Indicators

[John o keeffe]

Hi all,
          I want to fit l.e.d.lights to my project gs 500e
           Anybody with advice on this process would be very appreciated. Is it a plug and go job ? what lights to go for etc
                                         Thanks

[mr72]

By indicators, you mean the dashboard, right? Oil pressure, high beams, neutral, turn signal?

It's plug and play for three of them as long as you have LEDs that fit, and they are a dime a dozen. But the LEDs have polarity so you have to get that right when you hook them up.

You will have to do the "diode mod" and rewire the turn signal indicator socket in order to use an LED. Search the forum, you'll find the info. But the basics are that you have to cut the wires to the socket and rewire them with a pair of diodes and hooking one to ground.

[Bluesmudge]

I think he means LED turn signals. You still need to do the diode mod or the turn signals will all flash at once.

Here is the easy button for the diode modification (cheap and there is a "wiring diagram" on that page too):

https://www.superbrightleds.com/metric-bike-diode-kit-motorcycle-diode-kit

You also need to replace the flasher with an electronic flasher that will work correctly with the lower load of the LED turn signals.

[FJ1200]

Hi mate, I fitted F and R LED blinkers and no go - I blew the relay... Then I learnt the LEDs don't make a 'complete circuit' so then installed bulbs on the front and LEDs on the rear... New relay and wullah...! Except they blink slowly... Now I'm trying to ascertain how that occurs...! (Learning alot on this project...)
PS: Any assistance from anyone would be appreciated ...
Hope you have some success and good luck with your project... cheers!

[mr72]

LEDs of course "make a complete circuit", but they are diodes. So they only conduct current in one direction. You must have the polarity correct. Get the polarity reversed in two diodes in series, such as the dash indicator and the turn signal LED, and no current will flow.

IDK what you mean about "blew the relay" but you must use an LED type flasher otherwise the turn signals will blink very fast. I'm sure someone else will come along and talk about load resistors, but why? A relay is like $8 and solves the problem in a completely plug and play fashion.

If you put an LED dash bulb in, you must do the "diode mod" to the socket, otherwise you will only get turn signals on one side.

[John o keeffe]

Thanks,
        So I need 4 diodes + an L.E.D.flasher unit ?

[Armandorf]

diode= a diode
could be led or normal diode (1n4004,1n4005,1n4007, 1n400x.

a diode conducts current in only one direction so, you have a positive and negative terminal, anode and cathode.
 
the diode mod for the dash bulb socket is because if you look at the wiring diagram it is designed to feed the turn signal bulb from both directions, with a led you can't do that. it only works in one way.

Then you have the second problem, the flasher/relay:
A conventional one needs a greater load and the blinking frequency is dependant on the resistance of the load= bulbs you connect.
Leds have a very little power consumption: less amps than conventional bulbs.
these relays were never tested nor designed to work with led diodes as bulbs. they dont flash, blink fast, stay on,etc

the electronic flasher relay aka "led flasher" pulses regardless of the load you connect to it. This is the change needed to use leds.

[thatshitcray]

Mate, you've got 2 options and no answer has covered this in it's entirety yet. As I had the regulator issue and am now stoked with my shendigan, I'll detail this for you.

1. You can stick with the tried and true method by connecting your LED indicators using good ol' resistors. This classic approach is favored by many bikers when making the switch to LEDs.

2. If you're up for a more efficient and slightly involved approach, here's what you can do: Connect your LED indicators. Before the left and right indicator circuit connects to the dash indicator, throw two diodes into the mix. Join this wiring after the diodes to create a single positive connection for the dash indicator. Don't forget, you'll also need to find a negative connection for it. This alteration requires tweaking the stock wiring. The diodes are crucial because the dash indicator receives positive signals from both the right and left sides with the designed current drawn sufficient enough to keep the side not switched inactive by using it's positive as the neutral. Without the proper load from standard bulbs or LEDs with resistors, the inactive circuit will become active due to current not being used up.

Now, when you swap out your stock incandescent bulbs for LEDs, you're actually drawing less current from your electrical system. And you likely won't stop at indicators – is the headlight next? What about the taillight and dash lights? LEDs are way more energy-efficient, so they don't stress your motorcycle's electrical components, including the voltage regulator.

