LED Indicators (anyone fitted them?)

[Drew400]

Hello all,

(Hope I'm posting this in the right section!)

I'm considering fitting LED indicators to one my old Hondas. Has anyone on this forum done this before? If so, I'm wondering:

1. Do I need a special winker relay or will the standard Honda 12v one do?
2. Is there anything I need to be aware of before getting this work underway (hint & tips)?
3. Can you a recommended source for these parts? There are any number of suppliers on Amazon etc., but first hand experience from people on this excellent forum site is always worth seeking!

Thank you,

D.

[hairygit]

You will need a replacement flasher unit designed for led's or a set of resistors in circuit to use the standard one, then just replace the bulbs with led ones. The electronic flasher units are cheap, much cheaper than O.E.M. ones, but they tend to be larger physically. What bike is it for?

[gtmdriver]

As above!

LED's draw far less current than filament bulbs so the standard flasher unit (which uses the lamp current to heat a bimetal strip causing it to bend and break the circuit) won't operate.

An electronic flasher unit works independently of the current drawn by the lamps so it is ideal for LED's.

If you choose to keep the standard flasher unit then you will need to wire a resistor in parallel with each bulb so that the current needed to operate the flasher flows via the resistor rather than the bulb.

They can be quite bulky.



You can get electronic flasher units suitable for motorcycles too.

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/product.php/630/2-pin-flasher-unit-for-led-indicators

[Gixxer-18]

I fitted the LED flasher rather than the resistors, but found the lamps not as bright as incandescent bulbs. Shop around to find the brightest LED bulbs.
 Also if you use Led's in the gauges, it will only flash with the switch in one direction, as the lamps are diodes; and only allow current to flow in one direction. Using a flasher unit for LED's allows you to use an Led bulb in the gauges.
HTH
Nigel.

[Drew400]

Hi all,

Thank you for the invaluable advice. I have only a rudimentary understanding of auto-electrics so your advice has confirmed my own doubts and provided a possible solution that I will test before fixing to the bike (Phil Read Rep... hence wanting discreet, stick-on indicators, rather than drilling through fairings, etc.).

I'm guessing that I can test by attaching to a car battery or using my 400/4 as a test mule.

Thankfully, LED stuff is a hell of a lot cheaper than Honda parts and so I can afford to learn by failing... as long as I don't damage any bike electrics in the process!

Cheers, D.

[Drew400]

Hello all,

To finish this thread, here's what I did:

LED Indicators:

I purchased 4 x LED indicators from Amazon (£4.99 per pair) - see photo below. They come with threaded stalk mountings and a large plastic nut to enable fitting through a hole in the frame, etc. I needed flush mounting for fixing to a fairing, so I carefully hacksawed away part of the stem so that it could be twisted off without damaging the thin wires that exit the LED unit through the stalk. I then affixed the LED indicators using sticky pads such as the type used for affixing car number plates. I also applied a little clear silicon sealant to tidy the edges and to provide additional adhesive security.

Indicator Relay:

I then purchased a suitable 2-pin LED indicator relay from Vehicle Wiring Products (thanks to the tip-off from GTMDriver and others on this forum) - see picture below. http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/product.php?xProd=630. The relay came with the usual rubber mount.

Wiring:

Fortunately, the Phil Read Replica has the same wiring loom as all CB750 F2s and so connecting the relay was easy and in the normal location under the left side panel. I then threaded some wire from the appropriate spare loom connectors, under the seat for the rears and in the headlamp nacelle for the fronts, to the LEDs. From memory: orange for left, grey for right and green for earth. The bullet connectors supplied with the LEDs are the same size as those on the Honda wiring loom.

Result:

The photos below show a (hopefully) neat and unobtrusive installation that can be removed easily to return the bike back to standard. Please ignore the black electrical tape shown underneath the front LED. It was there to support the LED whilst the sealant set; seeing the photo reminded me to remove it a few days later. The system works perfectly and also powers the headstock warning lights that have probably been dormant on this bike since 1978. If an indicator is removed, the remaining LED still flashes, unlike when a bulb blows on a conventional system, leaving the remaining light on permanently rather than flashing.

Cheers, D.

[Chris400F]

How bright are they Drew, say when compared to the standard bulbs on your 400?

[Drew400]

Hi Chris,

I'll have a proper look, but they seem pretty good to me in full daylight. Also, I had none at all before, so such a comparison wasn't an issue.

Unsurprisingly, the seller reckons they're good enough but I haven't yet checked with my local MOT garage!

I'll update this thread if I discover anything untoward.

Cheers,

A.