recommend this from moto lume " used to be clear alternatives" I bought it for my fzr100 had intergrated tail and led fronts you can adjust the flasher with allen head to whatever speed you feel fit. No resistors needed
http://stores.motolume.com/Categories.bok?category=Flasher%3AADJ-2&nval=30_1

 

[Diablotin]

I just set up my LED signals with stock flasher and the mod in the dashboard (diode) for avoiding the 4 way blinking. Blinking rate a bit fast, but no so noticeable.
In a nutshell, I did the same as Mike's write up but I ended up not needing the custom dynamics flasher.

 

[rollin thunder]

The downside of fitting a different relay is that you will loose the self cancelling function. For us duffers this is not a good thing to do!

An alternative is to fit ballast resistors in parallel to the LED's which will mimic the load that the bulbs would present to the relay.

I did ,the ballast resistors and it works great .They are plug and play .Got them off of ebay.

 

[bazwell]

Ballast resistors waste power, thus negating the power saving of having LED's.
The flashers can be changed for a car one, but there is a couple of things to consider.

Firstly, the flasher needs to be "variable load". However, some variable load flashers need a minimum amount of current going through them to work. These flashers are for people who are adding more lights and more power drain. So they work for if you add some extra bulbs to your truck or something.

So, what you need is a variable load flasher with a low minimum current. These ones are normally marked as suitable for led's. However, if you change one pair of lights for LED, and the others are still bulbs, you might have to read the power rating. Some that are suitable for LED's don't have enough power to run one led, one bulb, and one more bulb in the dashboard!

Be wary.

I think that a lot of people recommend Custom Dynamics brand, as they are tried and tested.

 

[MaxMidnight]

Ballast resistors waste power, thus negating the power saving of having LED's.

It's probably down to my lack of imagination, but I had never considered reducing electrical power consumption as a reason for fitting LED's....

Running lights and tail lights I can, perhaps, understand that, but not indicators.

......unless, of course, you have fitted a solid state flasher unit and habitually leave them on.
But then in that case you are more likely to have an accident as some moron will pull out on you assuming you are about to turn!

 

[Miles Long]

It's probably down to my lack of imagination, but I had never considered reducing electrical power consumption as a reason for fitting LED's....

Running lights and tail lights I can, perhaps, understand that, but not indicators.

Agree completely. The reason for lighting is to be seen by the cagers.
Which is why I'm sticking to the big ass n'ugly OEM "lollipops". 1156/57 bulbs are bright as hell, available anywhere, inexpensive. And to gain an extra 25% lumens, just change to a 2357 bulb (also a nice upgrade for the stock tail/brake light!)
If I ever find a source for incandescent signals of a more modern shape - rectangular preferably - that also use 1156/57 bulbs, then I'll switch over.
Just my old school, nasty old man opinion.
Cheers!

 

[satariel666]

But LED`s themselfs do not emit more lumens then bulbs...

Im also one of those people who do not understand the idea
of using leds with ballast resistors...v-max stator is not running
with extra ton of juice anyway...

 

[Bill Seward]

I just added resistors to my signal circuit to slow down flashing speed. The signals came with T10 wedge bulbs (filament, not LED), and because of the lower wattage, flash too fast.

Resistors fixed the problem, and I have a set of amber LED bulbs on the way to swap the filament bulbs for.

I realize that adding resistors did increase the current draw for the signals - but a 50 watt resistor (6 ohms) doesn't draw more than the 2 standard bulbs in the stock signals. If the bike is charging OK with the stock signals (as mine is), there's no change in current, and the bike will continue to work as before.

Besides, turn signals are used intermittently. You can ride for hours, and use the signals once or twice - and the resistors are "wasting" no amps at all, because the lights are not lit.

I got the LED's for the signals because these lights turn on and off instantly, and to me at least - that seems more attention grabbing than a light that has to "warm up" - even if it's only for a fraction of a second..... (That may be due to some recreational substances I enjoyed back around 1968's effect on my eyes .

 

[MaxMidnight]

I realize that adding resistors did increase the current draw for the signals - but a 50 watt resistor (6 ohms) doesn't draw more than the 2 standard bulbs in the stock signals. If the bike is charging OK with the stock signals (as mine is), there's no change in current, and the bike will continue to work as before.

Besides, turn signals are used intermittently. You can ride for hours, and use the signals once or twice - and the resistors are "wasting" no amps at all, because the lights are not lit.

I got the LED's for the signals because these lights turn on and off instantly, and to me at least - that seems more attention grabbing than a light that has to "warm up" - even if it's only for a fraction of a second..... (That may be due to some recreational substances I enjoyed back around 1968's effect on my eyes .

I agree with Mr Sewards comments regarding the current drain and that any difference would, in the real world, be insignificant.

As to whether they are more visible or not I'll let others discuss that although the conjecture does seem reasonable.

Another advantage would be that they are less likely to fail.

I recall some time ago reading the difference in reaction time to seeing an incandescent stop light versus a LED item.
Whilst it was only fractions of a second, to an approaching vehicle, this could significantly affect how soon it stops.

Several feet could be the difference between a near miss and a nasty rear ender!

Seemed like a strong argument for swapping the tail light for LED's

 

[naughtyG]

I do love both my rear LED taillight/stoplight and my LED flashers, for one they look great (IMHO of course) and also they are bloody bright.

 

[wildweasel_pt]

I completely agree with Bill Seward... The power drain is insignificant (like stock bulbs at most if equivalent power resistors are installed). They will never burn (under normal operations) and they are quicker to show off and on. No problems with melting the lenses like happened to me once due the extra heat from bulbs... And today there are very bright leds really cheap. The resistors are good to keep the self cancelling feature as well...