LED tail light /Blinker light conversion.

[51Hog]

I have added 2 dual element bullet lights to the back of the bike and am attempting to use them for tail/brake/turn in addition to the tombstone tail/brake.
I have installed a Hopkins Taillight converter #48915 (Converts two bulb tail light auto system to one bulb trailer) to help out.
Works great with incandescent bulbs.
When using LEDS, the blinkers bleed to all three lights.
Any Idea how to cure this?
Maybe a diode or 2 ?? Where?
Dale

[mbskeam]

I think a diode on the neg side should work
had to do this to mine....

http://www.geocities.com/mbskeam/pics4.html

[FlatHeadSix]

Dale,
Before you re-engineer the whole system you might try running some additional ground wires to the bullets to make sure that the sockets are grounded good. The "D" in LED stands for diode so you already have some diodes in your circuit.

Some of those LED automotive bulbs have additional circuitry built into the bulb itself which may be conflicting with the solid state stuff inside that Hopkins converter, those things operate at the millivolt level and it doesn't take much of a signal to trigger them sometimes.

Are you running an indicator light of any kind?, when using the LED tail light bulbs you probably should put an incandescent indicator in the system. If you use a single indicator bulb you will need 2 additional diodes to feed it, if you use two you can wire them in parallel with the bullets.

Try the ground wires first, you can make some temporaries with alligator clips to test it. I did the same thing to the butt lights under the seat of my '47, they weren't grounding consistently through the greased bushing on the pogo stick, I ran a solid ground wire to the seat T-bar and everything works fine now.

mike

[FlatHeadSix]

if you can't get the Hopkins converter to work you might try one of the Kuryakn Hot Flash units. I put one on a Sportster years ago and when I built the wife's servi I put one on it also, they work great, a little pricey, but they work.

mike

http://www.kuryakyn.com/documents/insta ... D-1103.pdf

[51Hog]

Thanks for the replies--
I will try the grounds first.
I am using one indicator light that hooks to the third leg of the bi-metal flasher.
I will dis-connect that also to see if that makes a difference.
I do not think I had a problem when I had incandescents. I will remove the LEDS and put back the others to see if they also bleed.
Since I do not want to use load resistors, I still have incandescent bulbs in the front marker/blinkers.
When I get an electronic flasher, I plan on putting LEDS up front also.
Trying to keep the cost down so trying not to spend extra on the real deal converter.

[51Hog]

Well---It weren't grounds--No change when extra grounds were added.
Unhooked the blinker indicator light----No change.
Removed the two LEDS in the rear bullets and left the LED in the tombstone.
No bleed to the left from the right- No Bleed from the right to the left---Both bleed to the tombstone.
Put LEDS into the front bullets----Flasher did not get hot enough to work, but light bled from rt to lft and from lft to rt.
Gonna have to somehow use the Diodes to stop the feedback.
Don't know where to put the Diode if it needs to go in the negative side though. The ground runs through the frame.
May end up having to spend the $ on the kuryakyn converter for LEDS.