How to: flasher relay for LED turn signal

tbakic

1st cafe project underway
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after seeing many threads about led turn signals and having issues with them not working and staying on, and seeing so many different answers and responses i decided to add led brake and turn signals to my bike and record the process and take pictures and make it as easy as possible for all to follow!!! now my bike is a 1980 yamaha xs400s
*NOTE YOU WILL LOSE AUTO CANCEL

First off it is easy folks, dont worry, 15min-1hour depending on how much u have to take off to access the relay!!!!

Materials needed:
tridon ep-34 signal flasher(advance auto parts $12.99)plugs right in, no switching required
6-10 inches wire, same gauge as factory
o-ring connector(crimp or solder on)
heat shrink tubing
soldering supplies
beer:thumbsup:

now the steps

1)remove all that is needed to access the flasher relay and battery, maybe you can access it with removing just the tank or maybe u need to take off more stuff, depending on the "stockness" level of your bike :) but here is where u need to get to.


2) unplug your stock flasher relay and plug in the tridon ep-34 flasher relay


3)peel back/cut(CAREFULLY)the covering on the wires going to the flasher relay. Cut the yellow/green wire(ground) going to the flasher relay plug, the end of the wire going to the wiring harness needs to be capped or covered so a bare wire is not exposed. Heat shrink tubing can b used and pinched at the top when heated, or electrical tape. The other end of the yellow/green wire that goes to the flasher relay plug needs to be extended to reach a grounding bolt(i used the one by the battery) Solder on a section of wire the end coming out of the flasher relay and cover it with shink tubing



4)crimp on or solder on a o-ring connector to the extended yellow/green wire coming from the flasher relay plug and connect it to ground(i used location by battery)


5)test your turn signals!!! everything should work, it did for me first time, took about 15min with a buddies helping hands!!! finish beer and put bike back together and enjoy your flashing led turn signals :bike:


Any questions, comments, things i could change on my how-to, help, feel free to pm me!!!
 
Hey man, I did about all the same steps and just got all four blinkers ticking? I wish it were that easy for me. Now my friggin signal indicator is dead and no blinky anymore! I guess I've got some figuring to do.
 
Very nice job. Nice pics.
You can get a similar flasher with just two prongs. I use one of the LF1-S-flat from www.superbrightleds.com This way you won't have to cut any wires Just plug and play.
This flasher has two wire leads in a plastic plug. Remove the wires from the plug, this leaves you two flat blades that plug right into the flasher plug. The red wire to the brown in the plug, the black in the brown/white wire in the plug.
Some come with a gray and black wire, just plug the gray in the brown, black to brown/white.
On a parts store flasher with two prongs, just plug it in where the brown and brown/white wires are.
Leo
 
:thumbsup:
Installed the ep-34 today exactly as you said and if works perfectly. Thanks again for the post!

Fuax
 
Will the el-34 work with normal signal lights as well as LED lights? I am currently running stock lights with plans to move to LEDs, but in the meantime I think my relay is going to die. I would love to simply install the LED relay so I can move to LED signal lights no problem.
 
Both my blinker wires are getting power from the left or right so looks like I have hazards on either way I go! Any idea
 
Does you turn signal indicator use a .light for each side or one for both sides. If one for both sides you have to add diodes between the two indicator leads and where they come from.
This stops the cross feeding on the indicator bulb. The two indicator bulbs should work just fine.
Leo
 
While working on my auto-canceller replacement I happened across an alternate solution for this.
I ordered 5 sets of 2.8mm 6-pin connectors compatible with the auto-canceller plug for my other project but realized they should work for this too.
The connectors can be found pretty cheaply on ebay. Cycleterminal.com also carries them.

The yellow/green wire from the flasher normally goes to the auto-canceller.
With a new connector it can be jumpered to one of the ground pins without modifying any of the bike's wiring:
20150403_212601-1.jpg

Only just crimped it up tonight. Will test it once I get my motor back into the frame.
 
Greetings everyone,

First of all, nice work on the demonstration - I will be using it in the near future. Before I do though, I must ask (since I've no experience with LED turn signals), do you need to add resistors between the power lead and the LED signal? I know LEDs use less than 12V so I would imagine you'd fry them if you give them power of that amplitude.

Thanks for your help,

J
 
Led replacement bulbs are designed to run on 12 volts. The big difference between LED a regular bulbs is current draw. Regular turn bulbs draw 27 watts. This draws about 1.8 amps. Most LED bulbs draw a lot less. I can't find a current rating right at the moment but as I recall somewhere around .25 amps.
Resistors are used to bring the current draw back up to what a regular bulb has so stock flashers and self cancelers work.
I don't recommend resistors, get an LED compatible two prong flasher. Plug it in to the stock flasher socket so the two prongs line up with the brown and brown/white wires.
This bypasses the self canceler but after 30+years they aren't to reliable. Just learn to shut the turns off.
Leo
 
The hazard effect is caused by the single turn signal indicator. energy is crossing over the filment causing all four lights to flash. The best fix is cheap enough, also from superbrightleds is the metric convert
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/flashers-load-resistors/metric-bike-diode-kit/1190/2805/

Of course you could make one for a fraction of that price (currently $2.29 USD) by using a diode, and about 3 wires about 10 inches long (for the red blue, and black) and the 2 diodes.

Just incase your looking at the green circles, and wondering what the heck...
The green circle represent your bike turn signal indicator, and the black thing on the left is the wire running off to the Left or right turn signal wires.
http://www.xs400.com/media/albums/590/
I have put some pics on the albums when I did this a couple years ago.
 

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Led replacement bulbs are designed to run on 12 volts. The big difference between LED a regular bulbs is current draw. Regular turn bulbs draw 27 watts. This draws about 1.8 amps. Most LED bulbs draw a lot less. I can't find a current rating right at the moment but as I recall somewhere around .25 amps.
Resistors are used to bring the current draw back up to what a regular bulb has so stock flashers and self cancelers work.
I don't recommend resistors, get an LED compatible two prong flasher. Plug it in to the stock flasher socket so the two prongs line up with the brown and brown/white wires.
This bypasses the self canceler but after 30+years they aren't to reliable. Just learn to shut the turns off.
Leo


Leo

Thanks a lot for clarifying the use of resistors ... I knew I had heard of them before but I couldn't find the thread. As far as auto-cancelling ... yea ... mine doesn't work anyhow and I also have a 1985 Honda Nighthawk 700S that doesn't have auto-cancelling signals so no biggie. I ordered some aftermarket LEDs so this weekend I'll get them rigged up.

Thanks again,

- J
 
Just did this on my 81 special ii, worked perfectly, didn't have to cut wire, I detached factory one then ran new wire for the ground so nothing was permanently modified. Thanks again for the great how to.
 
Very nice job. Nice pics.
You can get a similar flasher with just two prongs. I use one of the LF1-S-flat from www.superbrightleds.com This way you won't have to cut any wires Just plug and play.
This flasher has two wire leads in a plastic plug. Remove the wires from the plug, this leaves you two flat blades that plug right into the flasher plug. The red wire to the brown in the plug, the black in the brown/white wire in the plug.
Some come with a gray and black wire, just plug the gray in the brown, black to brown/white.
On a parts store flasher with two prongs, just plug it in where the brown and brown/white wires are.
Leo
Hi Leo,
I have a 79 xs400 and I just bought this flasher, and I am confused about where and how this plugs in...
I'm really new to bikes and REALLY new to working on them. I'm not even sure I can find the relay, is it possible you have any pictures that can help me out?
Thanks,
John
 
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