[itsmeryanb]

UPDATE [ISSUE SOLVED]: See reply further down this page for pictures/video. After ripping some of the wiring out, I found that the previous owner did indeed install a dual circuit for the LED strip taillight. With some testing, I learned that the new Custom Dynamics LED run/turn/brake lights were not dimming from brake to run because there was not enough resistance in that circuit. The resister that was in the dual circuit for the LED strip was only something like ~45 ohms. This was enough to dim the LED strip, arguably not enough, but not enough to dim the new LEDs. So, I created (2) new and separate dual circuits for both of the new Custom Dynamic lights - each with a ~600 ohm resistor. While I was at it, I replaced the resistor in the LED strip circuit for something higher, so it has a greater difference between the run and brake light. The difference will make my brake more visible. Yay safety. Now the lights are dimming properly. Instead of just throwing the wiring together, I created a custom harness from scratch (as shown in the first pictures in reply further down this page). Everything was soldered together, shrink wrapped, and then cable wrap put over that. The harness has:

(1) 5-pin connector for the main harness
(1) 4-pin connector for the rear LED strip
(2) 3-pin connectors for the 2 turn signals

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hello all!

I recently purchased new dual-color LED lights for the front and rear in hopes of increasing visibility on the road but can't seem to wrap my head around getting them to work correctly. I've done extensive searching through old posts but at this point I need someone much more knowledgeable than myself. I purchased the following:

1. Custom Dynamics Micro Bullet LED Turn Signals: Dual-Color (red/amber), 3-wire for RUN/TURN/BRAKE in rear
2. Custom Dynamics Micro Bullet LED Turn Signals: Dual-Color (amber/white), 3-wire RUN/TURN in front

I would like the above new red/amber light to be installed in addition to the existing Chrome Glow single-row rear LED which was already installed by the previous owner. As for the new white/amber light, I would like this to replace the original bullet signals at the front of the bike.

Below is what the current harness in the rear looks like. It appears to go from a 5-wire down to a 4-wire which I can only assume is the BRAKE/RUN wires being spliced together in some fashion. When connected to the Chrome Glow LED, it works as intended although the RUN light could be a bit dimmer.

Took off the electrical tape and dug down a bit more to see what was really going on:

The new, 3-wire dual-color (red/amber) LED for the rear shown below. When I tried the below connections, the red run shines brightly (like brake bright because I assume it is not dimmed properly) and the turn signal works but I never can get it to dim to a RUN light.

Custom Dynamics RUN/TURN/BRAKE ---> Wire harness shown above
red --> red
black --> black
remaining --> one of the turn signal wires from the harness

I'm happy to purchase a module of sorts it that would make this more plug-and-play or build my own harness if someone can point me in the right direction. I truly appreciate the assistance with this headache!

Current Chrome Glow LED function:

20230301_130802 by itsmeryanb, on Flickr

 

[Furious_Mike]

I can’t help you with the turn signals but when I changed my taillight out this is the wiring scheme I found which worked perfectly switching to anLED light fixture from chrome glow. The original taillight is LED so the swap wasn’t hard at all. Left side is new chrome glow, right is bike’s exiting wiring.

 

[itsmeryanb]

Yeah, the existing led taillight works but it's new turn signals from Custom Dynamics I'm having issues with. I know someone here knows the answer!

 

[Kiwi]

The front LEDs are easy. The three wires match the three turn signal wires. Same for the back if you're intending to just have turn signals.

To make the back leds operate for both brake and turn usually requires a run/turn/brake module of some kind, whether its 2 wire (single color) or 3 wire (dual color). Both turn and run/brake wiring input into the module, and the output wiring goes to whatever led lighting you have.

Fleekz Motorcycle Run-Brake-Turn Conversion Wiring Module (chromeglow.com)

Check the wiring all the way back under the seat to the fuse box to see if any module has been wired in. If not, I'd recommend getting one.

 

[itsmeryanb]

The front LEDs are easy. The three wires match the three turn signal wires. Same for the back if you're intending to just have turn signals.

To make the back leds operate for both brake and turn usually requires a run/turn/brake module of some kind, whether its 2 wire (single color) or 3 wire (dual color). Both turn and run/brake wiring input into the module, and the output wiring goes to whatever led lighting you have.

