Indicator flash rate

Hello folks!

Purchased 4 LED indicators, and have also got some resistors from Hein Gericke.

Now, I was testing them this arvo, and plugged in the resistors and the indicators, just on one side (left-hand side, one at front, and one at rear).

However, the flash rate is still fast.

Do I need to have all 4 indicators and resistors in before the flash rate will drop?

[keith_d]

Nope. One side should be enough.

You did connect the resistors in across the LED's didn't you. The supply from the relay should connect to the +ve end of the LED array and the resistor. The other end of the resistor and the LED go to ground.

Regards,

Keith.

Originally Posted by Gnome

Hello folks!

Purchased 4 LED indicators, and have also got some resistors from Hein Gericke.

Now, I was testing them this arvo, and plugged in the resistors and the indicators, just on one side (left-hand side, one at front, and one at rear).

However, the flash rate is still fast.

Do I need to have all 4 indicators and resistors in before the flash rate will drop?

[cbay]

I bought this! It works! I didn't use it in the end but it works perfectly to sort out the problem, no cutting wires, fits perfect!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=390145732006

PLUS extra postage, was through my front door within like 2 days.

Is that not only for the pointy models though?

Mine's an X-reg Curvy.

Keith: Hein Gericke bless them, have made things a lot simpler for folks like me, and colour-coded the wiring so you plug it in the right holes. If you plug it in the wrong way round, the indicator doesn't flash at all.

Now, here's a piccie of the new indicator, and the resistor:


Also, here is a vid of the flash rate. This is with both the front and rear indicator installed on ONE side only (The same side before you ask!):

Try wiring in an old indicator as well and having it somewhere that can't be seen, that should slow down the flash rate. It worked on my bike (also a curvy).

Originally Posted by Kat1986

Try wiring in an old indicator as well and having it somewhere that can't be seen, that should slow down the flash rate. It worked on my bike (also a curvy).

Yeah, don't really wanna do that though, as it clutters up under the rear seat cowl.

Think I'll be returning the resistors, and getting a relay instead.

You'll need both resistors in for both of the left hand side indicators to slow down the flash rate, and the same for the right hand side.

RE: your picture. Did you get any instructions with this? It could be that you plug the indi yellow wire to the yellow wire on one side of the resistor, and the black indi wire to the black wire on the other side of the resistor. The wires from the bike would then plug in to the remaining black and yellow wires from the resistor... Just a thought, without seeing it on the flesh it's hard to say how it should be wired.

If you're unsure it's best not to try this though, it may end up popping fuses.

If you have an Ohmeter, you can quickly check by measuring across either of the black/yellow pairs with the resistor disconnected. If you get a low reading, probably around 10 Ohms, then you are using it correctly. If the reading is higher than around 20 Ohms, then you either have a duff resistor, or a crappy product. If the reading is very low, around 1 Ohm or less, you are using it the wrong way, or you have a duff part.

Just watched the video you posted, it looks like the flash rate is slower than it would be without the resistors, which would mean they have been fitted correctly. Looks like it might just be a crappy product.

Originally Posted by Philbo

I posted a wee guide to this years ago, but can't find it anymore so...

A regular lamp, say 21 watts 12V will draw 1.75Amps.
An LED has a much higher impedance, (fancy word for resistance), which will only draw about 0.02Amps for every individual LED in the indicator. Say 0.2 Amps in total for a 10 LED indicator.

As the flasher rate changes depending on the amount of current being pulled, we need to make it think the regular indicators are still in circuit.

You can do this by adding resistors to mimic each indicator lamp. But what size? I'll do this twice, for 21W, and 23W lamps.

21W Lamp

R=V/I V=12 I=? (R - resistance in Ohms, V - Voltage in Volts, I - current in Amps, W - wattage in Watts)

I=P/V = 21/12=1.75

R=12/1.75 = 6.8 Ohms

23W lamp

I=23/12 = 1.9 Amps

R=12/1.9 = 6.3 Ohms

Not a huge difference between the resistor sizes for the two different lamp sizes.

Resistors only come in certain sizes anyway, and the two sizes closest are 6.8 Ohms or 7.5 Ohms.

You might have noticed that I haven't adjusted the calculation to take account of the current, (Amps), being drawn by the new LED indicators, which will draw current through the same circuit as the resistor. However I am going to look at this now to help influence the choice of resistor, 6.8 or 7.5 Ohms.

I'll look at the 7.5 Ohm resistor.

I=V/R = 12/7.5 = 1.6Amps + 0.2Amps (rough guesstimate for the LED indicator) = 1.8 Amps - Right in between the two sizes of bulbs which pulled 1.75Amps and 1.9 Amps. So the 7.5 Ohm resistor will pull a current which is very close to the current pulled by either of the two standard lamps.

So I'd recommend the 7.5 Ohm resistor. But what wattage?

P=IV = 1.6 x 12 =19.2 Watts. This is your minimum wattage. You could use a 7.5 Ohm 25Watt or 50Watt resistor if you wanted to.

So that's a 7.5 Ohm, 20 or higher Watt resistor - per LED indicator. Just wire them across the same wires as the LED indicators. Doesn't matter which end goes to negative or positive, they're not polarity conscious components. Jobs done.

20 Watts is a standard size, and relatively easy to get hold off. Be aware though that running a resistor on it's limit like this will produce some heat, and could get bit hot if you don't allow it to cool off, either by switching it off, (remember it's never on for more than a second or two as it flashes), or by cooling it in some way. Depending on the type of resistor you buy, clamping it to a metal surface can be a huge help in dissipating any heat generated.

If you struggle to get this size you can use 8.2 Ohm 20 watt resistors. Or use two resistors in "parallel", (wired side by side, not one after the other). To do this double the resistance to 15 Ohms, another standard size, and half the minimum wattage to 9.6Watts. Again 10 Watts is a standard size.

If you want to you can fit the resistors for the front indicators in "Parallel" with the resistor for the rear indicator, which could make it easier to tuck away, especially on a naked bike. So that means both resistors for the left hand indicators are fitted in "parallel" with each other, at the left hand rear LED indicator. Same idea for the right hand pair of indicators and resistors.

Another option if you only want to fit one resistor for the left pair, and one resistor for the right pair, would be a 3.3 Ohm or 4.7 Ohm 50 Watt resistor, (again standardised sizes), fitted across the rear OR front LED indicators only. A bit harder to get hold of these sizes of resistor though, and not as close to matching the power consumption of the standard lamps. Although it would still be damn close in terms of flash rate.

If you did go for this option you would need to make sure your flasher unit could handle the 43.2 Watts consumed by the 3.3 Ohm resistor. Because the 3.3 Ohm standard size is less than the desired 3.75 Ohms, it pulls a bit more current and consumes a bit more power. Safer option is the 4.7 Ohm resistor.

OR..

You can just buy a replacement flasher unit for LED indi's!!!

Full explanation above! Depending on how much HG are charging for the resistors it might be cheaper to buy a another set and wire them in parallel. i.e. on the left hand indicator circuit you would have 3 resistors wired in circuit instead of two. Just a thought...

Well, did a test without the resistors, and they flash exactly the same speed!?!

Wired them in now without the resistors in - think I'll be taking those back!

Flasher relay to be purchased next me thinks...