Good response when blinking and power saving. LED indicator lights that can be replaced by coupler-on if combined with a special relay. | News

The use of LED headlights and blinkers is becoming more and more popular, especially in new models. LED bulbs have various advantages over filament bulbs, and are attractive not only for stock use but also for custom use. Easily replaceable indicator bulbs can be used in combination with special relays to reduce power consumption significantly, which is a big advantage for out-of-print vehicles.

Blinkers that become high-flash when just replacing with LED bulbs

While there are some customization to make the indicator itself compact, there is also a way to change only the bulb to LED. For out-of-print cars that do not want to change the style of the car, it is effective to use the stock indicator body and replace only the bulbs.

A long time ago, if you went to a user vehicle inspection, the size of the indicator lens and the way it flashed were strictly checked. In the case of automobiles, if an LED bulb was installed that emitted a white light when the position lamp was turned on, but blinked orange when the indicator was turned on, the car would usually fail the identity check before the inspection line, and the position circuit would have to be cut to pass the inspection. However, there are now many new models that use such a flashing pattern as a standard specification.

In the past, the area of the blinker lens and the length of the stay were checked nervously, but nowadays, there are custom parts that can be used for vehicle inspection even for ultra-small blinkers that cannot even be recognized unless they blink. There are now parts that can be used even for flowing blinkers (sequential blinkers) which used to be absolutely useless.

The reason why such parts are now allowed is mainly because European manufacturers have adopted such products and they have obtained ECE certification. Since automobiles and automotive parts are used in many different countries and regions, globalization is required to avoid being bound by each country’s own standards. For this reason, parts and equipment that have been approved and obtained ECE certification in Europe can be used without modification in Japan based on the type approval mutual recognition agreement. Therefore, there is no problem to install LED blinkers if they are certified parts, not only for the models installed as genuine parts, but also for customization using aftermarket parts.

The indicator body remains genuine, and there is no problem if the custom is to replace the bulb with an LED bulb. In the past, there were some people who made their own LED bulbs by soldering several LED elements in a row, but nowadays, there are many LED bulbs available in both wedge and metal mouth types. If it is obviously dark, it is dangerous, but if it is a product of a reliable manufacturer, there is no problem at first.

When you install LED bulbs in the blinker circuit of the bulb specification, the problem is that the blinking speed becomes abnormally fast and high flasher.This is a problem with the blinker relay, which tells the user when a bulb goes out by flashing faster. This is a problem with the blinker relay specification that alerts the user to the problem by speeding up the blinking speed when the bulb goes out. 21W per bulb is a lot, but LEDs (1-3W depending on the product) consume far less power than bulbs, so the bulb is considered to be out. So, it is considered that the bulb is out and it becomes a high flasher.

Replacing the relay with an LED compatible relay is more battery friendly than adding a resistor.

If the factory relay is the 2-pin type, Daytona’s LED compatible relay can be installed with a coupler (current models have a different shape). Depending on the specifications of the coupler on the vehicle side, the relay can be installed directly or using a sub-harness. 3-pin type LED compatible relays are also available.

There are two ways to get LED bulbs to blink properly, as they consume much less power than bulbs. The first is to make a custom LED bulb, which was a common practice about 20 years ago when homemade LED bulb customization started.Add resistors to increase power consumptionMethod. Adding a cement resistor in the middle of the indicator harness was popular, but there were also products that put the resistor inside the bulb. These have the advantage of not using the big advantage of power saving of LED, but do not need to replace the indicator relay.

The other one is.Replace the indicator relay with an LED compatible one.Method. Light bulb type indicator relays are designed to blink an appropriate number of times for the power consumption of 21W x 2 plus the indicator if the power consumption of one indicator is 21W. On the other hand, LED compatible relays are characterized by the fact that many of them have a super wide range specification that can operate normally with a power consumption of 1 to 100W by using an electronic circuit. LEDs, which consume less power than bulbs, will of course blink correctly even with bulb-spec blinker circuits, but their weakness is that they do not go into a high-flasher state when the bulb goes out, so there is a possibility of overlooking a problem.

