1979 xs650 Special LED turn signals all 4 on and no flash

BlackBandit

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I got my PMA in and wired and got the carbs to stop leakin and found the yellow wire to get power to the headlight. Almost there last things thats holding me back now is my stupid turn signals. I opted for LED turn signals and brake light and eventually wanna get a halogen headlight. My problem is when i turn on my signals all 4 turn on and they dont flash and ive read up on the led swaps and it needs a lower amp flasher and preferably a electronic flasher. I got a cheap chinese one but it dont work i think because of how its wired compared to the bikes wiring. I got a 522 and it just barely doesnt work it flashes too fast. I tore the left handlebar switch apart hopin there was just corrosion but cant see any. I cant take the actual sliding switch out to clean it so best i could do was blow it with compressed air. I heard that the flasher canceling unit on these bikes were garbage and people were wiring them out.

Please help me out and be detailed in your description on solving the problem.

1. Why do all 4 turn signals turn on when switched left or right?

2. Could the flasher canceling unit be the cause and if so how do i wire it out/bypass it?

3. Being that all 4 are on when its fixed will it decrease the flash rate with the 522? If not i need to order a 262 now.
 
Does your bike have a single indicator light for the signals on the dash or is there one for each side? If you have just one, that could be the problem. I had to put diodes inline and wire the single light differently to get it to work.

The canceling unit can just be unplugged I believe.

You need to get a two prong flasher that's LED compatible. The 552 won't work. Do a search as there's plenty of info here on this subject. The Napa flasher I use is rated from 20MA to 20A. 1000MA = 1 amp so this will flash just about anything.
 
Yes single indicator light on the dash lights it doesn't come on when i turn the turn signals on. Will a 2 prong work in a three for sure being that one wire is being canceled? And how does that one wire to the indicator light make all 4 of the lights turn on and not just one side? How can just unplugging the flasher canceling unit not screw anything up? And the replacement flasher i bought is the same but still dont work its .02amp to 20amp 12 volt 3 prong but i think its wired backwards to what i need the left is positive right negative and top is the L and i need to left and right switched.
 
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You only need a two prong LED compatible flasher. The brown wire is the switched 12V hot lead and the brown/white goes up to the bar switch. Some flashers are marked X and L. X is the 12V (brown wire) and the brown/white goes to the L terminal.

If you look at the wiring diagram for your bike in the tech section you will see that the signal indicator bulb has both the brown and green wires from the left and right signals going to the bulb. This is how the two sides get connected together and flash all four signals. This setup works with the high resistance stock bulbs but the low resistance LED's cause problems.

Have a look at this:
http://xs650temp.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=light&action=display&thread=14671
 
Yes i understand that but my flasher i bought must be wired wrong it asks for a ground a hot and the lead back to the handlebar so that is my problem but still dont know why all 4 turns come on and can i just unplug the canceler unit and be okay?
 
If you want to try the flasher you have you may have to take the wires out of the flasher plug and rearrange them to have the correct wiring for your flasher. The wires typically have a small tab that has to be bent down and then you can pull them out of the plug. Just use the brown for the hot and the brown/white going to the switch. If it needs a ground then add that as well.Try taking the signal indicator bulb out and see what you get. The light is the link between the right and left sides. It can work with the single indicator bulb but has to be wired differently as in the above post. As far as I know the canceling unit can just be unplugged as you don't need any of that wiring to make the signals work.
 
So i must wire the light indicator so that the wires return the same and not connected together and insert another bulb for the other wire? and will any 2 prong full electronic flasher work? or does it have to be low amperage like 10 amp because they dont specify like .02 to 20 amp?
 
Look at the link in post 4. There is a wiring diagram there showing you how to hook it up. You have to put diodes inline to keep the sides isolated. A diode is like an electrical check valve allowing current to flow in one direction only.

Not any electronic flasher will work. It has to be LED compatible and have that low amp rating. This is the one I used from Napa. Note the specs. There are cheaper ones out there but this worked for me.

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=NF_EL12L2_0325334861
 
Alright 6amp 50v diodes ill giver a try and see what i come up with thanks alot. i bought a electronic flasher smallesty amp i could get without goin online its flashes fast with all 4 so im hoping it will slow with less lights on.
 
Alright goin to get the diodes in a bit and just ordered a 10amp electronic flasher the one i bought at the store was a 25 amp electrnonic and i had a spare 552 that didnt work the rest at the store were thermal or mechanical which i was told was worse for leds.
 
The upper end of the amp rating means nothing. You need to know what the lowest rating is. Your led lights might only be drawing 1/4 amp for the two of them. Even if you have a flasher with a 1 amp low rating it might not work.
 
Well the diodes worked i have seperation on the lights so now only one side comes on when switched to that side. i took the cheap chinese flasher and plulled the plug apart and when its grounded it flashes kinda fast about 2-3 flashes a second will that work? isnt it suppossed to be 1 flash a second? if thatll pass inspection ill go get it done now. if anything that will seem more noticeable to me if it does pass.
 
It's up to you if you think that will work for you. If not you can always get a different flasher that will slow the flash rate down to normal.
 
Didint pass so i ordered a flasher hope it works still have a feeling it wont but give me time to finish my seat.
 
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