Alright, so I’m gonna walk you through this little project I tackled the other day – motorcycle blinkers. It was a fun one, not too complicated, but definitely had its moments.
First thing’s first, I grabbed my multimeter. Gotta know what’s going on with the electrics, right? I started by checking the existing blinkers. One was totally dead, the other was blinking like it was having a seizure – way too fast. Classic blown bulb or a short somewhere.
So, I ordered some new LED blinkers online. Figured I’d upgrade while I was at it. Plus, LEDs are brighter and last longer, so win-win. I waited a couple of days for them to arrive. The anticipation was real!
When they finally showed up, I unboxed them and laid everything out. New blinkers, some wire connectors, and a flasher relay. The old flasher relay was probably the reason for the hyper-flashing, so I decided to swap it out too.
Now, the fun part. I started by removing the old blinkers. That involved a bit of wrenching and some fiddling with the wires. I made sure to take pictures of how everything was connected before I disconnected anything. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later.
Next, I installed the new blinkers. The mounting was pretty straightforward. The wiring, though, was a bit of a pain. The wires on the new blinkers were thinner than the old ones, so the connectors didn’t quite fit. I had to crimp them down a bit to get a good connection.
I connected everything up, making sure to match the wires correctly – positive to positive, negative to negative. Then, I taped everything up nice and neat with electrical tape. Safety first!
After that, I moved on to the flasher relay. It was located under the seat. I unplugged the old one and plugged in the new one. Easy peasy.
Now for the moment of truth. I turned on the ignition and tested the blinkers. And… they worked! Both sides blinked at a normal pace. No more seizure-inducing hyper-flashing. I was stoked!
But, not so fast. One side was blinking a bit dim. I traced the wires back and found a loose connection. I tightened it up, and bam! Problem solved. Nice and bright.
I spent a little extra time tidying up the wiring, making sure everything was tucked away nicely and wouldn’t get caught on anything. I zip-tied everything down for good measure.
Finally, I put the bike back together and took it for a quick spin. Everything worked perfectly. New LED blinkers, no more hyper-flashing, and I could actually see them blinking in the daylight. Success!
Lessons learned? Always take pictures before you disconnect anything, double-check your connections, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. It’s a simple project, but it makes a big difference in safety and visibility. Plus, it’s just satisfying to fix something yourself.
- Tools used: Multimeter, wrenches, wire crimper, electrical tape, zip ties
- Parts: LED blinkers, flasher relay, wire connectors
Overall, a pretty good afternoon project. I’m happy with how it turned out. Now, onto the next thing on the list!
