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LED Lights

Started by TigerTrax, March 06, 2011, 01:49:34 AM

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TigerTrax

Hey you Big Kitty Whippers . . .

I decided to LED the Kitty..... 2006 Tiger
SOURCE: www.superbrightleds.com     St Louis, MO
Remember: Bulb must be same color as lens.

New Instrument lights and CLOCK light: Far Out! Big improvement.
I chose GREEN for instruments and WHITE for clock.
SPEEDO - Fuel Gauge - Temp: LED Bulb: WLEDGHP5 Green.
Clock: LED Mini / Wedge /Bulb: 74-WWHP3 Warm White
TACH: LED Mini / Wedge / bulb: 74-GHP3  Green

PS: On wedge or double contact bulbs... if they do not light... remove them and turn them 180° then reinsert... they should work.

Tail / Stop Lights: Much brighter and FILLS entire lens! White bottom & side LEDs shine on license plate. LED Bulb:  1157-R-19W6 Red.

Turn Signals: VERY BRIGHT ( At least the ONE of FOUR that is working ).
(I replaced the flasher unit also). For some reason 3 of 4 sockets will not flash. Old bulbs work fine. New LEDs work fine in the one operating socket. LED guy says often wiring is reversed on different sockets... so I swiched leads... zippo ... any help would be appreciated. I'll get it worked out.
Turn Signal Bulb: 67-A-15  Amber

Turn Signal Flasher for LED bulbs: CF13GL-02
\'Life\'s A Journey ..... Don\'t Miss A Turn\'

jflugo

Having gone through similar exercises with different bikes in the past, I recall there being an issue with the blinker circuitry usually being designed for the electrical load required by incandescents.  As the LEDs reduce electrical load significantly, the system will either blink too fast or not at all.  You will either have to simulate the normal electrical load ("equalize the load") in the circuit by adding resistors, or get a special flasher unit designed for the reduced load.  

When you say, "I replaced the flasher unit", you mean to say the turn signal relay?

Regards.

atokad

I would ride more at night if I had better lighting. I will be curious to see how things are working for you in about 6 months. I think it was on the Triumphrat.net forums that several guys had done this before but the LEDs kept burning out. Did you read any of that first?

It has been a couple of years since I rad those threads, maybe things have improved since then?  Good luck, keep us posted!

TigerTrax

I replaced the flasher unit.

The LEDs have improved quite a bit in the past few years.
They've improved the circuitry and vastly improved the light spectrum.
\'Life\'s A Journey ..... Don\'t Miss A Turn\'

atokad

Quote from: "TigerTrax"I replaced the flasher unit.

The LEDs have improved quite a bit in the past few years.
They've improved the circuitry and vastly improved the light spectrum.

Good to know. Did replacing the flash unit get all four working?

TigerTrax

The new flasher was put in immediately... It isn't the flasher.

the problem with the 3 sockets not flashing is a resistance,
wiring, or polarity issue.
\'Life\'s A Journey ..... Don\'t Miss A Turn\'

jflugo

It was working before with incandescents (right?), so it's not the wiring.  Polarity is easy - just reverse the poles and it should work - you've already done that.  It must be resistance then, possibly corrected with a load equalizer (i.e., a resistor) to place the electrical load within spec.  

What happens if you replace the two front with LEDs, and leave the old bulbs in rear, or vice versa?  Or when you have just one LED and the others incandescent, does it blink very quickly?  And, of course, you've confirmed that all the LEDs work?

Looking at my wiring diagram, the turn signal bulbs have two poles - one for ground, one live.  I think that's an 1156 bulb (12V 10W per spec on my service manual).  Looks like you've got the right kind.

That's as far as I can go.  Will be interest in your progress.  Best of luck . . .

TigerTrax

I guess I should have just said 'polarity' instead of wiring...
yes.. wiring is fine.

The guys at Superbright LED says it is NOT uncommon for turn signals
to be a major issue, doing exactly what is happening.

You are right, everything points to dropping in a load resistor ( I think those are like 10 ohms for LEDs ).
I'd bet that's the key. I'll hit 'the shack' tomorrow.
\'Life\'s A Journey ..... Don\'t Miss A Turn\'

brad1098

Hey TT

Do you mind saying what all that cost ya?

Sounds like one hell of an upgrade!!
02 black-Lorna

KuzzinKenny

Quote from: "atokad"I would ride more at night if I had better lighting. I will be curious to see how things are working for you in about 6 months. I think it was on the Triumphrat.net forums that several guys had done this before but the LEDs kept burning out. Did you read any of that first?

It has been a couple of years since I rad those threads, maybe things have improved since then?  Good luck, keep us posted!

Hey atokad !! you can get brighter bulbs that use the same wattage as standard bulbs...........

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/h4-upg ... ter-bulbs/

also check yer lights are adjusted right  :thumbsup

KK
In Scotland, there`s no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes !! Billy Connolly
_______________________________________
Lucifer Orange 05 (2004) Purrrrrrfect !!

TigerTrax

The LEDs and flasher unit + $8 postage:  $92

Most LED bulbs run $3 - $6 ea ....

Mini-Instrument 1 wht & 1 grn: $4 x 2:
Instrument - Green: $6 x 3:
Turn Signal bulbs: $5 x 4:
Flasher unit runs $13 x 1:
Tail/Stop bulbs run $13 ea x 2:

When you start looking you can get confused pretty quickly.
For instance I selected a few bulbs that were wrong. Their customer sevice
guy explained about fwd shooting LEDs, SIDE SHOOTING LEDs, and different LED beam angles.

The end result: Full coverage behind the instrument and within the lenses.
\'Life\'s A Journey ..... Don\'t Miss A Turn\'

TigerTrax

Atokad...
I have been running Sylvania Silverstars for about 2 years...
they throw a nice WHITE light. In fact... the pavement looks like
it's a bright sunny day....
The beams throw 'ditch-to-ditch' ... and more.
But there seems to be a weak spot in the middle.... you can't quite get
that covered. A buddy (Tiger rider ) is going to get an aux LED light to
fill that void. For me it's not an issue.

I will say this... adjusting lights on a Tiger is a BITCH! I am thinking of drilling a couple of access holes in the fairing so I don't have to remove it just to tweak the lights.

BTW: The Silverstars are so good.... I removed my aux lights.
\'Life\'s A Journey ..... Don\'t Miss A Turn\'

brad1098

If I wanted to go with all the LED's except the turnsignals, would that be possible and get rid of the flasher issue?
02 black-Lorna

TigerTrax

Brad.. you can replace whichever lights you want...
it's just that if you do turnsignals... you need to do the flasher unit.

BTW... for instrument bulbs you can select from several colors ....
\'Life\'s A Journey ..... Don\'t Miss A Turn\'

atokad

Quote from: "TigerTrax"The LEDs and flasher unit + $8 postage:  $92

Most LED bulbs run $3 - $6 ea ....

Mini-Instrument 1 wht & 1 grn: $4 x 2:
Instrument - Green: $6 x 3:
Turn Signal bulbs: $5 x 4:
Flasher unit runs $13 x 1:
Tail/Stop bulbs run $13 ea x 2:

When you start looking you can get confused pretty quickly.
For instance I selected a few bulbs that were wrong. Their customer sevice
guy explained about fwd shooting LEDs, SIDE SHOOTING LEDs, and different LED beam angles.

The end result: Full coverage behind the instrument and within the lenses.

Would you mind posting up the part #'s for all of the bulbs you purchased?  Also, where did you get the flasher unit? And are the signals working OK now?

How about a night/dark shot of the lights?

Thanks!