Aftermarket Turn Signal Issues

hi i am having a issue with my turn signals can anyone help me? my bike is a 1982 xj550 maxim. i replaced the original turn signals with ebay cateye turn signals front & back http://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-of-Four...m5689161e0c:m:m7FIMeQflp5vvX3HMt9Bqsw&vxp=mtr. At first they didnt work but then this forum helped me with that issue by telling me to get a new flasher relay and to basically not use the factory relay that turns them off by itself. https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...electronic-adjustable-rate-flasher/1920/4480/ Then it worked out great and then i had 1 front signal not work and i tested it by touching the two wires on the battery and it did not light. so i bought another replacement turn signal and i put all the connections back together the same way they came off and now i have all 4 turn signals flashing at the same time. i read online that i might be able to bypass this problem by puting a led in the turn signal indicator ,i am hoping this will fix it, if this is not correct please tell me what way i can fix this? i dont have true leds for turn signals so i dont believe i need resistors.

 

It worked fine before, it should work fine now. Go straight to the newest thing. Check the new signal. What wattage bulb does it have?

 

i believe the old one was 12v 3.4 w so im assuming the new one is the same bulb also i bought it from the same seller as last time

 

Don' do that. Confim it. The only thing that changed is that you replaced a broken signal.

 

That flasher you have the link to is incompatable with your wiring harness and will not work . The OEM unit has 3 terminals, positive(B), lamp(L) and cancel(C). That one has positive(+), negative(-) and lamp(L). You need a 2 terminal flasher and connect it to the positive(B) and lamp(L) terminals in your harness, the cancel function is lost.
Most auto parts stores have a 2 terminal electronic flasher for 10$ that will work.
If your OEM flasher worked before is should work with those new lights providing they are wired correctly, the flash rate may be different because of the bulb wattage difference. An electronic flasher will fix that.

 

ok lets start fresh, right now i have a bike that has a broken original flasher relay which i threw out in the garbage. i had purchased the aftermarket incandescent turn signals in the link above. i would like to know what part i should use to make the new turn signals work without using the factory relay or the turn canceling unit since they oem relay wont work with the new signals? also this is the new brake/license plate holder i bought and it works properly as it shouldhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-Cat-Eye-Cateye-Brake-Tail-Light-License-Plate-Tag-Bracket-For-Harley-/232043397198?fits=Model%3AXJ550R&hash=item3606dd404e:gRsAAOSwIgNXqfUA&vxp=mtr

 

As per what K-moe asked what wattage are the bulbs? 3.4 watts as you suggested seems way too low for incandescent turn signals, so please verify and let us know.

It they are that low, or if you use LED's then yes you need diodes or a bi-directional LED and a slight wire modification to make the single turn indicator function correctly.

Are you still using the flasher referenced above, if so how did you wire it?

 

Any two-prong no-load flasher will do, so long as the terminals are located correctly.
This one will do if you have at least 12 amps worth of lights https://www.amazon.com/Bussmann-NO-552-12-8-Thermal-Flasher/dp/B000GKAZCW
If you want something a little fancier https://www.amazon.com/AUDEW-Electr...=1488846499&sr=1-1&keywords=2+pin+led+flasher


FYI (more for future readers than you) the original relays are serviceable, as in the cover can be removed and the flasher repaired (usually).

 

Sorry its been a long time since i checked the site and the replies. is there a way i can test the watts off the bike? I can remove the lights off the bike to test it using the 2 wires that are connect to it. I was hoping I can just hookup my multi meter to it and do a simple test to see the wattage number you guys are asking about. If i can give you guys a ohms resistance number will that work to find out the bulb wattage as opposed to just looking at the bulb stamping? I prefer not to take the bulb out since the bulb is very hard to remove without damaging the housing or the bulb itself. I am hoping that just changing the 3 pin flasher relay to the 2 pin flasher relay you suggest will just be the simple fix to this issue. But i wont do anything till i get a better idea with what were dealing with here.

 

you can't measure wattage directly with a standard meter. Wattage is voltage times current.
If you install a electronic flasher the small difference in bulb wattage does not matter, it only becomes a factor if you use a thermal flasher. Just buy a electronic one and install it.
If you really what to know the wattage you will have to remove the bulb and look. Sometimes is printed on them or cross the bulb part number to see the specs.

 

This is usually caused by improper wattage between the indicator bulb and the turn signal bulb on bikes with a single indicator, so knowing the wattage of the replacement indicators is important. This is a very common occurrence when switching to LED bulbs and a detailed explanation can be found here:

http://tech.bareasschoppers.com/electrical/vtx-1800c-diode-fix/

You can't use the cold resistance of the filament bulb as it will appear much lower than the heated resistance. However, you can use a DMM and check the current and calculate the wattage. It's a simple procedure; if you are not familiar with DMM's just be sure not to place the leads of the DMM across a voltage source when setup for current or damage may occur to the DMM or applied circuit.

Move the positive lead on the DMM to the current jack usually marked 10A
Set the DMM selector switch to current mode
Connect the positive lead of the DMM to the positive battery source
Connect the DMM common or negative lead to one wire on the turn signal
Connect the other lead of the turn signal to the negative battery source
The bulb will illuminate and the current value will be displayed on the DMM
Move the DMM positive probe back to the red Vohm jack

The three terminal relay you referenced should work, but would require some rewiring on the ground side. The two terminal relays suggested would not require any wiring changes, but selecting a relay that is not load dependent is a good idea.

Chacal (Len) sells an adapter for the 3 terminal relay along with relay replacements and he has a comment about updating the indicator bulb to a polarized LED

You can find that here: http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/xj-parts-catalog-section-d-electrical-system.44641/page-2

Search page 2 "polarized"

"NOTE: when using any of these aftermarket flasher units on bikes with a single dash indicator bulb for the turn signals (XJ550 Maxim, XJ650 Maxim and Midnight Maxim, and 1983-84 XJ750 Maxim and Midnight Maxim), it will be necessary to replace the stock incandescent dash indicator bulb with a polarized LED bulb."

Another plus side on purchasing from Len is you can email him - info@xj4ever.com - with your wishes and get feedback, get a quality part, and a tested and verified setup.

This is kind of strange but I am not familiar with the assemblies. And, depending on the style of bulb used many members have purchased aftermarket turn signal assemblies that were fitted with lower wattage bulbs. The simple fix was to replace the bulbs with the correct 27W bulb and retain all the other original parts, which also enabled keeping the function of the self cancelling feature. Just to add a bit of caution here the new assemblies would need to be rated to handle the higher wattage.

I did ask the question on the Ebay link "what bulb number and what wattage", so we will see if the vendor responds.