LED Turn Signal Issues

Diff3RentBreed

Diff3RentBreed

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I have tried searching for this problem but it seems like no one else has had my problem, figures.

Here's a twister for you, I tried wiring up some new LEDs on my 1977 XS650 with half luck. Yes, you heard me. Half luck. I can only get the back two LEDs to flash, not the fronts.

I purchased these 1156 LEDs for the turn signals (Amazon):
http://goo.gl/KofyJ3

I purchased these 1157 LEDs for the taillight (Amazon):
http://goo.gl/7Vlvkw

and I purchased this flasher to regulate the flashing (eBay):
goo.gl/ZU4KgR

Which all should just be plug and play. No hassle required. Right?

I got everything installed and my taillight and my back two signals work just fine. But my front two signals do not light up at all. When I swap out the LEDs for incandescent bulbs (still with the same electronic flasher) they work just fine. So it can't be a fuse or faulty wiring, right? Do I need to install some resistors? Is it a capacity issue with the flasher? I'm just at a loss and I don't even know what to try.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!





______________EDIT for Fix__________________
For anyone coming to here from the future:

Thanks to XSLeo this issue is now resolved: http://www.xs650.com/threads/led-turn-signal-issues.47081/#post-472570.

TLDR: What I have done to solve this issue was just rewire the turn signal wiring the other way. Wasn't sure if I did it wrong the first time or not. But I did have to switch the wiring around.

Longer Read: I purchased this 3 pin flasher (just google search "Universal LED flasher 3 pin" and look for one that looks like the one in your bike) which actually works perfect. At first I thought it was only able to handle two LEDs at one time, which led me to purchase another flasher (shown below), but it turns out it can actually handle all four and I just needed to switch the wiring around.
fKUH8BM.jpg

ctvS8XY.jpg

This flasher is great because it fits just fine (a little snug) into the oem flasher mount. Since this faces 90 degrees different than the original one, it was a tighter fit but it does fit just fine.
xLIdiWO.jpg


Now for the other flasher, I purchased superbrightleds' LF1-S-FLAT Universal Motorcycle Electronic Flasher which also worked for all four leds.
NZu2utG.jpg

But since this one is a box and does not fit just like the oem one, I opted to not use it on this bike (since I already had the other one). I got the first one off of eBay and this one off the company's website and this one cost me more by about 2 - 3 dollars. You also have to do some modification for this. Taking it out of the stock housing to be able to just plug it into the oem housing. Which is another thing that is nice about the first one, you cannot plug it in wrong. It is only accepted one way. But for this one;
0ppTEJw.jpg

you will need to plug the black wire into the brown/white wire and the red into the brown wire. Then I would suggest using head shrink tubing to cover up the exposed metal or some electrical tape. Then you'll need to find a spot to mount the block which I would just to it right above where the oem one sits and I would either zip tie it to the frame or use double sided tape.
Both options will work just fine. It's personal preference and what is available to you at the time.

Here is am image of the rewiring that I did:
3e7OinX.jpg

I went ahead and blurred out the unnecessary parts in order to have more focus on the wires that matter for this demonstration. So the ground wires from the signal I wired to the positive lead for the headlight. Both grounds are tied to the same point. Then I took the positive lines (which are now the grounds) and tied them to the two separate grounds that were in there. When doing this, you must make sure that the positive or grounding wires are separated. That is was controls which one is flashing when the switch is to the right of the left.

Now I could have gotten them wrong in the first place when I had to rewire them when I got the bike. It was my first ever wiring job, this is my first bike, and I was having my buddy help me. Needless to say, it took us a long time to figure out why the signals weren't working in the first place.

But here she is now. All working with 4 LEDs. I also installed a new LED headlight which you can see here:
http://www.xs650.com/threads/hid-vs-leds-headlight-question.47082/
Now all that's left is to find a good solid taillight LED since my last two broke on me.
 
Last edited:
I tried a half dozen different flashers from O'Reilly and AutoZone. None would work with all 4 led turn signals.
Like you I could get them to work with 2 LED and 2 incandescent. Finally ordered the LF1-S from superbright (what xsleo has recommended for several years) and it functions like it should.
 
weekendrider said:
I tried a half dozen different flashers from O'Reilly and AutoZone. None would work with all 4 led turn signals.
Like you I could get them to work with 2 LED and 2 incandescent. Finally ordered the LF1-S from superbright (what xsleo has recommended for several years) and it functions like it should.
Click to expand...
Okay. Do you recommend the flat or the pin? Since none of those are just plug and play with the bike, would it matter which one I actually get?
 