Here's where the voltage regulator comes into play: It's responsible for maintaining a steady voltage level in your bike's electrical system. It ensures the battery charges properly and handles excess voltage. However, if the current drawn by your LED indicators is much lower than what the voltage regulator is designed for (common with LEDs), issues can pop up.

The regulator might struggle to maintain the voltage level correctly, thanks to the reduced load. This can cause the regulator to heat up – as it's designed to – but it will heat up more than usual since it's operating outside its intended range. Overheating can lead to performance quirks, like your bike acting strangely or needing higher revs to run smoothly. Trust me, you definitely want to avoid this situation. In fact, I've been there myself – I rode around with an ice pack strapped to the regulator before using the gross resistor solution in the interim before getting the MOSFET.

A Shendigan MOSFET regulator. Unlike the stock one, this baby is designed to be way more efficient, producing less heat waste. This can help you dodge overheating troubles when you go the LED route. And while some critique the made in China fakes, I'm sure that's what I'm running and haven't had any issues.

As for the relay.. I don't know about that, maybe I swapped that too...

I figured all this out the hard way so you don't have to. And I hope this info will help many to come, as the advice typically given is insufficient to the larger picture of how the circuit functions in its entirety.




-------------------------
... I'm behind in posting to this page and have to make significant fixes to how the posts are displayed but you can see what dumb stuff I get up to over at blogpagewade.com .. Update is, the bike is running! And this is something I've never seen done before so I think many in this forum will be interest and maybe take inspiration from it.

[ShowBizWolf]

The easiest way I've learned over the years is simply to use a LED flasher and a non-polarized dash bulb. Hope that helps.

[Armandorf]

Now, when you swap out your stock incandescent bulbs for LEDs, you're actually drawing less current from your electrical system. And you likely won't stop at indicators – is the headlight next? What about the taillight and dash lights? LEDs are way more energy-efficient, so they don't stress your motorcycle's electrical components, including the voltage regulator.

Here's where the voltage regulator comes into play: It's responsible for maintaining a steady voltage level in your bike's electrical system. It ensures the battery charges properly and handles excess voltage. However, if the current drawn by your LED indicators is much lower than what the voltage regulator is designed for (common with LEDs), issues can pop up.

The regulator might struggle to maintain the voltage level correctly, thanks to the reduced load. This can cause the regulator to heat up – as it's designed to – but it will heat up more than usual since it's operating outside its intended range. Overheating can lead to performance quirks, like your bike acting strangely or needing higher revs to run smoothly. Trust me, you definitely want to avoid this situation. In fact, I've been there myself – I rode around with an ice pack strapped to the regulator before using the gross resistor solution in the interim before getting the MOSFET.

A Shendigan MOSFET regulator. Unlike the stock one, this baby is designed to be way more efficient, producing less heat waste. This can help you dodge overheating troubles when you go the LED route. And while some critique the made in China fakes, I'm sure that's what I'm running and haven't had any issues.

The thing is it is a SHUNT regulator so it dumps the excess current to ground producing heat.
Drawing less current heats it up more.
MOSFET is better.

I personally decided that the 21w incandescent bulb are great for its purpose, they are brighter than most chinese leds, doesnt turn off instantly, and they use the projector and make the orange plastic glow better.  the turn light is used sporadically so it isnt a problem either.
They even iluminate the street pavement slightly at night.

[puglia-gs500]

I want to fit l.e.d.lights to my project gs 500e

After running into problems changing my indicators from the original incandescent bulb version to little LED units I got from MOTEA I read this post.

https://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php/topic,59153.msg675520.html#msg675520

It explained why I was having problems and more importantly how to fix the problem,  it was really well written and super clear, well it was to me anyway, thank you @adidasguy RIP. I then bought the below parts and followed the directions in the post

• LED Flasher Relay €20 MOTEA
• 2 x DIODI 1N4001 4001 Rectifier Diode

It took me about 4 hours to fit the new indicators and flasher and to make the mod with the 2 diodes.

After doing this I changed the lights behind the clocks to LED using T10 W5W 6000k LEDs that I got from Amazon here. They really made a difference at night. A also changed the bulbs for the indicator lights in the cluster to T5 1.2W LED 6000K LEDs again from Amazon here.

These are the lamps. (Left T10 W5W Right T5 1.2W)