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General Category >> The Cafe >> THE LED TURN SIGNAL DISCUSSION
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Message started by Dave on 12/30/13 at 10:29:46

Title: THE LED TURN SIGNAL DISCUSSION
Post by Dave on 12/30/13 at 10:29:46

I tried several types of small turn signals, and found them all to be unsafe as they could not be seen in the sunlight. The lights could be seen if you were looking directly at them - but they would not get the attention of any driver behind you who was distracted.

I tried this one first.....it had a 26 Watt filament bulb without any reflector behind the bulb. It was not bright enough to be seen in the sunlight.

http://i43.tinypic.com/2h80l54.jpg

So I tried an LED turn signal....it was worse than the filament bulb and I sent them back to the seller.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2u5q3i0.jpg

So I took the small housings for the filament bulbs and I modified them to have a pair of 1.5 Watt LED lights that made the turn signals work great. Here is where I got the LED's.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-wired-bolts/plm-series-wired-one-and-half-watt-led/1141/#images

Here is how I installed them on a flat plate I epoxied inside the housing:
http://i41.tinypic.com/2quua1x.jpg

And here is a video of the filament bulbs in the rear and the LED's in the front. It is in the evening so even they rear lights look good - but the front LED lights are much brighter and can be seen in sunlight easily.

View My Video (http://tinypic.com/r/2r20rc5/5)

I have just found this retailer that offers turns signals that are DOT approved. These turns signals should be much safer than the small ones that I tried.

http://www.kandstech.com/index.php?page=universalsignals

http://www.kandstech.com/productreleases/newprod200.pdf

Title: Re: THE LED TURN SIGNAL BRAKE LIGHT DISCUSSION
Post by Pine on 12/30/13 at 10:42:02

Interesting....
I had been looking to do this for over a year but gave up. I was attempting to use LUMENS as my measurement for if the light would be bright enough. With a typical filiment bulb putting out 200 to 300 lumens.. I wanted the same with an LED. The specs on the link you provided say they are a mere 70 lumen.. but thats 150 lumens for the pair.

I also note you are not using a stock savage housing. That was other problem.. I wanted a housing that still stuck out a bit from the bike, but most aftermarket are "mini" or stubby.

Do you plan to fix the rears like you did the front?
Did you have to install something to correct flash speed?
Do you plan on converting other lights?
If so, is it your expectation that you could then use the "saved" amperage/wattage for other uses/brighter headlight?

Title: Re: THE LED TURN SIGNAL DISCUSSION
Post by Dave on 12/30/13 at 10:51:13

Pine:

I have already done the rears......I just took the video as a comparision before I converted the other pair.

The filament bulb may have been putting out 300-400 lumens, but a lot of it was being wasted because of the bad housing design. Without a shiny reflector the light was not going out the back, and half of the light was being blocked by the bulb socket.

The links I provide for K&S were for the small lights - they have lots of other turn signals available - and some have extended mounts. It appears they may even have Suzuki style lights.
http://www.kandstech.com/index.php?page=home

I was not looking to save energy as the turn signals are used so seldom I don't believe they have any big effect on power usage. I did have to get a turn signal relay that was LED compatible.

My goal in posting this is to make people aware that the turn signals that use the small LED lights are just not visible in sunlight and are not safe. I am hoping that we can find a source for a safe turn signals for our members to use......we don't want anyone getting run over.

Title: Re: THE LED TURN SIGNAL DISCUSSION
Post by GridMonkey on 12/30/13 at 19:51:35

I was just hunting down some things to try to make a conversion. http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-household-bulbs/led-g4-lamp,-21-high-power-led-disc-type/1640/ and http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/car-install-supplies/g4mr16mr11-to-ba15-base-adapter/173/ (1156 to g4) is what i thought about going with, though im not 100% on the space inside the stock turn signal. If someone had one handy, my bike is in storage about 30 miles from here, and could get the measurement of the interior of the lamp housing we could see if they would fit. Lumens are only part of the story. LEDs are directional and a 400 lumen filament lamp and a 400 lumen led will not output the same perceived light. The LED will be much more present and eye catching. and since this has a 120 degree throw it will be seen from all over. I thought about possibly changing out the lens to just be smooth amber/red and let the LEDs cover the angle themselves but i will have to test it out.

Just havent gotten to pick them up yet. I see a bit of possible twisting of the bi pins to get alignment right if the 1156 socket/adapter don't quite make the pins line up vertically but it should work out just fine.

If i get them/ a chance to try them out i will post some video when i get a chance.