I'm not much on making reliable searches but I didn't see this topic anywhere.


I recently converted my turn signal lights to work as tail/brake lights in conjunction with the original tail light by using the factory Harley plug/play kit. Everything works as planned and I really like it, however now I'm thinking of upgrading to LED's in at least the tail light position, the turn signals if possible.


If I were to replace the original 1137 bulb with a comparable LED unit, would there be any problem or should it work without any issues? I'm not sure I want to get into 'load increasers' or whatever they are that are sometimes required when changing to LED's. Neither do I want to cause any electrical issues on my bike.


I think the turn/tail/brake light conversion works by simply decreasing the voltage to the bulbs in normal running mode, then ups it to full voltage when either brake or turn signals are used. If in fact the voltage is decreased to make it work to begin with, won't it just make my problem worse?


Thanks and regards, Joe.

 

The reason 'load increasers' or ballasts are necessary is that LED bulbs draw much less power than stock filament tyype bulbs. This can either fool the stock flasher unit into thinking the bulb has blown, hence doesn't flash, or flashes at the wrong speed.

In your case you will probably have to use one, so I suggest you check Badlands, who may even make a module to do exactly what you want, in other words keep your current set-up but with LED bulbs. There are other brands as well.

 

Turn signal bulbs are connected to the same circuit as your turn signal indicator light on your dash. Most systems are designed for incandescent bulbs. When a bulb blows or goes out it becomes a safety hazard. Because of this the circuit has been designed to flash the dash indicator quicker than normal to make the operator aware that there is an issue with the bulb. This is done by detecting a drop in voltage. The issue with LED lights is that they use less voltage and will give a false positive alert on a circuit designed for incandescent bulbs. Since the light is not actually out the bulb will also flash quicker than normal. This is often referred to as Hyper Flashing. The way to fix this issue is to install a voltage regulator into the main wire harness of your turn signal circuit.


CAN BUS Notes:
Motorcycles with a CAN BUS electrical system require CAN BUS compatible electrical accessories. In CAN BUS systems the electrical devices can communicate with each other. When this communication is broken or not available it can cause system issues and error codes. Most folks with CAN BUS systems run accessories directly from the battery in order to bypass the CAN BUS system. You also do not need to run a voltage regulator when connected to a CAN BUS circuit. Just make sure the bulbs are CAN BUS compatible.