i wanted to get rid of the stupid fast blink that you get when you replace a stock blinker with LEDs. I went to radio shack and got and 8 ohm resistor. me knowing zilch about eletric things just pick up a few diffrent ones figured i'd try em all till one worked. The first one i tried worked so i used that one. I think it was a 1 or 2 watt 8 ohm resistor. They were cheap ($1.oo ea) compared to the small kit that autozone has for 15.99 which only includes a few snap connectors. anway i was lookin for a spot to splice the line when i thought why not just put them inside the light houseing behind the led chip. i sodered them on and put them back together... all is well so far. just makin sure i'm didnt put in something that would hurt the eletrical system on the bike, whatever that may be

if i can figure out how to post some pictues i'll try and show you how it came out....
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...blinkermod.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...rResistor1.jpg
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...rfinished1.jpg

(how do i show them in a post?)

 

When creating a post, click on the icon pointed to by the red arrow. A popup appears in which you enter the URL for the photo.

 

It's a little different on a Mac.

 

Here are your photos:







Putting the resistor in parallel with the blinker changes the RC (resistor-capacitor) time constant and will slow things down. The one thing that you should be most concerned about is the current through the resistor and that the resistor is big enough (power wise) to dissipate the heat. If it isn't then, there is a possibility of a fire. A quick way to check without being too scientific (or mathematical) about is is to turn on the blinker for a minute or so and then feel the resistor. If it is too hot to touch then you need either a resistor with higher resistance or a a resistor with a higher power rating.

The resistance value will control the duration of the blinking. Although higher resistor will slow things down, it will also lower the power rating needed as well.

Doing a quick worst case calculation on this. Let's say that the 8 ohm resistor had to constantly drop the whole 12 volts. (This isn't the case because the circuit isn't constantly on and I'm assuming that you have the same setup in the rear).

Ohms law: I = V / R (Current (in amps) = Potential (Voltage, in volts) divided by Resistance (in ohms)

12V / 8 ohms = 1.5A

P = V * I (Power (in watts) = Potential (in volts) times Current (in amps)

12 V * 1.5A = 18W


Now more realistically (but not completely, since we're still not taking into account the LED units and the flasher unit (or wiring, for that matter))

12V / 16 ohms = 0.75A 0.75A / 2 = 375 mA (50% duty cycle)

6V * 375mA = 2.25W (6V because each resistor is dropping half of the 12V)

So if you have 2W, 8 ohm resistor, you're probably OK.

 

sick, thanks for giving me the 411 on eletrical set ups. feel like an eletrican now. hahahah i'll let you know if my bike burns down.... they said that you can run more then one of thoes resistors if its not enought... so i guess i can always open it back up and add another one if its getting too hot and that should solve the problem....

 

Why don't you just replace the flasher instead of doing all that work with resistors on the lights?

 

Adding the same value resistor in parallel will make things worse. Two resistors of the same value in parallel creates an effective resistance of half that of the single value (in this case , 4 ohms). Resistance down, then current and power up.

You would need to place the extra resistor in series to increase the resistance.

 

Definitely put the resisters in series if you want to lower the amperage (current draw).

 

...I'm guessing because he did it for dirt cheap

... Good job too dude. I thiiiink you're the first one I've seen to slow down the blinks the cheap way...
I stiiiiill havn't installed the resistors I got... for free(I may as well add)... They are 8ohm 10watt resistors. Bigger tho, they wouldn't fit inside the blinker like your's did.. Unless the blinker was large, and in that case likely wouldn't be LED anyway.. haha.
Looks good too