LED indicators.....

-XP-

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I've never understood why people mess with indicators, they're supposed to be big to be seen etc... but people seem obsessed with replacing them with crap. It just doesn't make sense?
 

Mark

Member
LED's can be brighter than normal bulbs with a smaller current draw, my gsa has them and no problems. My wife's guzzi 850t4 can hardly power it's ignition system these days let alone it'sindicators! We've got some led after market jobbies to see if I know which way she's going instead of guessing!
 

Lutin

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Mark said:
LED's can be brighter than normal bulbs with a smaller current draw, my gsa has them and no problems.

The reason being that your bike was designed to use LED indicators and most probably uses some kind of circuit (far more complicated than a simple resistor) to regulate the current through the LEDs.

Mark said:
My wife's guzzi 850t4 can hardly power it's ignition system these days let alone it'sindicators! We've got some led after market jobbies to see if I know which way she's going instead of guessing!

If that is the case I would be seriously thinking of getting the bike's electrics checked over by a bike sazzy auto-electrician. It sounds like the alternator and charging circuit is not up to the job, so an alternator rewind (to boost output) and a new MOSFET Reg/Rec would appear to be one solution. The LED indicators might help, but I think that there's a more major underlying problem.
 

ROCKOZ

New Member
I change them so they're smaller so they don't break when I throw it down a greenlane...or just take them off :)
 

Rubberchicken

Well-Known Member
Lutin said:
It sounds like the alternator and charging circuit is not up to the job, so an alternator rewind (to boost output) and a new MOSFET Reg/Rec would appear to be one solution. The LED indicators might help, but I think that there's a more major underlying problem.
More major than it being an old Guzzi, you mean? :D

Then again, it being an old Guzzi, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a number of aftermarket options to beef up the charging bits, just like on the old boxers. My old GS came stock with a 280W system, which is enough, as long as you don't go adding lights and heatgrips and whatnot. Now it gives me 450W. :)

This sort of thing occasionally confuses people with modern bikes, especially the nearly electric cooker capable GSA. ;)
 

Boris

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Rubberchicken said:
This sort of thing occasionally confuses people with modern bikes, especially the nearly electric cooker capable GSA. ;)

750 watts on my 1200 adventure if I remember correctly. Even the new water-cooled GS cannot match that
 

Rubberchicken

Well-Known Member
750W, christ. Why is every GSA driver still messing around with petrol stoves then? Bring an electric kettle...

You could even run the chip pan off that. Hey Pete, ever thought of what to stick on the arse end of your other pannier? :D
 

NickelArse

Member
5 years ago Kellerman released a new rear light set up that I thought would be good.
Turn signals with combined brake and sidelights, they are tiny but are supposed to replace the rear lights entirely, they are also fekkkkinnnn bright. They were also fekkkkkkinnnn expensive so they are staying with me and will move from bike to bike.

Fitted them now to the AT with LED at the front too, all run from a digital relay also from Kellermann and it works faultlessly
http://www.louis-moto.co.uk/_305c93b732 ... r=10033923

10033923_880_FR01_10.JPG


rjDrrH5qeHi8TE2wdQ0BzFe-2oFgvju-McXR3RkFEPU=w293-h220-p-no



Nick
 

Lutin

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NickelArse said:
Fitted them now to the AT with LED at the front too, all run from a digital relay also from Kellermann and it works faultlessly
http://www.louis-moto.co.uk/_305c93b732 ... r=10033923

10033923_880_FR01_10.JPG
Nick

Feck, those are expensive!

And I see from their website that they warn about having to fit extra resistors to some makes of bike in order to ensure correct operation. Now I suspect that these resistors will have nothing to do with controlling the current through the LEDs but are required due the electrical setup of the bike's indicator circuits. I'll have to get hold of a suitable circuit diagram to have a bu
 

Lord Vader

Well-Known Member
Rubberchicken said:
750W, christ. Why is every GSA driver still messing around with petrol stoves then? Bring an electric kettle...

