Slowing down indicators

[MarJay]

Hi There,

My KE100 failed its MOT last week. It failed on nine items in total, most of which were fixable. Some of which required a replacement front wheel, and two of which were the indicators flashing too quickly.

Previously I had replaced the indicator relay from a 21w x2 unit to a unit which can handle 8-21w x2. I replaced all of the bulbs with 10w bulbs and they started working.

However they didn't work that well at idle, so I rewired them directly to the battery. They work well, but speed up a LOT when you rev the engine, as the bike has no voltage regulator, just a diode as a rectifier. I bought what I thought was a 6v reg/rec on ebay, but it turns out it contains instructions for how to convert your old british Lucas 6v electrics to 12v. I've sent the ebay person a snotty email as it was quite clearly described as suitable for 6 or 12 volts.

I digress. My issue is still that the indicators flash too quickly. I've tried changing the bulbs back to the 21w items which were originally there, but this just makes the indicators dimmer.

I'm guessing that putting some sort of resistor in between the rectifier and the battery which will hopefully calm the voltage jump when you rev the engine. Obviously the ideal answer would be to replace the rectifier with a Reg/rec.

Any thoughts on this?
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[hmmmnz]

a resistor will just dim the indicators,
a capictor might solve your problems though
____________________
the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[finpos]

To get it through it's MOT, diconnect the wire that is charging the battery from the altenator. You'll then have a constant voltage, but you'll be running a total loss system, so don't hang around the testers too long

You near a maplins? you could try buying a 6V Zener Diode for pennies and "upgrading" your rectifier to a rectifier/regulator. Don't know how long it would last...

finpos.

[cagiva gezzer]

https://www.ultraleds.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1212&osCsid=f284b73b2531172207429d1903814cb5

Any use? Or does your rate of flashing depend on engine speed?
____________________
"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[Pete.]

[finpos]

Geri - from another thread, He has a big fat ballast resistor in leu of a rectifier (blast from the past bike wiring a la 1960s), and a single diode acting as a half wave rectifier. Alarmingly, this seems to be how it came out of the factory less than a decade ago.

finpos.

[MarJay]

[stinkwheel]

How fast they going?

Construction and use regulations state you are allowed between 60 and 120 flashes per minute which is pretty damned fast. I can't imagine them going THAT quick, they'd be on more or less permanantly if they were going any faster.

You sure the tester didn't just look at them and thought they were faster than normal but didn't bother to actually check.

If they are really going faster than 120, an unscruplious person might just temporarily disconnect the battery from the charging system for the MOT.

[stinkwheel]

Alternatively, you could just fit a zennor diode somewhere in the charging circuit to keep the voltage down. This is what old Brit bikes used for voltage regulation and it should work fine on your bike. It would be a proper and permanant solution to your problem.

Simplicity itself. Just bolt it to the frame and run a wire from the battery to the zennor. The diode conducts electricity at anything over 7v and so would dump any excess to earth.

If you fit one, you'll need it to have a heat-sink. You can buy proper finned alloy heatsinks for them but people used to just bolt them to the inside of a pressed alloy numberplate or a big bit of metalwork that has air passing over it.

You would need a 6v negative earth one. They cost about £25.

[MarJay]

[Pete.]

Old PC's are a good source for small heat-sinks.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good