If LED-compatible indicator relays were readily available, everyone would want to replace the relays without hesitation and enjoy the benefits of LEDs, but(There may be no way to replace the indicator relay if it is not integrated into the ECU or other complex infrastructure and is not independent.. This is often the case with automotive relays, and when you replace them with LED bulbs for dress-up, you have to use a set of resistors. There is no effect to reduce the power consumption, but you can experience the good response when blinking that only LED can provide.

If the purpose of changing to LED is to reduce power consumption, it is best to replace with compatible relays. The difference is obvious because the bulb indicator consumes 42W (21W x 2 lamps front and rear), while the LED bulb consumes only 8W (4W per lamp front and rear). Some say that the load on the battery is not so great because the time to use the blinkers is limited unlike the headlights and tail lights, but for an out-of-print car with limited alternator capacity, it should be beneficial to have less equipment that uses electricity.

If you measure the current when the indicator is activated, the benefits are obvious.

The stock blinker relay of GPZ400 is 3 pin type and Daytona is 2 pin type, but the arrangement of B and L terminal is same, so I could install the socket for GPZ. Some LED bulbs may not work properly when there is a ground E on the body side, but the bulbs I used this time worked fine.

Hazard lamps with four flashing front and rear lights consume more power and place a greater load on the battery, making the difference between them and LED bulbs clear.

LED bulbs are characterized by their high response time, and they also have the advantage of improving visibility by providing a clear contrast when flashing.

When using blinkers at intersections, it is not uncommon to flash the blinkers while stopped at a traffic light. At this time, if it is a light bulb, it consumes more than 40W power intermittently, and it is not uncommon for out-of-print cars to flicker light and dark along with the blinking when using the meter lighting. The stock blinker bulb of Kawasaki GPZ400 in the image is S25 type 23W, and the power consumption is even larger than 21W of G18 type which becomes mainstream afterwards. The regulated rectifier controls the amount of charge according to the condition of the battery, but in the first place, the rising power from the alternator is not large while idling, so the battery tends to become unstable when the blinker takes power.

The LED bulbs that I replaced fit into the stock indicator sockets and glow orange when lit. The LED bulb was replaced a few years ago, so the design of the bulb has an old school feel to it. the stock blinker relay has 3 pins, while the Daytona relay has 2 pins.The 3 pins are B for power (battery), L for indicator light (indicator light) and E for ground, while the 2 pins are B and L terminals with no E leading to groundIf the stock relay is 3 pin type, the LED should be 3 pin type. If the stock is 3 pin relay, it is recommended to use 3 pin type LED. In the case of this car, 2 pin relay was fine.

By operating the LED bulb without resistance, the flickering of the meter illumination when the indicator is activated at a traffic light is completely eliminated. The reason for this is obvious if you measure the current with battery cables. In order to clarify the difference in power consumption, we compared the results when the hazard lights were blinking, and found that the LED bulb consumed only 0.5 A while the bulb consumed almost 7 A..The power saving of 37A and more than 90% was achieved. This is a big reason that the power consumption of the LED bulb used was a small capacity type of 2W or less per unit, but even if you use an ultra-brightness 5W class LED bulb, you can reduce power consumption by nearly 80% compared to a 28W bulb.

in this wayBy using a tester to make objective measurements, the advantages of LEDs with low power consumption become even clearer. LED indicator bulbs can be used for dress-up or to show off your individuality, but on the other hand, if you understand the benefits in terms of reducing the load on the charging system and battery, you will also understand that it is a practical custom for out-of-print cars.

The clamp tester can measure the current without interrupting the wiring in the circuit by covering the wiring through which electricity flows with a ring-shaped clamp. When measuring large currents, it is dangerous to pass current through the tester’s lead wires, but the clamp tester does not directly touch the wiring, so it is very safe.

Up to 6 when using hazards with stock blinker bulbs..8A of current flows through it. If the battery is 12.If it is 8V, it will be about 87W, which is about the same as 23W x 4 lamps. In other words, this amount of current is reliable.

Just replace the LED bulb under the same conditions and the current is 0.Since the power consumption of LED bulbs varies from product to product, not all bulbs consume as little power as this, but at least a reduction by more than half can be expected. Even if the power consumption is low, it does not mean that the light is dark, but rather, the light and dark become clearer and the flashing becomes easier to recognize.