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LED Turn Sig Bulbs - Need a Resistor?


MarkAZ

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Not wanting to hijack someone else's LED thread, let me start my own...

 

I'm looking at replacing my brake, tail, and turn sig bulbs with LEDs. Will I need a resistor for the turn sigs to keep them from hyperflashing? Or is there an electronic flasher unit that would work? Or is the flasher already electronic and I don't need anything extra? Do I need a resistor on the tail light so the brake brain won't think it's burned out? Bike is 2004 R1150RT. Thanks...

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Not wanting to hijack someone else's LED thread, let me start my own...

 

I'm looking at replacing my brake, tail, and turn sig bulbs with LEDs. Will I need a resistor for the turn sigs to keep them from hyperflashing? Or is there an electronic flasher unit that would work? Or is the flasher already electronic and I don't need anything extra? Do I need a resistor on the tail light so the brake brain won't think it's burned out? Bike is 2004 R1150RT. Thanks...

 

Morning MarkAZ

 

You might need additional resistors, it depends on the LED design & the motorcycle circuit sensitivity.

 

You can try to find some vehicle LED's that have built in resistance or just add your own as needed to correct a specific problem.

 

Another thing to watch for with vehicle LED bulbs is that they work (are seen) correctly through colored lens's. They seem to work best with a proper colored LED through clear lens's.

 

You also need to make sure that they are properly seen in direct sunlight. Some look bright as he!! in the store or at night but wash out completely in direct sunlight. I have a friend that put LED lights in the rear of his bike & none of us will ride behind him in the sunlight as we can't always tell when they come on (at night they look super bright).

 

 

 

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Hi Mark,

 

I used the LED (complete rear tail) and turn signal kits from Hornig on my 2003 R1150RT and was very happy with the simplicity of install, brightness..etc.

 

The kit comes with resistors. If you go with another brand/generic, you'll most likely need resistors to get the proper flash rate.

 

https://www.motorcycleparts-hornig.com/BMW-R-1100-1150-RT/Leds-Lenses-Bulbs/LED-Rear-Light.html

https://www.motorcycleparts-hornig.com/BMW-R-1100-1150-RT/Leds-Lenses-Bulbs/LED-turning-signal.html

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Thanks for the info, guys. I think I'll stick with the stock setup for now. The Hornig kits look nice but are a bit spendy for me and the resistor stuff is more work than I want to do.

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MarkAZ,

 

I bought LED bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs Super Bright LEDs along with a couple of resistors for my '99 R1100S. When I got the bulbs I plugged them in to see just how fast the blinkers would flash. They were faster but not hyper fast and I just used it as-is. I also installed a small programmable modulator from SuperBright (#MLD-5A, $6.95) on my brake light that really gets their attention.

 

Be sure to put RED LED's behind red lenses and AMBER LED's behind yellow (amber) lenses. If you use a white LED behind a colored (red) lens, the red plastic blocks all the light except the red wavelength.

 

Super Bright has a bunch of info including a vehicle (with motorcycles) selection guide. You can select from several bulbs for each position on your bike. The brightest is usually the "tallest" so check clearances in your lens.

 

I get comments on how bright they are day and night.

 

Lowndes

 

 

Edited by Lowndes
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I think it was your post that got me thinking about this so thanks for responding. I was looking at the SuperBrightLED site.

 

My bike is an 04 R1150RT...I wonder how different the lightning is from the 1100...flasher, brake light logic, etc?

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My bike is an 04 R1150RT...I wonder how different the lightning is from the 1100...flasher, brake light logic, etc?

 

Morning MarkAZ

 

There is difference as the 1100 (R,RT,RS,GS) uses conventional circuits & your 1150RT has the brake & tail light controlled (& monitored) by the ABS computer. The 1100S is slightly different as the later 1100S uses the I-ABS system.

 

On your 1150 (I-ABS) bike if there isn't enough rear bulb resistance then the ABS computer can see that then bring the brake light on at a lower power to replace the taillight then turn on the general dash warning light.

 

The turn signals are about the same between the bikes.

Edited by dirtrider
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My bike is an 04 R1150RT...I wonder how different the lightning is from the 1100...flasher, brake light logic, etc?

 

Morning MarkAZ

 

There is difference as the 1100 (R,RT,RS,GS) uses conventional circuits & your 1150RT has the brake & tail light controlled (& monitored) by the ABS computer. The 1100S is slightly different as the later 1100S uses the I-ABS system.

 

On your 1150 (I-ABS) bike if there isn't enough rear bulb resistance then the ABS computer can see that then bring the brake light on at a lower power to replace the taillight then turn on the general dash warning light.

 

The turn signals are about the same between the bikes.

 

dirtrider you've almost got this right. If there is too much resistance, e.g. blown bulb, open circuit (not if there isn't enough) then the brake light will be turned on at part intensity to act as a taillight. LED bulbs are higher resistance then the standard incandescent bulb. The resistors that are put in the circuit are not put there to raise the resistance they are put there to lower the resistance. This is accomplished by putting them in parallel to the bulb (lowers overall circuit resistance). If they were put in series with the bulb, which they are not, then it would raise the resistance.

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My bike is an 04 R1150RT...I wonder how different the lightning is from the 1100...flasher, brake light logic, etc?

 

Morning MarkAZ

 

There is difference as the 1100 (R,RT,RS,GS) uses conventional circuits & your 1150RT has the brake & tail light controlled (& monitored) by the ABS computer. The 1100S is slightly different as the later 1100S uses the I-ABS system.

 

On your 1150 (I-ABS) bike if there isn't enough rear bulb resistance then the ABS computer can see that then bring the brake light on at a lower power to replace the taillight then turn on the general dash warning light.