Fleekz Motorcycle Run-Brake-Turn Conversion Wiring Module (chromeglow.com)

Check the wiring all the way back under the seat to the fuse box to see if any module has been wired in. If not, I'd recommend getting one.

Thanks for the Info, Kiwi. I just looked through the installation instructions for that particular module.

So should I A) connect the module to the bike harness and then downstream of that connect both the 3-wire turn signals and 4-wire strip all in the same fashion?

Or

B) because the LED strip is already working with dual color run/turn/brake, tie the module into the bike harness somewhere upstream of the strip (between the strip and the bike harness) and then break off the connections to the signals from there?

 

[Kiwi]

Is the chromeglow under fender strip dual color (3 wire)? If it's a single color, I'd just leave it as is and tap the module in upstream. If it's a 3 wire strip I'd wire them all together with the module so that all your lights would get whatever other features from the module you've chosen.

 

[itsmeryanb]

Is the chromeglow under fender strip dual color (3 wire)? If it's a single color, I'd just leave it as is and tap the module in upstream. If it's a 3 wire strip I'd wire them all together with the module so that all your lights would get whatever other features from the module you've chosen.

The chrome glow is actually dual color 4-wire (picture below). The 4 wires from the chrome glow connect directly to the remaining 4, same color wires at the end of the bike harness.

 

[Kiwi]

Those are the ground/brake/left/right wires then. Sorry, its been so long, and I've only used single color strips. I see whats happening now in the video of the strip. It never actually turns off the red led's when the turns are switched on, it only flashes the amber led's over the top of them. That makes sense as to why he's just wired them straight into the bike without a module. The run brake wires are just voltage. The run wire is continuous low voltage. The brake wire applies a higher voltage only when engaged. I guess thats how he was able to splice them together. I'm surprised the custom dynamics led's won't accept the same wiring hookup.

By contrast on my bike with a run/brake/turn module: When I switch a turn signal on, the run light switches off while flashing. If I apply the brake, the brake light switches on also flashing.

 

[itsmeryanb]

That makes sense as to why he's just wired them straight into the bike without a module.

I've been wondering about this. If you look in the first picture I posted above, it looks like he might have installed a dual element circuit like this. I only say that because it goes from 5 wires down to 4.

I'm
surprised the custom dynamics led's won't accept the same wiring hookup.

Same here - that is the big question. I'm not sure why the new turn signals won't dim if in fact there is a dual element circuit in place (evidenced by the current Chrome Glow LED properly dimming already). I was hoping they were just plug and play. At this point, I'm just looking for any good solution to get this up and running so I can get it out on the road. I've even thought about returning the signals and just going with the single color red ones but would rather match the amber signals from the Chrome Glow if possible.

 

[Kiwi]

Well, no matter what, it looks like you'll need a run/brake/turn module for the new signals at the least. Tap them upstream to avoid issues with the under fender.

 

[itsmeryanb]

UPDATE [ISSUE SOLVED]: After ripping some of the wiring out, I found that the previous owner did indeed install a dual circuit for the LED strip taillight. With some testing, I learned that the new Custom Dynamics LED run/turn/brake lights were not dimming from brake to run because there was not enough resistance in that circuit. The resister that was in the dual circuit for the LED strip was only something like ~45 ohms. This was enough to dim the LED strip, arguably not enough, but not enough to dim the new LEDs. So, I created (2) new and separate dual circuits for both of the new Custom Dynamic lights - each with a ~600 ohm resistor. While I was at it, I replaced the resistor in the LED strip circuit for something higher, so it has a greater difference between the run and brake light. The difference will make my brake more visible. Yay safety. Now the lights are dimming properly. Instead of just throwing the wiring together, I created a custom harness from scratch (as shown in the first picture below). Everything was soldered together, shrink wrapped, and then cable wrap put over that. The harness has:

(1) 5-pin connector for the main harness
(1) 4-pin connector for the rear LED strip
(2) 3-pin connectors for the 2 turn signals

IMG-20230311-WA0002 by itsmeryanb, on Flickr
20230311_122717 by itsmeryanb, on Flickr
20230311_122725 by itsmeryanb, on Flickr
20230311_130807 by itsmeryanb, on Flickr

 

[Kiwi]

Glad you got it figured out. This is why I love run/turn/brake modules. One module to rule them (lights) all!