You could even run the chip pan off that. Hey Pete, ever thought of what to stick on the arse end of your other pannier? :D
Recently i was thinking more electric blanket ooo ooo
 

NickelArse

Member
Lutin said:
And I see from their website that they warn about having to fit extra resistors to some makes of bike in order to ensure correct operation. Now I suspect that these resistors will have nothing to do with controlling the current through the LEDs but are required due the electrical setup of the bike's indicator circuits. I'll have to get hold of a suitable circuit diagram to have a butchers.

The resistors are for the standard relays, I fitted the digital relay to overcome the problem. I wont get the 10 to the dozen flash rate if one fails though
 

Mark

Member
Lutin said:
If that is the case I would be seriously thinking of getting the bike's electrics checked over by a bike sazzy auto-electrician. It sounds like the alternator and charging circuit is not up to the job, so an alternator rewind (to boost output) and a new MOSFET Reg/Rec would appear to be one solution. The LED indicators might help, but I think that there's a more major underlying problem.

Its 32 years old with possibly around 250,000 on the clock so good chance it needs a new alternator! It still shows around 14v whern running however I'm aware its Amps that matter. Can't measure amps as easy coz I believe the measuring device has to be in series. Did read somewhere it could be done in parallel but a shunt was needed, that's where I lost the plot and had a cup of coffee instead!
 

hotbulb

Active Member
Mark said:
Its 32 years old with possibly around 250,000 on the clock so good chance it needs a new alternator! It still shows around 14v whern running however I'm aware its Amps that matter. Can't measure amps as easy coz I believe the measuring device has to be in series. Did read somewhere it could be done in parallel but a shunt was needed, that's where I lost the plot and had a cup of coffee instead!

You can use a shunt.... as i understand it,you measure the voltage drop across the shunt and then you cheat and use Ohm's law - or whatever - to calculate the current that must be flowing through the (known) resistance of the shunt to give the measured voltage drop. Enough to make my brain hurt!
Or you could do what I've done in the past - use an inductive ammeter*. Just place it against the lead to the battery while thye engine's running, and it reads out the current flowing. Not super accurate, but good enough for charging circuit tests. I was told about this many years ago by an auto-electrician, and it's come in handy a few times since.
* fleabay has this.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=i ... ter&crdt=0

:marin-simpson:
 

Whealie

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Here's a question to add to this thread. I fitted some LED indicators similar those Nickel Arse mentioned but made in the UK by Digiteck.

Stopped, with headlights on, they do not have enough power for the indicators to work.

They work fine when riding along with all lights blazing. They work fine when stopped either with engine running or not, providing the headlights are turned off. As soon as I switch on the lights, the indicators fade.

The battery has full power and is putting across the correct voltage stopped and running.

It has baffled me and the team at Digitek. Any ideas what would make turning the headlights on kill the indicators?
 

hotbulb

Active Member
I reckon they must be very voltage-sensitive: with the engine off, the additional voltage drop with the headlight on is enough to upset the LED circuitry. Similarly, the voltage with the engine ticking over is only marginal for the LEDs, so putting the lights on again will drop it below the critical point. My heated grips have some sort of voltage monitoring, and switch off at tickover, only coming on once engine speed, and so circuit voltage, rises.
 

Lutin

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Whealie said:
Any ideas what would make turning the headlights on kill the indicators?

Chris, have you measured the battery voltage both with and without the headlights on?

I take it that this is on the bike with the new wiring loom, yes?
 

Whealie

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Yes to it having the new loom. Cannot remember all the different voltage readings I have taken but they all seemed normal (I think 12.6 then running 14.something).
 

Lutin

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It would be interesting to see what the Digiteck make of this. These are the combined indicator/side-lights, I take it?

There must be a simple solution to this, but for the life of me I cannot think what it is.
 
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