Hey does anyone know...
If I replace my rear turn signals with LED's and disconnect my front turn signals, will i need a new regulator thingy?
I know if you go all LED you need one because of the differences in wattage or voltage or something but i'm wondering if thats the same issue if i simply disconnect the front turn signals...
electrics, LED's, etc.
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double-o-soul
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double-o-soul
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gar1013
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If you go to LED signals, you should go to a solid state flasher. If you search, you will find a write up on here.
Why would you disconnect your front turn signals? If you ever make left turns, you'll need them. More to the point, without your front turn signals, I think you will have issues with your rears due to incomplete circuits.
Why would you disconnect your front turn signals? If you ever make left turns, you'll need them. More to the point, without your front turn signals, I think you will have issues with your rears due to incomplete circuits.
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double-o-soul
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slotrod65
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I recently posted a thread about my LED conversion here:
topic24743.html
To answer your question:
Light bulbs work with the stock flasher.
A mix of 2 bulbs and 2 LEDs work with one flasher, but the rate of flash is much slower.
All LEDs and no bulbs require an solid state flasher because the LEDs do not draw enough current for the regular flasher to actually flash.
So, if you are disconnecting your fronts, and going LED in the back, you need a solid state flasher.
topic24743.html
To answer your question:
Light bulbs work with the stock flasher.
A mix of 2 bulbs and 2 LEDs work with one flasher, but the rate of flash is much slower.
All LEDs and no bulbs require an solid state flasher because the LEDs do not draw enough current for the regular flasher to actually flash.
So, if you are disconnecting your fronts, and going LED in the back, you need a solid state flasher.
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chuck_theobald
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- Location: Eugene, OR
I had wanted to do this conversion for some time. I ordered one red (for the brake light) and four amber LEDs from hdbright.com last November, along with an HID conversion kit for the headlight. The red LED and conversion kit arrived in good order, but the ambers were back-ordered. The red LED as a brake/running light works quite well.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend hdbright.com as a vendor. First, my emails about the back-order were ignored or sent to /dev/null; second, despite their recommendation, the HID conversion kit does not work for my 2006 Buddy, though I think it may work for a 2007 or newer; third, the amber LEDs do not fit properly in the rear turn signal sockets. They will go in and make contact, but the twist-lock is not possible. I think the bottom-most flange is responsible.
I am considering ordering more 1156 replacement LEDs from superbrightleds.com:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo ... d/805/748/
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo ... d/807/742/
On the up side, the LEDs from hdbright.com are good quality. The construction is all metal, with the flanges acting as a heat sink. The six LEDs on each unit are also much, much brighter than the truly poor stock bulbs, and are brighter than a standard 1156, to which I had upgraded a few years ago.
One problem I ran into was the inability to extract the 1156 from the front upper turn signal sockets. The left 1156 is stuck in the socket, and now the replacement LED is stuck in the right socket. I think this is due to poor design. The socket seems to be designed for a bulb with retaining nubs offset at some odd angle (165 degrees?) rather than 180 degrees. Ah, well.
edit: The upper front signals apparently use a BAU15s fitment (7507) rather than BA15s (1156). See http://www.autolumination.com/images/au ... 15s_wm.jpg vs. http://www.autolumination.com/images/au ... 15s_wm.jpg
A thought I have regarding the solid state flasher relay: You could avoid this expense by faking out the system with resistance similar to that provided by non-LED bulbs. Measured resistance of an 1156 incandescent bulb is around 0.8 ohms, so inserting 1-2 ohm resistors into the left and right circuits should do the trick. I've been wanting to ditch the upper turn signals, so removing the assembly and putting a resistor in place may be the way I go with this.
You could also, as has been suggested above, leave one incandescent bulb in place. In my case, the rear turn signal bulbs provide sufficient resistance so the relay flashes at a reasonable pace.
The overall design of the Buddy is well suited to an LED upgrade. Sleek and modern, the lines speak high-tech. I often think I am in a Jetsons episode as I cruise on down the road. The instant-on simply adds to this effect and, key to long life, gets the attention of others who may be using your road.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend hdbright.com as a vendor. First, my emails about the back-order were ignored or sent to /dev/null; second, despite their recommendation, the HID conversion kit does not work for my 2006 Buddy, though I think it may work for a 2007 or newer; third, the amber LEDs do not fit properly in the rear turn signal sockets. They will go in and make contact, but the twist-lock is not possible. I think the bottom-most flange is responsible.
