LED indicators I just fitted on my Suzuki drz400 2018 are not working correctly please help

Popabear · Apr 25, 2023

Hi all
as mentioned I fitted two new stedi led indicators to my Suzuki 2018 drz400sm the front ones not stedi were fitted by the previous owner but seem to be running a little fast however the new rear ones would only flash twice then stop same every time I called the store and was told they would need resistors which I grabbed i temporarily fitted these to see if it rectified the problems they now flash as normal I think but will only illuminate half the led strip so further investigation tells me that a new 7 pin led relay will fix the problems but I’m not sure ? If I install the new led relay do I still need the resistors or is it one or the other seems led are a pain in the but can anyone help me out with some information would be greatly appreciated

DPG · Apr 25, 2023

Popabear said:
Hi all
as mentioned I fitted two new stedi led indicators to my Suzuki 2018 drz400sm the front ones not stedi were fitted by the previous owner but seem to be running a little fast however the new rear ones would only flash twice then stop same every time I called the store and was told they would need resistors which I grabbed i temporarily fitted these to see if it rectified the problems they now flash as normal I think but will only illuminate half the led strip so further investigation tells me that a new 7 pin led relay will fix the problems but I’m not sure ? If I install the new led relay do I still need the resistors or is it one or the other seems led are a pain in the but can anyone help me out with some information would be greatly appreciated

To fix the fast-flashing indicators did you connect the resistors in series or parallel with the indicator?

Popabear · Apr 25, 2023

DPG said:
To fix the fast-flashing indicators did you connect the resistors in series or parallel with the indicator?

Thanks for getting back to me I only connected 1 resister to just see if it works it was at the rear close to the indicator if I had connected both they would have I think been parallel? But really don’t know if that’s the right terminology do I even need them the resistors of I fit a new led relay?

brianmoooore · Apr 25, 2023

I'm assuming that this vehicle was designed to use conventional incandescent lamps for the indicators?
In the UK, and I expect Australia, it's required that the vehicle is provided with a system that checks that the indicator lamps are actually working when they are used.
This is traditionally done by designing the flasher unit to be sensitive to the current passing through it. With two working 21W lamps it will flash them at the designed speed. With just one working 21W lamp it will flash much faster than designed, and with no working 21W lamps it will not flash at all.
LED lamps draw much less current than the original lamps, so the flasher unit probably thinks all the lamps have failed, and is reporting this as designed. The resistors you refer to are supposed to be connected across the lamps supply to increase the current passing through the flasher unit, so that it flashes at the correct rate.
The problem is that the LED could fail, but the resistor would still be keeping the flasher unit happy, so there would be no indication of the failure to the driver, which is illegal in the UK, and possibly in Australia as well.
There may well be replacement flasher units available that flash at the correct rate with the reduced current drawn by LEDs, but unless they indicate to the driver that a LED isn't working, they are probably illegall as well.