Topic: Oh Joy! Electrical questions regarding blinkers

[Bikebuff]

Hi All! 

First the good news: When I bought the 750 K0, the PO removed the front and rear blinkers (thankfully he kept the wiring).  So, I picked up a set of front blinkers and hooked them up yesterday.  To my delight, when I turned the blinker switch on (left and then right) each blinker lit up.

The bad news: each blinker stays on, but does not blink.  After reading the Clymer manual, it indicates that possibly the flasher relay is shot and may need to be replaced. 

Here's are my questions:

                   1. Is there a way to test the flasher relay with a multimeter to rule out (or rule in) that it is indeed the relay that is broken?
                   2. I have not yet secured a set of blinkers for the rear of the bike-does the flasher relay need both front and rear sets to be connected for the flasher relay to work properly?


Thanks everybody!

[tbone]

You may just be not drawing enough current to force the flasher to cycle. Try hooking both lights to the same side and power it up. If the flasher is good then it should blink with two bulbs on the circuit.

[Steve F]

If the lights come on but do not blink, there are a few things that could cause this.  First, the flasher is not working, second, the bulbs in the replacement lamps are too small to create enough amperage draw to make the flasher operate (it requires a certain amount of current to pass through to heat-up the bi-metal mechanism to break the circuit), and third the voltage in the system is low.  Since your lights come on, it means that all the wiring is good, and the easiest way to fix this is to replace the flasher with an electronic unit.  Sometimes, the replacement lamps use bulbs that do not have the wattage like the stock units, and the stock flasher will not operate under the lighter load.
Hope this helps.

[techy5025]

The blinker relay needs both bulbs...front and rear...to work. The suggestion of putting both lights on one side for a test was a good one.  Or, go to one of the auto parts places and get the electronic one...as mentioned.

The common 1157 auto bulbs in the stores draw too much current and the blink rate will be faster.

Jim

[mick750F]

   Check that your ground is good also. A working bulb will come on but not flash if the ground connection is bad. I don't know how the blinkers are grounded on a KO but on a later bike like my '78 they are grounded through the mounting.

Mike

[Bikebuff]

Okay, I'll check the bulbs and also I'll hook one of them up to the rear on the same side as the front and give it a try too.  I will also check the grounding to be certain that its grounded correctly. As an aside, the more I've worked on my bike, the more I've found things were/are jury-rigged, to put it nicely.  Oh well, by going through it methodically and with the help of this site, I can feel a little more at peace knowing that I have a chance the bike isn't going to burn to the ground if I look at wrong.

Second, since we're on the subject, I've been thinking about putting LED blinker lights and taillight with the conversion box at some point (I know ProTeal has done this).  I've read here that the benefits of brighter light with reduced power draw as opposed to filament type lighting is a bonus.  Any pitfalls about doing this?


Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions-I hope to have an update soon.

[Steve F]

Okay, I'll check the bulbs and also I'll hook one of them up to the rear on the same side as the front and give it a try too.  I will also check the grounding to be certain that its grounded correctly. As an aside, the more I've worked on my bike, the more I've found things were/are jury-rigged, to put it nicely.  Oh well, by going through it methodically and with the help of this site, I can feel a little more at peace knowing that I have a chance the bike isn't going to burn to the ground if I look at wrong.

Second, since we're on the subject, I've been thinking about putting LED blinker lights and taillight with the conversion box at some point (I know ProTeal has done this).  I've read here that the benefits of brighter light with reduced power draw as opposed to filament type lighting is a bonus.  Any pitfalls about doing this?


Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions-I hope to have an update soon.

Almost all led's are directional, with a narrow viewing angle.  Unless you get lights (housings) that are designed for led's (special lenses and all), they may appear dim, like if you were to stuff an LED lamp into a housing that is intended to use an incandescent bulb.  This is because the reflector behind the bulb cannot reflect light given off of an LED.

[techy5025]

LEDS can be mounted in a pattern and energized in patterns that can attract attention better then a single incandescent, also.

Jim

[warreng22]

I had the same problem with my bike, turned out to be a bad flasher. I replaced it with the cheapest 2 prong flasher from autozone, like 3 bucks. Since you need the flasher for a bike, you will need a light duty flasher, because the turn signal bulbs on a bike do not draw very much current. The light duty flashers are always the cheapest ones that an autoparts store carries because most cars use the the heavy duty ones. Good for us, bad for cars 

[puppytrax]

The common 1157 auto bulbs in the stores draw too much current and the blink rate will be faster.

My bike blinks way too slowly...If I get four of the 1157's, will it speed up the blink rate??

[Bodi]

Different flashers have different flash rates.
Two wire flashers, even the "electronic" kind, need incandescent lamps to work properly.
Many automotive flashers have 2 flash rates - a normal one when it has a set number of standard lamps attached, usually 2 to 4 lamps. There's also a slower or faster "warning" flash rate if it has fewer lamps connected than it was designed for. This warning flash rate indicates a lamp has burned out.
LED lamps use a lot less current but will confuse 2 terminal flashers, with all LEDs the flasher won't flash; changing one of several lamps to an LED should activate the "warning" flash rate.
You can add "converter modules" with LEDs, but usually we are trying to use less electrical power... the module is just a load resistor that uses as much power as a normal bulb in order to fool the flasher. Realistically the signals don't use enough power to worry about unless you leave them flashing continuously but the front marker lamps draw enough power to make the difference between charging and draining your battery.
Using a 3 terminal flasher one can have all LED bulbs without the converter modules. The "warning" flash rate will triggered on most flashers used this way, but it's usually a fine speed anyway. Some 3 therminal flashers don't have this warning rate but I haven't got any part numbers for them.

[Bikebuff]

Thanks for all the input and suggestions so far.  I checked the bulbs and they do not have any markings on them that would indicate they are the "1157" type.  I have not had time to try putting the other flasher on the rear of the same side the front flasher is on. 
I do have a question for warreng22:  when you mean you had a bad flasher, was it the bulb you were referring to or the flasher relay?  Electrical stuff is not my strong suit, so I hope I'm using the correct vernacular.

thanks again!

[WJL75]

Bikebuff,  long time no see.  If you want any help on you bike, give me a call, and I can probably swing by.

[Bikebuff]

Hey Bill, good to hear from you-I may take you up on it.  I'm trying to be patient as I learn about the electrical side of the bike.  Also, the PO jury rigged some things, so I'm also discovering the PO was not as attentive to the maintenence side of things.  Oh well, I'd like to think I'm doing a better job of stewardship while the bike is in my possession.

Prost!