I put some new smaller relocated rear turn signals on my KZ750 today. The problem is that it's not flashing. I had a feeling this might happen too. Has anyone ever made a homemade resistor to put more load on the flasher? Perhaps using an ignition ballast resistor off an old Chrysler? I know you can buy a resistor for when you change over to LED's, but I'm sure they cost a lot for what they are.

Somebody help me make this work!

 

well, I tried a 1.2 and 2.0 Ohm ballast resistor and neither of them worked. The auto parts store is ordering a 5 Ohm resistor for tomorrow. I hope that works.

 

Got to ask, are you sure you wired them correctly?

You should be able to read voltage on the bare wires with no load at all and watch it come on and go off.

I have done lots of signal replacements and have not had this problem unless I wired them wrong. Hope the auto parts store is not charging you more than a .10 per resister. Of so go to RadioShack they all those things priced correctly.

 

hmm, good point NS

 

The new signals are wired exactly the same as the originals. In fact the new signals had the same bullet style connectors, so it's kind of hard to screw up a two wire single filament bulb. You could reverse the polarity and still get the same results.

The kind of resistor I'm after is not the small electronics resistor that you would find at radio shack. I don't think those resistors would provide even a fraction of enough resistance that a light bulb would normally use. I think an ignition coil resistor is the only type that might work.

 

I was assuming your lights were LED are they? If so then those small resisters are what you need. Still say check the voltage so you can see if it present and if it is flashing. If it is then you can go to your lights, what does the manufacture say about them not working?

GL

 

No, the new signals are still filament style, not LED.

 

I might change both front and rear signals to LED later on. I'm not sure yet. Those aftermarket replacement LED bulbs sometimes really suck. So I would need to do my research on them first.

 

Have you checked the voltage yet?

 

Another update,

I tried the 5 ohm resistors and no luck with them. Actually, with them there is just enough load to make the bulbs blink about every 15-20 seconds! Not good enough for the street though.

I picked up a "load equalizer" from the local bike shop today for $24. It's a little black box that hooks up to the rear signals and automatically puts the correct load on the bike flasher. It's generally used for when you convert to all LEDs and need the extra electrical load. I haven't tried it yet, still have four more hours at work before I get off. I'll let you all know how it goes.