LED rear signal lights

[Kendan]

Hey all. Hopefully an easy question. I just installed a kuryakin brake module (run/brake/turn) with a load equalizer as well as a pair of Custom Dynamics LED clusters for the rear signal lights. For some reason the clusters don't light up at all. The system works fine with the regular bulbs, the act as running lights, brake, signal. But the LED don't do a thing. The front ones flash at normal speed so it's like the flasher/module/bike knows bulbs are back there, just no light.
I did test the clusters and they work. Is it a lack of enough draw from the LEDs? Or I did come across a thread where someone reversed the polarity/tabs in the socket. This was on a classic or roadster, I forget which one. Would this be applicable in this case?
Thanks all.

 

[DEcosse]

Note that the Running & Brake function colours on the Triumph are opposite to that of the Kuryakn
On the Triumph Red is Running and Blue is Brake & vice versa on the controller.

The controller probably needs the constant power from the running light signal to operate so ensure that you have the module wired with red to blue and blue to red.

p.s. IGNORE this instruction

Step 7. Connect the module’s input and output black ground wires directly to a solid chassis ground. Do not connect them to the motorcycle’s ground wires or to the negative battery terminal.

That is garbage - the Triumph (& indeed almost all other modern motorcycles) do NOT use the chassis as part of the ground circuit. Connect it to the ground wire of the tail light.

 

[cr0ft]

How did you wire in the clusters? I recently did this myself and documented the whole thing over int he modifications section. I had to dismantle the entire rear end and thread cable through all the way from the indicators and up under the fender.

The clusters need a total of four wires - and it's very crucial to get the ground wire right. On my bike, the wires going under the fender and to the signals were identical - four wires with black/silver is what goes from all the way up under the right hand side cover to the indicators in the rear harness. I presume this is Triumph cutting corners by not using the proper color coded cables there because (for normal bulbs) it doesn't really matter. And there's no way of seeing which of those is ground and which is positive just by looking at them.

The clusters use the ground wire for the indicator function AND for the brake/running light. Unlike normal bulbs, the clusters are directional, so to speak. A normal bulb can have current passing through either way and light up as the filament starts to glow, but the cluster has electronics that need power.

So getting the ground wire connected to the ground wire coming from the front wiring harness is crucial. I had to reconnect my wires and do measuring to a ground point on the bike to find out which was which.

 

[1olbull]

Only FYI -
I just finished rearranging my rear end . . . badda-bang!
Used the shortened plate mount, plate surround with running-Brake & turn lites, with my hyper-lights at the side.
Added an LED bulb to the OEM tail light, but it doesn't look much brighter, if any.
If nothing else this has raised the plate up more into the fender and tis a much cleaner look.
We shall see soon on a good ride to the dyno man!

 

[Old N' Grumpy]

Only FYI -
I just finished rearranging my rear end . . . badda-bang!
Used the shortened plate mount, plate surround with running-Brake & turn lites, with my hyper-lights at the side.
Added an LED bulb to the OEM tail light, but it doesn't look much brighter, if any.
If nothing else this has raised the plate up more into the fender and tis a much cleaner look.
We shall see soon on a good ride to the dyno man!

Looks awesome! How do you like those hyper-lights? They are on my consideration list of lights but they gotta be super bright...almost annoying.

 

[1olbull]

Looks awesome! How do you like those hyper-lights? They are on my consideration list of lights but they gotta be super bright...almost annoying.

Can't say enough about the Hyperlites!
My bro also installed them after seeing mine and he loves them as well!
They are WAY brighter than the stock brake lights!
Try them - you won't be sorry.
Hyperlites Flashing led motorcycle brake lights, runing lights, and turn signals, Standard Dual Function

 

[Old N' Grumpy]

Can't say enough about the Hyperlites!
My bro also installed them after seeing mine and he loves them as well!
They are WAY brighter than the stock brake lights!
Try them - you won't be sorry.
Hyperlites Flashing led motorcycle brake lights, runing lights, and turn signals, Standard Dual Function

I imagine they must over power the stock brake light and all you see is Hyper! Now what to do about the anemic brake light.

 

[1olbull]

I imagine they must over power the stock brake light and all you see is Hyper! Now what to do about the anemic brake light.

Good question.
I have just replaced my OEM tail/brake light with an LED.
School is out as to how much/if it has helped . . .
I may just replace the whole OEM tail light with a suitable LED, I been lookin' . . .

 

[Kendan]

How did you wire in the clusters? I recently did this myself and documented the whole thing over int he modifications section. I had to dismantle the entire rear end and thread cable through all the way from the indicators and up under the fender.

The clusters need a total of four wires - and it's very crucial to get the ground wire right. On my bike, the wires going under the fender and to the signals were identical - four wires with black/silver is what goes from all the way up under the right hand side cover to the indicators in the rear harness. I presume this is Triumph cutting corners by not using the proper color coded cables there because (for normal bulbs) it doesn't really matter. And there's no way of seeing which of those is ground and which is positive just by looking at them.

The clusters use the ground wire for the indicator function AND for the brake/running light. Unlike normal bulbs, the clusters are directional, so to speak. A normal bulb can have current passing through either way and light up as the filament starts to glow, but the cluster has electronics that need power.

So getting the ground wire connected to the ground wire coming from the front wiring harness is crucial. I had to reconnect my wires and do measuring to a ground point on the bike to find out which was which.

Now that I finally got it all together I can respond. The clusters I got were the ones with the pigtails. They were 3 wire ones, with an orange wire for running lights. As per kuryakyns instructions I had to disable the orange wire as I am using a brake module. The problem was a reverse polarity issue. One of the bulbs had to have its black and red wires reversed, and now they work as they should. Odd and annoying that only one of the bulbs had to have this re-wire fix. But these clusters are very bright and visible. The only issue now is acting as running lights they are actually quite bright, maybe 75% of full brightness, not 50% as one would expect. I'm assuming this is due to the brake module, but thats just an assumption.

Again, you guys provided good info. Thank you. And thats a nice set up in the pic that 1olbull posted. Wouldn't mind doing with for aux brake lights.
Thanks again guys.

 

[cr0ft]

On my bike, the rear harness uses a pair of identical black wires to each indicator. A normal bulb will glow no matter which way the current flows I guess, so it doesn't affect function if you have normal bulbs. The rear bulbs can therefore be wired up either way, it's just random chance how the Triumph tech who assembled it all put in the wires. Guess he got it right on one side and wrong on the other. I had to use the multimeter to measure which one was ground.

The brightness is no doubt just the way the cluster was made. My clusters have an orange center of LED's (24) and a red ring around the circumference (24) that are quite bright as running lights and very bright as brake lights.