LED’s on motorcycle

I thought I'd better delurk myself and register. I can say already, I have a lot to learn. And surprise, surprise, I have a question.

I'm looking to put some red LED's on my motorcycle, but I'm also want ot put some amber LED's very near the same location as the red. I want the red LEDs to turn off (both during the flash and the "down time") while the amber ones blink in conjunction with my turn signal. I would prefer that they don't flash back and forth between red and amber. I've thought that maybe a SPDT relay will work, but to be quite honost, I'm very green in this area so I really wouldn't know how to wire it up, nor if this would be the right relay for me. Thanks for any help you could give me!

Are the LED's you are getting made for 12v?

If not you need Resistors to cut the power down.

If they are you are all set. Just tie the Amber across the bulb wires on the blinker and the Red ones across the wires for the tail light

LED's are very low current.

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John DeRosa (Hotwaterwizard)
Stockton California
When in doubt, try it out !

Yeah, I'm going to have to put resistors in there, much cheaper than buying the LEDs with resistors pre-installed. The thing is, I want the red LEDs for the vent in my motorcycle just for show, and I want amber LEDs in my vent that will work in conjunction with my signals.THis picture should help a little.



Now, this isn't my bike, but the lighting on the left is the vent light and I won't light my rear tire just yet. That's what I want mine to be like except in red. When I turn my signal on, I want the red (or blue in this picture) to turn off completely and let the amber flash. When the signal goes off, I'd like it to go back to red. Hope this helps.

I talked to a guy on the phone about it, he suggested a NC relay and then I talked to another guy and he said a SPDT relay. I don't know much about them. The first guy said it would be possible to get the amber to flash from bright to dark with it, and tried explaining how to wire it, but I wasn't completely following him. I think it would be fairly simple to get it to flash back and forth between amber and red, but I don't want any red in there while the signal is on.

you could... hmm. you could use a SPDT relay. hook the tail end accessory up to the relay so that the relay is constant on. Then hook up a signal wire from the tail lights that 'pulls' the relay away, breaking the circuit, and effectively turning off the tail end accessory while the turn signal is either position. A straight through wire would work fort eh front end, to let those LEDs blink with the turn lamps, as it were. i'd draw up a diagram, but i have crap for computer graphics programs...

ok. i took a minute to sketch this up. Please. some one else check my work here.

the 112volts relay page (for reference)

each relay has numbers on the bottom, near the contacts, identifying them... look on that page for an example.

ok. with that said. you'll want a switch to disable the 'for show' or deal with cops. this switch will lead to the #30 connector on the relay. When the relay is off, there will be a circuit made to the #87a connector. From this connector, you run your affects. Meanwhile, to 'turn off' the circuit, you connect a signal wire from your turn signals to #85 connector, and conect the #86 connector to ground. This way, if you flip your turn signal switch, the relay pulls the switch open, effectively turning off the 'show affects'.

thanks for asking the question... it gives me some ideas of my own.

~~Vinn

https://www.plasmaglow.com/index.asp?spage=psearch&pid=833059

https://www.plasmaglow.com/index.asp?spage=psearch&pid=1237277

i used this brand of led on all my motorcycle installs  the door handel kits work real well to hide under gas tank lip  about a 1/4" thick or less

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MATT

Hey thanks a lot, I'll give that a try and hopefully it works!

well, let me know how it goes man.

I'll do that.

its been a week or two
wondering how the project is coming.

I'm trying to finish it up. I've had to work a lot lately, so time is limited, plus I had to wait on my LED's (went the eBay route). I've installed the LED's inside one of my fairings, but still have to do the other side, and then I'll have to wire up the relays. Hopefully it'll be done by the end of next weekend or sooner.

So will I wire my "always hot" wire to the switch and then to the #30 connector?

... heh.

i might default to another guy here. i always ran a separate wire for the switch that 'activates' the relay... then a second wire to the 30 pole on teh relay. ... personally. i'd fuse the switch and the relay, but i'm anal like that. lol.

~~Vinn
*not sure if that helped*

Fuses are good Circuit Breakers are good too.

I hate it when the fuse blows and you have to go buy another one.

I use circuit breakers whenever I can.

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John DeRosa (Hotwaterwizard)
Stockton California
When in doubt, try it out !

Well, I connected it up like maglin originally said, and it worked! I'm pretty psyched about it. I'm far from having it finish and installed, it was just a test run. I'll have to give some real consideration in used a fuse or circuit breaker.

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll post some pics when I have it completely finished.

Well, I finally have one side done, and it looks great and works just like it should. Can't thank you guys enough. I'm tired, so I'll have to take some pics later, when I have it all completely done.

Side note: I didn'/haven't put a fuse in there just yet. How likely would it be that I could burn out my 1A relay? I'm still thinking of putting one in, but do I really need one?

never hurts man. never hurts. put an inline fuse if you don't want to add a fuseblock. 2 bucks at a autoparts place, and relatively reliable, doesn't take up much space. Doesn't use bladed fuses but them cylinder doo-dads.


*glad as hell his advice was on the money* lol. perhaps i'm not as newb as i thought i was.

~~Vinn

Tonight I tried doing the other side, and for some reason, it now flashes between red and amber. In other words, the red doesn't stay off between the "down time" of the turn signals. As far as I can tell, I did it the same way (I think), and I'm at a total loss.

Can you think of any obvious reason why it would be doing this?