Wiring new tail light for DRZ400

[DRZ4Hunned]

Hi,

I've made a start on replacing the 'orrible light on my DRZ. The light I'm using is one of these:

https://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah97/DRZ4Hunned/_12_zps2r3l455m.jpg

I've managed to get the light to illuminate, however when I apply the rear brake, instead of the brake light illuminating more, the numberplate LED's at the bottom illuminate more?

Any ideas why? Mucho grateful for any help
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DRZ400-SM
FZS600

[DRZ4Hunned]

Doesn't matter anymore, sorted it now
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DRZ400-SM
FZS600

[DRZ4Hunned]

Yet another hurdle, I've tried getting the indicators to work, but all I've managed to do is get the right indicators to stay on without flashing and nothing on the left?
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DRZ400-SM
FZS600

[DRZ4Hunned]

Gradually getting there…

The only problem I have now is the numberplate light flashes when I turn either of the indicators on.

Here's a video:

https://s1378.photobucket.com/user/DRZ4Hunned/media/IMG_0823_zpskizan2bi.mp4.html?o=0

Someone had suggested that I check for a poor ground/earth so I disconnected by battery negative lead and set my multimeter to 20V and put one lead on the disconnected battery (-) and the other lead on the bike's earth wires that go to the components (the components were disconnected when I did this).

The results I got were:

Tail light = 10.9V
Both indicators = 10.5V

I'm not sure if I'm using my multimeter correctly to find an earth? Do those results look normal?
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DRZ400-SM
FZS600

[Nexus Icon]

It does sound like a poor earth, tbh. There aren't any other reasons that a lamp would flash, unless you connected it all through the flasher relay.

Did everything work ok before you put in the led lamp? If it were me I'd hook everything back up as standard and start over, checking functionality as every connection is made.

I have found, in the past, that indicators fitted with bulbs of the incorrect wattage can cause them to either not illuminate, not flash or flash at incorrect speeds.
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[DRZ4Hunned]

[DRZ4Hunned]

Just replaced the back indicators with new non-LED ones and they're flashing at double speed as well as the numberplate light flashing.

If if re-connect the old non-LED one's they're fine but the numberplate light still flashes.

The indicators both look like those cheapo fake carbon fibre ones. Are they likely to be different watts? The new ones have 20w bulbs and I've connected them up the same way. I have had the new ones working at the right speed but all the indicators were flashing when I wired them up that way.

I've crimped proper connectors on now so I'm unsure whether it really is a bad earth.
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DRZ400-SM
FZS600

[waffles]

[Nexus Icon]

Even standard type bulbs of the incorrect wattage will make the flashing speeds vary. Check the tiny etched writing on the bulbs and check you haven't replaced 10W bulbs with 6W items.

As for the tail light flashing, I can't think of any other reason, off the top of my head, that it would flash with the indicator other than a poor earth or some real doofus wiring.
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[DRZ4Hunned]

[DRZ4Hunned]

Bloody Chinese bastards!!

The new indicators I'd been using stated that they were 12V 20W on the lens… I'd read a little into why they're flashing at twice the speed and a few people said the cheap Chinese indicators they'd bought had the wrong bulbs in, so upon checking they had 10W bulbs in!

The old indicators that work have 23w bulbs in, what's the easiest way to fix this? Buy new indicators or a new flasher unit?
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DRZ400-SM
FZS600

[Nexus Icon]

I had exactly the same issue with some ebay indicators and I found that the little pins on the bayonet fittings of the two wattages of bulb were offset to each other. However, I just filed off one of the odd pins and the bulbs fitted and held in place ok.

Worth a try?
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[DRZ4Hunned]