The flat/spade. You can use a pick or gggGary's windshield wiper tool to remove the spade from the connector housing and a bit of heat shrink then they will plug into the oem connection.
 
Well damn. Didn't mean to spend your money without benefit.
Is it sill the same the front led's won't do anything but incandescent will?
Have you tried using the LED's that work in the back in the front sockets?
 
Hi 'Breed,
didja try unplugging the rears and just trying the LEDs in front all by themselves? Then crosswiring so that both fronts LEDs are powered but not the rears?
Do the front LEDs work in the rear bulb holders?
 
LED's only pass current one way, incandescent pass current both ways. If your front sockets are wired backwards the regular bulbs will work fine but LED's won't, In the headlight bucket switch the leads to the turns.
This is a long stretch but possible.
Leo
 
weekendrider said:
Well damn. Didn't mean to spend your money without benefit.
Is it sill the same the front led's won't do anything but incandescent will?
Have you tried using the LED's that work in the back in the front sockets?
Click to expand...
Yes and yes

fredintoon said:
Hi 'Breed,
didja try unplugging the rears and just trying the LEDs in front all by themselves? Then crosswiring so that both fronts LEDs are powered but not the rears?
Do the front LEDs work in the rear bulb holders?
Click to expand...
When I take the leds that are working in the rear out and put them in the front, they do not work.

When I take both leds out of the rear and put them in the front, they don't work. Only the rear signals ever work.

XSLeo said:
LED's only pass current one way, incandescent pass current both ways. If your front sockets are wired backwards the regular bulbs will work fine but LED's won't, In the headlight bucket switch the leads to the turns.
This is a long stretch but possible.
Leo
Click to expand...
I don't see how I'm wiring them incorrectly. I have both positive signal leds going into the power to the headlight wire and the grounds are on two separate grounds.
I have tried to switch them just to see but I got nothing.
 
I got it. I don't know what voodoo magic you did but I wired them incorrectly again and they all work. They actually all work on the first flasher I got. Both led flashers I have work.
 
XSLeo said:
LED's only pass current one way, incandescent pass current both ways. If your front sockets are wired backwards the regular bulbs will work fine but LED's won't, In the headlight bucket switch the leads to the turns.
This is a long stretch but possible.
Leo
Click to expand...

Good job Leo, sometimes the simple questions have to be asked. It's hard diagnosing on here when you don't really know the person or the persons bike.

Scott
 
Diff3RentBreed said:
I don't see how I'm wiring them incorrectly. I have both positive signal leds going into the power to the headlight wire and the grounds are on two separate grounds.
I have tried to switch them just to see but I got nothing.
Click to expand...

What you said above...............what you thought were two separate grounds must be the positives (+) for your lights. Better check if the grounds you are connected to at the headlight are really grounds (-) and not just connecting to ground through a bulb element. If you are getting ground through a bulb element and that bulb is turned on you will have two positives (+) connected to each light, that won't work.

Scott
 
Last edited:
Hi 'Breed,
that explains it, you chose a less than optimum ground path for the front signals and you wrongwired the LED flasher.
Good that you got it all sorted.
Y'know, I've wondered about the reasons for going LED on flashers. Consistency, yes. But power saving?
For the comparatively short time they are in use, how much juice can they suck up?
 
Diff3RentBreed glad you were able to work it out. Your wiring is custom and I'll bet it was a hair puller to figure.
The LF1-S with the 3 inch pig tail can be tucked up between the gussets between the down tubes if you run outta room by the coils.
You can see the leads just behind the gusset in the upper left of this picture.
IMG_20160904_095447_485[1].jpg


Looking forward to seeing how you've done the headlight.
 
Last edited:
weekendrider said:
Cost. They are cheaper to manufacture than incandescent.
Just like the glass tube fuses vs. the popular rage blades.
Click to expand...
Hi WER,
incandescent bulbs have simplicity going for them but if LEDs are less costly as well as more efficient for sure fit them to new vehicles.
But we are talking about swapping out a bike's existing incandescent bulbs for LEDs
Compare the cost of swapping to LEDs plus an LED-compatible flasher and the wiring eff-around vs using more current when they are in use if you keep the stockers.
IMHO the power saving from swapping to LED flashers ain't worth the hassle of doing it.
And OK, I admit to swapping my bike's glass tube fuses to mini-blades even though the glass tube fuses still worked.
Peer pressure is a terrible thing.
 
You still gotta say that those old Stanley incandescent bulbs were quality stuff. Many of them will still be working when we are all long gone.

Scott
 

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