eliminating "distance sensor" and other lights

[ShakerNorm]

Chuck - a Diode is basically a one-way valve for electricity - it lets the current though in one direction, but stops it in the other. What you'd have to do is make a Y of 3 wires, with the LED on one pole - and a diode on each of the others, so that electricity can go from either circuit to the LED, but not back through the other circuit.

Pete - I knew there had to be a simple explanation for not having diodes in the stock setup - thanks for explaining it. Of course Chuck's LED's had to complicate his setup....

[Chuckwagon]

Well, it's all coming back to me now... several years ago, I helped butcher a friend's new Bonneville and ran into a similar situation. He was installing the same exact gage that I have, and we had to install a set of diodes to make the turn signals and LED indicator work. I think we wired it like this:

and used these diodes from Radio Shack:
www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062575
We didn't know why or what for, we were just following the directions that came with his bracket "kit" for the gage.
From what you've described, the wiring sounds the same (obviously different color wires I'm dealing with) and the same diodes should work... am I right?
Another question... why did Yamaha go through all that thinking to put in all those "other" warning lights and then skip an oil pressure warning light??? Seems like low oil pressure and a resultant seized piston could lead to plenty of mayhem sooner than a burned out headlight would.

[Chuckwagon]

Which reminds me... I have that unused oil light. The thought had crosse my mind to use it as an indicator for the one side of signals, and the real indicator for the other side. The diodes are an easy enough solution, so I'll try that.

[Chuckwagon]

Picked up the diodes from radio shack. as expected, they are very wimpy looking things that probably will get trashed if I just let them rattle around in the headlight bucket.

Do diodes produce much appreciable heat? Would it be safe to wrap them in some closed cell foam to keep them from getting rattled to death?

I'm probably "making things complicated" again, but I hate having to go back and redo wiring of all things.

[ShakerNorm]

The wiring looks like it should work.

Diodes themselves take a fair amount of abuse, but the connecting wires can be pretty flimsy. If you solder them into a wire, you'd be best to wrap the whole thing with heat-shrink both to insulate them and give a little bit of structural strength to it, and they should be OK if they don't move around too much. They don't generate much heat (especially on blinkers which aren't actually ON for very long). If your headlight bucket and wiring are mostly stock - there won't be much room for it to rattle around in....

The oil system on these is pretty low pressure - I've heard that it's probably only a few PSI, but I haven't put a gauge on mine to find out.

[Chuckwagon]

I started this thread, but I don't like it all the same.
So I wired up my diodes & turn signals, but no blinking, flashing or anything exciting like that. Just buzzing from the flasher unit.

I wired the setup this way:

using these diodes from Radio Shack:


I'm using 12v K&S universal marker lights #25-8320.

I tested all the signals by direct connection, and they all work.
As stated in the diagram above, I removed the canceling unit by unplugging it, and I don't have a speed sensor in my speedometer. I'm using Mikes XS speedo with LED guages... single turn signal indicator LED light.

When everything is connected, none of the signals or guage lights work, and the flasher unit makes a buzzing sound.

When just the rear signals are connected, and the front signals and guage are disconnected, the rear signals (individually as switched) light up, but don't flash (as expected) and the flasher unit clicks once. I tried the same, but with the diodes reversed... same sh*t.

When just the front signals and guage are hooked up, the flasher unit buzzes and no lights turn on.

When the front signals are connected without the diodes or guage, just the signal wired and negative lead run to ground, the flasher unit buzzes and no lights.

So it sounds like the flasher unit is bad, correct? Not sure what happened over the winter... the flasher was working before I took everything apart.

[pamcopete]

The negativea "-" you show from the lights shoudl still go to ground. The diodes are connected to the "+".

[Chuckwagon]

So I should connect both the diode going to the LED, and the turn signal to the same "+" wire? I can try that.

However, when I wired the front signals (either with or without the rears connected) without the diodes and LED indicator, the flasher just buzzes. What's causing the flasher to buzz? Thanks -

[pamcopete]

chucky...,

It's real simple. Like this:

[speez]

if you plan to change your flasher, you could put in a 3 pin (with pilot output) NOT 3 pin like XS flashers, the pilot out is made for what you want without diodes ,i used Grote led flasher works great any load can work with it, i modified mine, i removed the pilot pin inside and grounded the external ground inside, i did that so it can plug in the factory plug, but in your case you would need to ground the wire to use the pilot out so where your stock ground is would be your pilot output for you led

www.grote.com/product.php?product_number=44890

[Chuckwagon]

Damn, my brain hurts. So after I rewired according to pete's directions, I kept popping the single 20amp fuse that's wired in my stock setup.
I found out that the K&S signals have a ground wire, but it was the oposite of what I had figured (no directions with K&S). The positive wire is solid black, the ground is black/wite. F it. I should have checked the signals first, but that was my last step. Yes, I'm a duma$$, and I feel it. Rewired yet again, correctly, I hope, on this 30th attempt.
In the meantime I disconnected the stock flashe plug and pulled the pins expecting to swap out the flasher. The new EL13 flasher has no freakin' directions, and no X P or B stamp on the back. guess I'm just supposed to know. taking that crap back and getting a two prong flasher.

I'm venting. Bear with me.

Simple question. On a two prong flasher, one is +, one is -
Which wire gets connected to the +, brown or brown/white?
Thanks -

[speez]

the link i sent has the terminals marked they are the same as EL13 flasher, brown is "X" and "L" is brown/white the third pin doesn't get ground!! that would be your output for your led instead if the diodes it's not plug and play on stock plug.

[Chuckwagon]

You da man, Speez... and thanks again, Pete. Let there be (flashing) light. Both the signals and my guage now work. The xs is ready to turn, all I need to do is get the engine running. Ha, fat chance.

I was beginning to feel like Clark W. Griswold and his 250 strands of lights. Hallelluja, holy sh*t! Where's the Tylenol?

[xsleo]

On your Mini gauges you have an amber indicator for the turn signal.
You have a red indicator for an oil light.
If so, hook the amber to one side of the turn signals, the red to the other side.
When I put the later style dash on my 75, there was just one signal indicater light. The 75 dash had two indicater lights. Instead of rewiring the lights I just plugged one indicater light into the turn signal hole and the other in the hole with the white lense. So when one side flashes an amber light flashes, the other side a white light flashes.
Leo

[Chuckwagon]

Yes, I considered doing that and mentioned it earlier in the thread, but decided against it... I get too picky, I guess. The diodes were $1.60 a pack and easy enough to solder in, once I had the signals themselves figured out.