2000 R6 wiring question

[JohnnyFriend]

Hi I am working on a friends R6 and put a set of front turn signals on and they are realy dim.
If I hook them up to the battery they are bright.

Someone told me its because the factory light was 3 wire and the LED is 2 wires.

Does anyone know if there is a fix for this?

[Motorcycle Forum]

[Davecm203]

What year is the R6 and what brand/type are the LED's? Did you change the relay? Were the LED specifically for the R6 or generic?

[JohnnyFriend]

its a 2000 ( in the header )

The bike was messed with before I got to it.
The rear has led brake lights and turn signals. The front had regular 194 wedgs bulb turn signals.
The LED turns I got are for the bike year but I had to cut off the the plug because someone cut off the factory plug already.
The factory uses 3 wires constant on--on with turn signal--and ground.
The LED uses 2 wires ground and positive. Its hooked up correctly to ground and the turn wire (constant on not being used).
Problem is it is VERRY DIM--barely noticable. but when I hook them direct to the battery they are VERRY bright.

[Easy Rider]

its a 2000 ( in the header )

Problem is it is VERRY DIM--barely noticable. but when I hook them direct to the battery they are VERRY bright.

Try running the negative (ground) wire directly back to the battery.......temporarily, just for a test. You may have a bad ground on the triple tree.

Past that, you will need a multi-meter.

[Davecm203]

its a 2000 ( in the header )

I have an issue with reading comprehension.

Assuming they are working correctly other than being dim, it does sound like you are losing something somewhere. I would give Easy Riders suggestion a shot first since it is the most simple and go from there. If you have a volt meter, you will want to check to make sure that you are getting all the voltage to the led's.

[JohnnyFriend]

I will try the ground and check with a volt meter.

The volt meter might be hard because of the flashing.

I read somewhere I might need a load resistor--does that make sense?

[Davecm203]

LED's do not draw as much power as the regular bulbs do. The resistor is placed in line to maintain the current draw. Without the current being maintained, the relay would not work properly.

[JohnnyFriend]

Dave--would that have anything to do with the brightness of the LED's.

They DO work, they are just realy dim compared to direct hook up to the battery.

In daylight you wouldnt see them at all.

[Easy Rider]

I read somewhere I might need a load resistor--does that make sense?

Yes but that is a WHOLE different subject. That does not impact the brigtness, only the rate at which they flash; flash may be too fast without the load resistors or a new flasher relay.

You need to get the brightness thing solved first.

[Davecm203]

Dave--would that have anything to do with the brightness of the LED's.

They DO work, they are just really dim compared to direct hook up to the battery.

In daylight you wouldn't see them at all.

No, a resistor will actually cause it to dim more. I was just explaining what it is for.

You are losing voltage at some point. It could be contacts that are not properly connected, corroded contacts,...you just have to figure out where it is.

[Davecm203]

I poked around online for a wiring diagram for the r6 and was not able to find what I needed. You said that it has three wires. Are you sure that you conected wires correctly?

[JohnnyFriend]

Yes--the wires can only go 1 way. Positive--constant on, Positive--on with turn switch, and ground.

I am pretty good with electronics and wiring and this stumps me.

If I put the blinker that was there back--194 wedge bulb--its fine. Makes no sense.

The flash rate is fine, its just the brightness.

[JohnnyFriend]

Sorry--im using the ground and the positive with the turn switch.

the constant on positive is not used or the light would stay on (dual filament bulb)

[Davecm203]

It is not making any sence to me either. Sounds like you did everything right and checked everything. I don't know.