LED indicator problem

[fence post]

hi,
ive just put new LED indicators on my bike and they dont seem to want to flash. they turn on when selected but dont flash.
ive been going over a few old post in here about this problem and from what i gather the leds are not drawing enough current from my current flasher unit.
ive read that a TRIDON HD12 flasher unit should fix this problem as it is non load sensitive.

has anyone else had this problem and did you fix it using this tridon flasher??
also where can you get them?repco dont sell tridon stuff.

i dont really want to get into putting in resistors at this stage.

thanks for any help

from what i could see in the electrical threads, there seemed to be quite a few people having the same problems over the last couple of years.
if there is a universal fix then maybe it could be made as a sticky?just a thought.

[AllanB]

I think something is wired wrong - normally they flash too fast without the correct relay. LED lights draw little current.

[hmmmnz]

yeah just buy a non load sensitive relay,
its a common problem when changing to lower wattage bulbs or leds

$20 from super cheep auto

[Juzz976]

Jaycar have the relays too. The relay may hold in without sufficient load or in other cases flash quickly when load is dropped.
Get the flasher unit, only needs to be low current as LED's draw bugger all.

! You will loose your warning that an indicator has failed, You will now need to check the operation of these LED's frequently !

[CookMySock]

If they wont light up at all then I bet they are connected the wrong way around. LEDs are polarised, and only work with the positive to the correct bulb terminal.

Steve

[fence post]

I think something is wired wrong - normally they flash too fast without the correct relay. LED lights draw little current.

i dont think its wired wrong as the old unit still did the job with the old indicators and the selected side turns on when selected...but your right about them flashing to fast as i had a set of leds on my k4 750 and they flashed too fast but still got me my warrants so i left them.

i'll try and get to a supercheap auto and let you know how i got on.
cheers

[Owl]

I solved my LED issue with the Tridon HD-12, but it was flashing too fast, not on constantly.

Well made unit and picked it up from an auto-sparky for $15. I saw them in Supercheap a while back for about $23

[hayd3n]

i bought a electronic flasher unit from a auto electrical place and had a similar issue i had to replace my dash turn signal with a led ,
problem solved

[Juzz976]

One of the guys at work used a non load sensitive flasher relay on his FZ250 Fazer, it had to be re wired to work properly(not just plug in and away you go)
the drawing that came with the relay was never going to work properly so that had to be changed aswell.

Lucky for him he builds switchboards for a living so was an easy job for him to rectify.

[fence post]

well i went out and bought the tridon hd12 unit from supercheap for $24 and plugged it in.... and its a no go.

they turn on when selected like before but not as bright, but they are trying to flash.they go dim-bright-dim-bright.

any ideas?

[glegge]

well i went out and bought the tridon hd12 unit from supercheap for $24 and plugged it in.... and its a no go.

they turn on when selected like before but not as bright, but they are trying to flash.they go dim-bright-dim-bright.

any ideas?

check wiring and make sure the ground/earth return path is good for each lamp, oh - and the flasher as well (if it's electronic, it may require a ground/earth return - but i'm not sure on that one)
is this after market flasher unit() a pin for pin replacement for the old one?

[fence post]

check wiring and make sure the ground/earth return path is good for each lamp, oh - and the flasher as well (if it's electronic, it may require a ground/earth return - but i'm not sure on that one)
is this after market flasher unit() a pin for pin replacement for the old one?

i'll have a look at the earth wires tomorrow.
yea it is a pin for pin replacement. its a 2 pin unit. its an electronic 12v non load sensitive unit.
the old unit was the same except it was a varible load unit.
the bike is a 2006 husky 450 smr.

[hmmmnz]

some times the pins on the relays are in different positions,
i had to break the plug on my bike a switch the wires over,

[fence post]

i just had a follow of the wires from the flasher unit and they just vanish into the loom. its the same with the indicator wires. i dont think there are any loose wires as the old bulb indicators worked fine.

on the new flasher unit it has a pin for the +tive, and a pin for the indicator just like the old unit. is there supposed to be an earth/ground pin as it is for leds??
if there is meant to be an earth pin, then does that mean a 3pin unit could work and i just earth it to the bike??

ive tried swapping the wires around on the flasher unit but it does the same thing either way.

[gammaguy]

Led's consume D.C to produce light and are generally meant to be operated on D.C. but they will operate on A.C. However with A.C. of equal voltage the value of the current limiting resistor will have to be adjusted to achieve the same brightness. This is because with A.C. the led will only be lit when the current flow is in the proper direction. When the current flow reverses the led blocks current flow and remains unlit. Thus A.C. applied to an led will cause it to blink on and off even though at high enough frequencies it will appear to be lit continuously. To make a blinking led appear as bright as constantly lit led the current limiting resistor's value is lowered to allow more current flow causing the led to be brighter when lit. This causes a greater average light output and thus a brighter appearing led. This trick of the eye is a phenomenon known as persistence of vision. This is also the reason the led appears to be continuously lit when actually blinking.

so i suggest you check wether you are putting ac or dc thru the indicators,as this is relevant to the behaviour of the LED.