LED turnsignal question

[karlfitt]

I am looking at putting LED turn signals on the front of my bike.
The shop has Resistors they also sell (seperatly) to keep the blink speed lower, since the LED's draw less current, so the flasher then speeds up.

My question is, what value are these resistors?
I don't reall want to pay $25.00 for $2.00 worth of resistors because someone else packaged them. But I also doubt the shop would let me check them with my multimeter without buying them.

Any help is appriciated.

[pgman]

I would just measure the resistance of the lamp that is in there now and find something close - it doesn't have to be exact. It is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of just a few Ohms. If you have dual-filament lamps on the front you will want to get a resistor that is closest to the LOWER of the two filament readings. The higher reading is your running light (dim) filament.

Personally, I just bought a new electronic flasher unit for about $30 and wired it in place of the OEM unit. This solution has one significant advantage over the resistors - it actually reduces the load on your electical system. Using reisitors puts the same load on as if you still have the OEM incandescent lamps (which is why the OEM flasher will still "think" the OEM lamp is in place). If you are planning to add additional lighting down the road, this can become a concern. If not, the resistors will do just fine.

Make sure you get resistors that are heavy enough (I wouldn't go less than 20 Watt) and don't mount them somewhere where they can get up against other wires or any plastic parts - they could get quite hot in normal use (depending on their power rating).

[karlfitt]

Electronic flasher sounds like a good idea.
Did you just use an automotive unit?
Or is there a bike/other use one I should look for?

[pgman]

I apoogize - for the life of me I can't remember where I got mine at this moment. I will have to go through a stack of papers later and find the receipt. The memory is the first to go... In my case it was a product marketed toward motorcycles but, since it is a basic two-wire design, it would work in a car as well. You are probably going to need a factory wiring diagram (or a good third-party one - the Clymer and Chilton ones are not always accurate) to do what I did. The reason being that I bought a flasher that was actually meant (and marketed) for a Harley cruiser. I have a 2001 Suzuki Marauder (VZ800) and your bike may be completely different in terms of the turn signal circuit design. I had to spend some quality time with my shop manual before I knew which wires to cut (to bypass the old flasher and insert the new one). It took me about an hour to figure it out and I must admit that I cut the wrong wire the first time! SuperBright LEDs now has a two-wire flasher for $13 that would have done the same thing mine does - too bad they didn't have these when I did my conversion. Super Bright LEDs - Tail Brake/Turn Bulbs

Also, I am not sure that your bike would be compatible with the same flasher so it would be worth doing some more research before you decide how to tackle this. The company I linked you to above has great prices and a huge selection of LED products but their people only know how to answer the phone and take orders - you have to know what you need.

I will look tonight to see if I can find the place where I bought my flasher unit. I should tell you, though, that there are many places on the web to buy them so a telephone call to one of these places may go a long way toward finding the right solution.

[karlfitt]

The link you posted has the same resistors the MC shop is trying to sell me for $27.00 at $5.00, I think each though, but still less than half the price.

I will check on the flasher circuit.

[SKTR]

Originally Posted by karlfitt

The link you posted has the same resistors the MC shop is trying to sell me for $27.00 at $5.00, I think each though, but still less than half the price.

I will check on the flasher circuit.

I bought LEDs for my reat directionals from Custom Dynamics which now provide running, brake and turn signals whereas the originals were directionals only. Personally love the difference and have tons of compliments on improved safety aspects and increased visibility from the rear. Now to the point you address, I required and bought my resistors from a local auto supply store (Murrays Auto Parts) and paid $6.99 for the pair as I remember. They are heavy duty ballast type. I would be glad to check them for ohms / power rating if that would help you. Jim M

[pgman]

I measured the current on a lighted 1157 (the bright filament, which I am almost certain is the same output as an 1156 lamp). At 12.75VDC, the current was 1.6 Amperes. This works out to roughly 7.9 Ohms, so anything around that should work fine. 8 Ohm dummy loads [a.k.a. non-inductive wire-wound resistors] are pretty easy to find in all sorts of power ratings. At a slightly higher Voltage (which is what you will have on the bike) the current number will go up a little so my guess on the Wattage was pretty close. The OEM signal lamps are right around 20 Watts, so I would go for a 25 Watt resistor (at least) unless you want them to run completely cool to the touch. A 25 Watt will still get warm, but probably not enough to burn or melt anything and only if you sit with your signal on for a LONG time (or ride down the road six miles with your signal on - but that never happens to any of us).

This modification is well worth it in the end - no matter how you decide to do it. I modified my tail light this weekend with LEDs and it is WAAAY brighter and faster than before. It may be the best (for my safety, at least) mofication I've done so far. I am going to do the wife's bike next weekend and then I can start adding all the other flashy lights.

[karlfitt]

I bought some LED turn signals for the front, housing and all.
I got some 20 Watt 8 ohm resistora at Radio Shack.

All worked, but I do not like how dim the turn signls are. So the stockers are back on the front for now.

With the link you posted, i want to modify the rear run/stop lights on my bike.
Right now, the center bulb is the run light, and the outside two are stop lights. i want to get three 1157 holders, then 3 1157 LED bulbs and make all three run/stop lights.

i am still ooking for a solution to the front turn signals.