Author Topic: Those #@!*#$* LED turn signals!  (Read 582 times)

EvilTessmacher

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Those #@!*#$* LED turn signals!
« on: June 06, 2018, 04:33:36 AM »
I still can't put my hands on working LED turn signals for the 2018 X400i.

Haven't ever heard back from any of the overseas parts dealers.   >:(
So, I think I've come up with a workaround, but I don't know a thing about electrical, electronics, or how that stuff actually works! Beside flipping a switch or connecting power, if it comes on, it works, and if it doesn't it's broke.

I went to the Kymco USA parts site, and the housings they sell are just as empty as the ones on my bike, but here's the idea:
I ran across a set of pre-wired 3mm or 5mm LED lights, in lots of 20 on Amazon. They look like this:

As I understand it, they have a resistor already in them. Not entirely sure what the specs of it are, though.
My thought is to get a couple of sets of these (there are 20 empty holes in each housing for an LED to go into. Why couldn't I insert an LED into each hole, wire all the wiring together, put a plug on the end of the thing, and just plug it into the harness?

Or, if there's no place to plug it into, splice it into the existing wiring for the turn signals?

My problem is, I don't know how the electricals work. Do I wire each light up to the same lead that I wire to the existing wiring? Do I hook them in a chain to each other and then hook that lead into the wiring?

I think they're 5mm, but not entirely sure, and won't be until I get the housing off and can physically measure. The housings from Kymco USA are $39 each, and these lights are $6.99 for 20. That's a total cost of $91.98, as opposed to the turn signals from overseas being around $170 each, and I can't get anyone to talk to me about them.
Any electronics experts out there who can talk to me (like I was a 6 year old) and walk me through the best way to do this?


Two things to consider...
1) The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse always gets the cheese.
2) Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines.

---
2018 Kymco 400i - "Diana"
2013 Honda PCX - "Natasha"
1982 Honda PA-50

Viper254

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Re: Those #@!*#$* LED turn signals!
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2018, 05:58:53 AM »
Hey bud,

Have you thought about getting one of these and popping it inside the housing, perhaps using glue to hold it in place?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-X-10cm-6LED-5050-Strip-Light-for-Car-Van-Boat-SWB-White-Blue-Red-Orange-12V/262728412933?var=561666403595&epid=2073571024&hash=item3d2bd56f05:g:eioAAOSw5cNYMsOa

Bare LEDs aren't all that water resistant. They are likely to be 5mm - it's a fairly standard size!
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EvilTessmacher

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Re: Those #@!*#$* LED turn signals!
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2018, 04:09:46 AM »
Hey bud,

Have you thought about getting one of these and popping it inside the housing, perhaps using glue to hold it in place?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-X-10cm-6LED-5050-Strip-Light-for-Car-Van-Boat-SWB-White-Blue-Red-Orange-12V/262728412933?var=561666403595&epid=2073571024&hash=item3d2bd56f05:g:eioAAOSw5cNYMsOa

Bare LEDs aren't all that water resistant. They are likely to be 5mm - it's a fairly standard size!

Honestly, I hadn't given that a moment's thought. It's a great idea, but getting the housing apart in a way that it could be put back together in any kind of decent condition is way beyond me. I'd rather work from the back where the holes are, using epoxy to seat the leds, and hot glue to waterproof them.

It's a great idea, but it calls for doing things I'm not capable of doing confidently.

I talked to a friend of mine today, and she suggested that it would be best if I connected all the like-side wires together in groups of 5, (all the positives to each other and all the negatives to each other) and then ran a longer pigtail from those connections to a single pigtail leading to the existing wiring. That way, if one light fails for some reason, it will be much easier to remove and replace than it would be for me to wire them all in a chain.

Thanks for the suggestion! I wish it was something I was comfortable doing, but I'd have to take the housing apart to get inside it.
Two things to consider...
1) The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse always gets the cheese.
2) Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines.

---
2018 Kymco 400i - "Diana"
2013 Honda PCX - "Natasha"
1982 Honda PA-50

Brian1234999

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Re: Those #@!*#$* LED turn signals!
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2018, 03:21:51 AM »
I saw  you could buy winkers from a European web site any idea if it will work https://www.bike-parts-kymco.uk/kymco-motorcycle/400-SCOOTER/XCITING/XCITING_400I_ABS_4T_EURO_4/INDICATORS/161/12/0/161 . Also the rear LEDs are there all they need is wire for power.

EvilTessmacher

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Re: Those #@!*#$* LED turn signals!
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2018, 08:03:46 PM »
I saw  you could buy winkers from a European web site any idea if it will work https://www.bike-parts-kymco.uk/kymco-motorcycle/400-SCOOTER/XCITING/XCITING_400I_ABS_4T_EURO_4/INDICATORS/161/12/0/161 . Also the rear LEDs are there all they need is wire for power.

Yes, I contacted them to ask which of the four models they have is the equivalent of the US model, and their reply was, shall we say, typically French. That "UK" site is run by a French company. I already know about powering the rear lights. Thanks.

If I could figure out which of the four models it is, I'd go ahead and get them, but there are subtle differences and I can't take the chance.
Two things to consider...
1) The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse always gets the cheese.
2) Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines.

---
2018 Kymco 400i - "Diana"
2013 Honda PCX - "Natasha"
1982 Honda PA-50

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