 

The turn signals are about the same between the bikes.

 

dirtrider you've almost got this right. If there is too much resistance, e.g. blown bulb, open circuit (not if there isn't enough) then the brake light will be turned on at part intensity to act as a taillight. LED bulbs are higher resistance then the standard incandescent bulb. The resistors that are put in the circuit are not put there to raise the resistance they are put there to lower the resistance. This is accomplished by putting them in parallel to the bulb (lowers overall circuit resistance). If they were put in series with the bulb, which they are not, then it would raise the resistance.

 

omg.gif

 

Are you questioning The Oracle????

 

 

 

 

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My bike is an 04 R1150RT...I wonder how different the lightning is from the 1100...flasher, brake light logic, etc?

 

Morning MarkAZ

 

There is difference as the 1100 (R,RT,RS,GS) uses conventional circuits & your 1150RT has the brake & tail light controlled (& monitored) by the ABS computer. The 1100S is slightly different as the later 1100S uses the I-ABS system.

 

On your 1150 (I-ABS) bike if there isn't enough rear bulb resistance then the ABS computer can see that then bring the brake light on at a lower power to replace the taillight then turn on the general dash warning light.

 

The turn signals are about the same between the bikes.

 

dirtrider you've almost got this right. If there is too much resistance, e.g. blown bulb, open circuit (not if there isn't enough) then the brake light will be turned on at part intensity to act as a taillight. LED bulbs are higher resistance then the standard incandescent bulb. The resistors that are put in the circuit are not put there to raise the resistance they are put there to lower the resistance. This is accomplished by putting them in parallel to the bulb (lowers overall circuit resistance). If they were put in series with the bulb, which they are not, then it would raise the resistance.

 

omg.gif

 

Are you questioning The Oracle????

 

 

 

 

Afternoon eddd

 

He should, I did post the resistance direction incorrectly.

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Yeeha! Stephen

I put a Kisan Signal Minder in place of my flasher unit to make the signals self-cancelling and it supported my switch to LED turn/tail/flasher bulbs, without an additional resistor.

 

It can make your signals into running lights and I put red LEDs in the rear that show red thru the yellow lenses.

 

https://kisantech.com/mag/pfin/sm-5.html

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Well, to answer my question (Need a Resistor?) about putting LED bulbs in my R1150RT...yes.

 

I ordered the bulbs from SuperBrightLEDs and gave them a try today. Without the resistor the turn sigs flash about twice as fast as normal, which actually might not be unacceptable and might even be more attention-getting. If I want them to be about the normal speed it will take a resistor for each bulb which I think would be a PITA. I was hoping that one resistor for each side would do it but apparently not. The resistors get pretty hot so you gotta be careful where you mount them.

 

Also, without a resistor for the tail light the brake brain thinks the tail light is burned out so it keeps the fault light on and turns on the brake light. I think there's a good place to mount a resistor for it under the seat cowl, tho, so that might be doable.

 

The LED brake light seems to function OK by itself.

 

So...I'm not sure how I want to proceed. I'm not keen on putting a bunch of resistors in there. The Signal Minder looks like a good solution but it's more than I really wanted to spend on this (what's the cheapest thing on a BMW?) as are the other turn-key bits.

 

Decisions, decisions...

 

Anyway, just wanted to report back on this in case someone else is thinking about it (if you are, I know where you can get a deal on some bulbs & resistors ;) ).

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My R1100RT came with a brakelight modulator (sorry, I'd have to open things up to find out what make/model), which works fine with an LED brake bulb. The flash rate is the same, and of course with LED there is much faster on/off transition.

 

You should be able to replace the turn signal relay with one that will work with LEDs, such as this: 3-Pin CF-13 Electronic Flasher Relay Fix For LED Turn Signal Light Bulbs

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You should be able to replace the turn signal relay with one that will work with LEDs, such as this: 3-Pin CF-13 Electronic Flasher Relay Fix For LED Turn Signal Light Bulbs

 

Morning Selden

 

The BMW 1150RT uses a 9 pin electronic T/S relay for the turn signal relay with different sized pins than that 3-Pin-CF-13. Even if you could grind on the pins then force it in it is still 6 pins & some key electronics short of functioning.

_________________________

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There's a discussion on the MOA forum about this as well. One of the forum members found this article on the ADV site about modifying the turn sig controller to handle LEDs. Scroll down for pictures & you might want to read the entire thread before you tackle it.

 

Turn Sig Controller Mod

 

I haven't tried it (yet) so can't say for sure if it works altho several posters to that thread say it does.

 

I'm planning to give it a try and I'll report back about the results.

 

Just thought I'd pass it along. Usual disclaimer...use at your own risk, don't blame me if you screw up your expensive controller, etc, etc, etc... :)

 

 

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I did the mod today and it works fine...LEDs in all the turn sigs and normal flash rate, no resistors. It was fairly easy, I only had to cut the first trace, but I wouldn't recommend trying it unless you have some experience with tiny circuit boards.

 

In true German fashion the thing appears to be way over-engineered. It actually contains an 8 bit microprocessor ( I looked up the part numbers). For comparison, the first ECU used in GM cars many years ago was a 8 bit MPU (I worked for the company that made them).

 

I also installed an LED in the brake light and it works fine without any changes...just plug & play.

 

A resistor will still be needed for the tail light, tho...unless someone wants to figure out a mod the the brake controller. I may play around with resistor values for that but I'm not sure it would be worth it. The stock bulb is only 10W and I don't know that having a much brighter tail light would be of any benefit...the whole idea of the exercise (IMO) is for brighter lights, not really power saving.

 

Anyway, just following up in case anyone is interested.

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