I am considering ordering more 1156 replacement LEDs from superbrightleds.com:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo ... d/805/748/
http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo ... d/807/742/
On the up side, the LEDs from hdbright.com are good quality. The construction is all metal, with the flanges acting as a heat sink. The six LEDs on each unit are also much, much brighter than the truly poor stock bulbs, and are brighter than a standard 1156, to which I had upgraded a few years ago.
One problem I ran into was the inability to extract the 1156 from the front upper turn signal sockets. The left 1156 is stuck in the socket, and now the replacement LED is stuck in the right socket. I think this is due to poor design. The socket seems to be designed for a bulb with retaining nubs offset at some odd angle (165 degrees?) rather than 180 degrees. Ah, well.
edit: The upper front signals apparently use a BAU15s fitment (7507) rather than BA15s (1156). See http://www.autolumination.com/images/au ... 15s_wm.jpg vs. http://www.autolumination.com/images/au ... 15s_wm.jpg
A thought I have regarding the solid state flasher relay: You could avoid this expense by faking out the system with resistance similar to that provided by non-LED bulbs. Measured resistance of an 1156 incandescent bulb is around 0.8 ohms, so inserting 1-2 ohm resistors into the left and right circuits should do the trick. I've been wanting to ditch the upper turn signals, so removing the assembly and putting a resistor in place may be the way I go with this.
You could also, as has been suggested above, leave one incandescent bulb in place. In my case, the rear turn signal bulbs provide sufficient resistance so the relay flashes at a reasonable pace.
The overall design of the Buddy is well suited to an LED upgrade. Sleek and modern, the lines speak high-tech. I often think I am in a Jetsons episode as I cruise on down the road. The instant-on simply adds to this effect and, key to long life, gets the attention of others who may be using your road.
- Attachments
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- Side view of the 1156 LED replacement.
- 1156 LED 2.JPG (169.06 KiB) Viewed 1155 times
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- Front view of the 1156 LED replacement.
- 1156 LED 1.JPG (193.01 KiB) Viewed 1155 times
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- Front upper right turn signal with LED.
- Front upper right.JPG (144.16 KiB) Viewed 1155 times
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- Front lower left turn signal with LED.
- Front lower left.JPG (169.69 KiB) Viewed 1155 times
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chuck_theobald
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- Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2007 1:52 am
- Location: Eugene, OR
I wanted to follow up on this post. I know I'm in the wrong forum, but cannot transfer to the Buddy forum. Anyway, I am liking the brake light I got from HDBright.com:
http://www.hdbright.com/led-bulb-1157-w ... p-473.html
I've been riding with this for 8 months and haven't looked back.
Regarding my previous post, I've found a combination that works without having to replace the flasher relay. I ride with 1156 amber incandescent in the upper turn signals (one of the nubs shaved off to fit the 7507 fitting. Yes, I'm a Bad Person), HDBright's 1156 replacement (http://www.hdbright.com/led-bulb-1156-w ... p-484.html) in the lower front, and superbrightleds 1x3 (https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinf ... d/807/742/) in the rear.
I tried superbrightleds (https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinf ... d/805/748/) 3 x 1.3 watt LEDs, but for some reason they just did not turn on. I've confirmed the as working units in my ToyTac, but the Buddy doesn't light them up.
The superbrightled unit is brighter than the HDBright unit, but it is a single 3 watt LED. I like the 3-LED layout of the HDBright unit up front for appearances, and it still will get the attention of others on the road. Of the three I've tried, the only one that works in the rear is the superbrightleds 1x3. I think it serendipitious that it is also the most effective with its single LED, laser-like precision for anyone coming up from behind.
http://www.hdbright.com/led-bulb-1157-w ... p-473.html
I've been riding with this for 8 months and haven't looked back.
Regarding my previous post, I've found a combination that works without having to replace the flasher relay. I ride with 1156 amber incandescent in the upper turn signals (one of the nubs shaved off to fit the 7507 fitting. Yes, I'm a Bad Person), HDBright's 1156 replacement (http://www.hdbright.com/led-bulb-1156-w ... p-484.html) in the lower front, and superbrightleds 1x3 (https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinf ... d/807/742/) in the rear.
I tried superbrightleds (https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinf ... d/805/748/) 3 x 1.3 watt LEDs, but for some reason they just did not turn on. I've confirmed the as working units in my ToyTac, but the Buddy doesn't light them up.
The superbrightled unit is brighter than the HDBright unit, but it is a single 3 watt LED. I like the 3-LED layout of the HDBright unit up front for appearances, and it still will get the attention of others on the road. Of the three I've tried, the only one that works in the rear is the superbrightleds 1x3. I think it serendipitious that it is also the most effective with its single LED, laser-like precision for anyone coming up from behind.