i was wondering if anyone has a solution to this problem. my turn signals blink way too fast, i have to get my bike inspected in May, and they have to be slowed down by then according to japanese law. any suggestions would be great, or if anyone knows of any type of relay anyone sells anywhere. Any info would be fantastik. Thanks!

 

I believe there is a turn signal relay on eBay that will solve your problems. I think LED's cause the system to act too fast so you get "hyper" speed on your turn signals.

 

isnt there some way to just add an inlineresistor or something to slow it down?

 

There is a resistor that you can run parallel to each blinker that is made to slow them down. I don't know exactly what its called, but it just clips on to each wire going in and out of each blinker.

 

all you need is a resistor of the correct amperage then the rapid blinking will stop. it's cause LED take up so little juice the system thinks the bulb is burnt so it makes it flicker all fast.

 

If you want to mutilate your wiring, by all means, use the resistor method. they get hot, they look like hell when you're done, and isn't a permanent fix. if you want it clean and elegant, use a relay. set of 4 resistors casts more than one new relay, and you can use it with ANY light set up.

 

what do you mean that resistors aren't permanent? please elaborate.
as far as mutilating...if you're a hack and you hack it all up...yea looks jacked...

 

Right.

Many people are going to LED's for looks alone - however - the long distance crowd go to LED to get more electrical overhead for gadgets.

If you use a resistor, instead of changing the flasher unit you're just wasting the power... that won't matter to most.

First - most flashers are thermal flashers. They heat up, the bimetalic strip bends, they loose contact, they cool, and gain contact again. A certain wattage is needed to heat the wire up - if you decrease the wattage you change the rate of the heat/cool cycle. With the setup on most bikes you get a fast flash situation - the same as you get on many cars when a bulb is out. Same reason, lower wattage draw.

Anyhow - the best solution is a time based flasher. Much more work, and more expensive. The cheapest, easiest, and most wasteful solution is just a resistor. Trial and error will work, but people have done that guess work already... probably find it easily enough here or on the web now that you know what you're looking for.

The relay solution is interesting, but I'm not sure how it would 'trick' the thermal flasher without wasting power. I'm not an electrican, only a hobbist wire splicer.

Woot.

 

say you get LED flushies for the front. flash rate increases and you **** resisters in there. problem fixed. later on you decide that you want LED rear signal too. you install them and the rate goes up... AGAIN. now you have to **** MORE resistors in there. later on, you feel you want to trade in your bike and to get the most out of it, you return it to stock. well, now that you've got all those resistors installed, the damn lights don't work at all. Oh great, guess i'll have to remove them. so you do. turns out the **** job you did shortend the power cable by JUST ENOUGH that you have to splice in a new peice of wire. anouther **** job on all four lights.

or

you replace the relay and install the lights. flash rate remains the same. change out the rear lights. flash rate remains the same. go back to stock. flash rate remains the same.

i know what i'd do.

WOOT More expensive? MORE WORK? what the hell dude?! It's costs MAYBE $20. it's a direct replacement to the factory relay, THE THING THAT MAKES THE LIGHTS FLASH. it's not thermal at all. it's ALL about amperage draw.

 

great explanation! yes...if you keep splicing it you do **** jobs...and yes the resistors get hot. relay method sounds really good, but for the most DIY without much knowledge, just eagerness to pose...they will do the **** job...so i say...do a how to and show them the better solution.

t