My son has fitted led indicators to his motorbike if he signals to turn right the right hand indicators flash?

Question

but the left hand ones flash at quarter power the same thing happens when he signals the other way

Answer 1

sounds like a poor ground circuit

Answer 2

That happens when a lamp isn't completely housed, so I'm assuming one of the LED isn't snug in it's fitting.

Something is slightly loose and it's turning a parallel circuit into a series circuit.

Tighten the lights in their fittings.

Answer 3

This sounds like a bad earth to me, it's the most common problem with auto electrics there is.

Answer 4

its against the law that if he gets stoped by the traffic police he would be sent to court because his bike is defected so best advice is go to the garage and get it fixed otherwise its 3 points on licence and £60 fine

Answer 5

I would say that the LED lights are overloading the circuit, they are too much for this application..............

Answer 6

he has got the live and the earth round the wrong way

Answer 7

Tell him to check the earth contacts on the lights and the switch. If he's relying on the bike's frame as an earth then it may not be good enough; especially from the handlebars and some of the return current from the Selected lights is returning via the wiring to the passive lights (making them flash dimly).

This is a common fault with motor vehicle tail lights generally, not just motorcycles. You'll often see badly wired trailers and caravans with similar symptoms - usually the lights go bananas when the brakes are applied.

The best cure is to wire up each light with a dedicated "earth" lead that runs straight back to the battery. That way the lights are not using the machine's frame (with it's articulation at the front forks) as a current return.

Guaranteed to fix it.

Answer 8

i don't really get what you mean.....are all flashing at the right time? it sounds like something isn't connected quite right - perhaps he could get it checked out at a bike shop?

Answer 9

Wiring fault. He needs to check the earth connections. Just clamping to the bikes metal may not be enough, probably it needs a pair of cables to the battery ground point

Answer 10

Wow! Your son invented turn signals.

Answer 11

LED indicators have a lower current draw then conventional bulbs.  As a result, the flasher unit can't 'see' the indicators properly and causes them to flash at the wrong speed.

You will need something called a "load equaliser" to cure the problem.  This balances out the current and allows the indicators to flash at the correct speed (some LED indicators actually have built-in load equalisers).

Answer 12

left, right, and the other way? which other way he going? up?