BMW R100S ,I want LED Blinkers (signals) winkers (brit) , but what about Flasher relay.

Hello and thanks for any direction!

No problem buying 1156 LED's units at LEDtronics inc.

The problem is if one has a thermal blinker relay.

My BMW 1977 R100S has 4 terminal blinker and I must run tests on it to
find out how it works, ( I will reduce the current to see if it blinks
faster)
But is there someone how already knows?

The 4 wires are ,
Blinker output
12vdc
Ground (earth)
and Start switch ( strange but true) ,guess at stopping the blinker
during start ( smart idea)

I was told my wiring diagram matches 1976 ( as 1976 June is mfg date)

Does anyone know if this Flasher Unit , is Thermal ops or electronic
ops,
such that it is not dependant on current flow?

Best wishes to one and all. Joes Bar and Grill


if no one knows, I will , answer soon.

cheers

 

I removed the Left rear bulb , blinks perfectly.
I substituted the left front for a license plate bulb. (low draw)
The good news is that the blub flashes ok , but the tail tell dash lamp
does not flash, this bulb is driven from the flasher relay.
I have an error above which i just corrected,

the conclusion is , if you want LED Blinks, you must
put in a fully electronic flasher , (non load dependant). Maybe easy to get.
or put in a load resistor , defeating my purpose of reducing my electrical load.

That is it. hope it helps someone. Joes bar and grill.
next will be the tail lamp. (current reduction via LEDs)

 

Jelly,

On a '77, surely thermal.

Why are you concerned about current draw? Two 21-watt turn signals
and a 2-watt telltale, all on 50% duty cycle, running, say, 1% of the
time, adds up to bupkis. My (modern, Japanese) generator turns out
550 watts, so, even when the signals are on, they would be averaging
around 4% of the output.

If the deal is that you want the snap-on, snap-off effect of LEDs,
then use 10 ohm, 20 watt load resistors across the LEDs or wire the
LEDs in parallel with the bulbs for double the brightness. If you
really want to reduce current draw, replace the flasher with an
electronic. Since you only have one telltale, you will undoubtedly
have to wire from the flasher lead of each turn signal circuit through
a diode (Radio Shack #276-1122) to the power lead of the telltale
(black band of the diode toward the telltale); that is, a wire from
each side, both connected through diodes to the power side of the
telltale (the one that connected to the OEM flasher). You have to do
this after the switch, since that is the only place where the circuit
is un-powered when not in use. Sorry, don't know your level of
electronics knowledge, so ignore the above if I'm boring you.

Another thought. When I converted my brake light to LED, I added a
unit that flashes the light 4 or 5 times before settling down to solid
'on'. I believe it helps to draw attention. I chose a Model IBF4
from Comagination LLC, Mesa, AZ, 405-461-6060. I bought it on eBay,
less than $20, as I recall. I also found my tail/brake LED assembly
as a unit that plugs into the OEM bulb socket on eBay, but I've
mislaid the details.

D

 

How could you possibly reduce your electrical load by replacing
turn signals ? How much time do they spend lit up ? I've toyed
with the idea of LED lights here, but if I did anything, I'd
want to use and 1157 with the other filament as a running
light. I suppose with the right diode(s) you could also run
an 1156 with two power sources.

If you want to reduce electrical load, I think about your only
shot would be to substitute an LED taillight. Motorrad Elektric
has a drop in LED tail light for ~ $50.00. Alternately, you
can pick up a retangular truck tail light for ~ $25.00 or
so and make your own bracket. This might save you a constant
10-15 watts. Not a whole lot, but mildly significant on a 240
watt charging system.

Other minor savings might be the front parking light and
the the speedo, tach and high beam lights. Most of the
others aren't on enough to make any real difference.
I haven't checked the wattages or availability of LED
replacements for any of these.

I did replace my taillight with an LED truck light but this
was mostly because I ride at night and got sick of bulb failures.
I fabricated a mount for it which replaces both the taillight
and license plate bracket.

Alternately, Motorrad elektric has a plug in 400 watt kit and
there's also an 800 watt kit using an auto alternator offered
by Greg Hutchins. About $1 per watt for either kit. For the 800
watt unit, probably a little machine shop work as well.

 

snip....

Great advice.
I have a 10watt head light halogen parking lamp to run during day
light,
This works so good , I have to pinch myself. Saving the hours on the
HL !!!
Every have a HL go out on a Cliff road in the country , at midnight?
Fun stuff. ( happend to me on a bike and in a car (do to regulator
failure and all the lights buring out at once, just like a flash
bulb).

I have the LED 1157 LED in the Tail , already. ( easy to find them
really)

I just wanted blinks to be LED ,is not just of power saving (
obviously not much as it is only used for turning ) but to stop my BMW
voltmeter from going nuts during blinking and to just have lamps that
are more reliable and maybe even brighter. ( the load saved on the
ALT is about 2.5 amps during blinking not an issue) ( I will put a
huge capacitor on the Voltmeter soon, to smooth it out)

The trick is finding ( I know how to design one, using a cmos timer)
an off the shelf blicker relay solid state that would have the extra ,
contact for the single tail tail dash lamp, as my bike has.
How ever I could use two diodes connected anode to each bliker left
and right , and the cathodes common to the tiny TailTail lamp. That
is my last option.

thanks again.

 

I know there are variable load flashers. People who haul trailers
use them. The trick would be matching the BMW pins. Might be easier
to just adapt a socket than to build the flasher from scratch.

 

I know there are variable load flashers. People who haul trailers
use them. The trick would be matching the BMW pins. Might be easier
to just adapt a socket than to build the flasher from scratch.

http://www.tricoproducts.com/index.cfm?location_id=124