LED lights

[Ragamuffin]

I am ignorant when it comes to electricity so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have recently purchased a Motodynamics rear tail light for my 2009 Yamaha FZ6.

In addition to adding the tailight I was interested in replacing the front stock signals with Proton flush mount LED signals and to add LED signals in the rear where the stock signals are to work in concert with the Motodynamic taillight/signal.

Can you offer any advice or precautions on running such a setup or guidance on the proper wiring?

Will this increase or decrease the electrical drain on the bike as I have heard that they already run close to being taxed.

And again, thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Motogiro]

Anytime you're trading the incandescent for the LED equivalent you are saving current so you're good!

The only issues I know of are the flash rate of the OEM directional flasher may be too fast or not work at all when you switch over to all LED directionals. The other thing you run into is if you use a set of those additional multimode type direction replacement in addition to your Motodynamics the multimode may lock up or perform poorly. This has a cheap easy remedy with a couple of inline diodes.

Here's a link to a great electronic flasher relay to replace your OEM flasher... http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-electrical/42693-electronic-flasher-relays-great-price.html

 

[Ragamuffin]

Thanks for the info.

I will order that relay. Which leads me to another question...do I simply replace the stock flasher thing and then just hook all the new LED up and I'm good?

Also, I have seen something about being able to cut out the big resister pack of the motodynamic light. If I do that will the new rear led work along with the integrated LED turn signal of the motodynamic with this relay?

Thanks again.

 

[Gelvatron]

Thanks for the info. I will order that relay. Which leads me to another question...do I simply replace the stock flasher thing and then just hook all the new LED up and I'm good? Also, I have seen something about being able to cut out the big resister pack of the motodynamic light. If I do that will the new rear led work along with the integrated LED turn signal of the motodynamic with this relay? Thanks again.

I have the moto dynamic taillight as for cutting the resister pack I don't know but I did keep it with a new relay for LEDs and it does work and look great

 

[Motogiro]

The resistors provide a load to emulate the current draw of incandescent lamps. These resistors are added so that the original OEM flasher see's the same current draw once you've installed the LEDs. If you are replacing your OEM flasher with an electronic type you no longer need the resistors and will also use less current off your charging system. LEDs with an electronic flasher are a win win! You can eliminate the resistors on the Motodymic and save power.

***An important note*** to those that might read this and have Rizoma or other type in LED lights that use resistors!. Some resistors are used in series to drop voltage. They must be left in place or failure to the LEDs will occur from over voltage. They may have 2 types of resistors, the series type and the parallel type combination. You can tell which by how the resistor is wired. The resistors that are series wired are wired inline supplying voltage to the LED unit. These are series wired and must be left inline. The resistors that are wired from the signal wire to the black wire or ground are the are the parallel type used as a load and can be removed with out damage to the LEDs. It is very rare to see inline (series wired) resistors but there is at least one company (Rizoma) that does this series resistor and those resistors must be left in.

 

[Ragamuffin]

Is there a website or anything that you can recommend that will explain about all this? This stuff has always been confusing to me and I would like to change that.

I ordered the part that was suggested and will hopefully get it all working without incident.

 

[Motogiro]

Is there a website or anything that you can recommend that will explain about all this? This stuff has always been confusing to me and I would like to change that.

I ordered the part that was suggested and will hopefully get it all working without incident.

I would suggest a basic course in electronics might be a good start.
Here's a good site to read about series and parallel resistance but you still would benefit from the basics because this might seem a little alien to you.

Series and Parallel Resistor Circuit Calculations

You should do just fine and if you need it, post for help here...

 

[Ragamuffin]

Will do, thanks.

 

[Ragamuffin]

I managed to get it all hooked up and it works well. I replaced the stock blinker with the LED one that Motogiro suggested and cut out the resistors from both the Motodynamics tail light and the Rizoma rear signals.

Only problem I had was that I ordered the Rizoma extenders to help push the signals out to Virginia's requirement of a 9" spread. However, I had plenty of mounting bolt length without the extenders to work with, but once I installed them, the extenders mounting section was much shorter and kept me from using the Rizoma adapters to cover the entire hole on the FAZR FE due to the adapters thickness. I ended up using washers I painted black, which I feel still looks ok.

It turned out pretty well, thanks for the help. Motodynamics was very helpful as well with questions I had asked of them.