[desertduster]

Installing LED indicator bulbs on KLR-650.

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Stock instrument bulbs are type 194, wedge base bulbs.
Dimensions are 24mm length overall, 17mm bulb length, 9mm by 3.5mm base, bulb diameter is 10mm.
A longer bulb than stock bulb can be used in instrument housing.
The stock 194 bulb is approximate 3 lumens (my guess).

LEDS
The below bulbs were purchased from superbrightleds.com. I researched several manufacturers and suppliers of LED bulbs and settled on this company since they provided technical details for their bulbs and prices were good. WLED-W, 120 degrees, 3 lumens, white. Great for gauge lighting. Three are required.

WLED-GHP, 12000 mcd at 120 degrees, green (Polarized). Perfect for Neutral light. Note: This bulb will not work as a turn signal indicator, without modifications, since this bulb is polarized and the turn signal indicator changes polarity between left and right turn. To use as a turn signal indicator: purchase a full-wave rectifier from Radio Shack for $1.39; cut the wiring near the bulb plug and solder the rectifier to the wiring so the AC is the input and the DC goes to the bulb socket.

WLED-BHP, 6000 mcd at 120 degrees, 18 lumens, blue. Brighter than stock High Beam indicator.

WLED-G4-32, 10350 mcd at 32 degrees, 2.5 lumens, green. Did not try this bulb. It is non-polarized which will allow installing as a turn signal indicator.

Use this link to convert milli-candela to lumens.
go to led.linear1.org/lumen.wiz
Stock bulb illumination: Only the Neutral indicator is on.

After conversion: using WLED-GHP, WLED-BHP, WLED-GLX. Note the turn signal LED was later changed to WLED-GHP (with a full wave rectifier for polarity correction). The WLED-GHP is too bight and is a distraction. I thought about trying the WLED-G4-32 ($2.59) but did not.

After LED install

 

[flash]

Ya, nice. I did my '08 a while back with the WLED's also. Great in the instruments however I removed them from the neutral and high beam indicators.....distracting as they were TOO bright. Left one in the turn indicator so my dumb a** can remember to turn them off !!!

 

[planalp]

Ya, nice. I did my '08 a while back with the WLED's also. Great in the instruments however I removed them from the neutral and high beam indicators.....distracting as they were TOO bright. Left one in the turn indicator so my dumb a** can remember to turn them off !!!

Thanks for this info, desertduster. I may add upgrading my turn signal indicator bulb to my list of things to do to the KLR over the Winter. It's hard to see in the daylight and I suffer from the same syndrome described by flash, here. I see something shiny and get distracted and forget I had the turn signal on.

I'm pretty good about it and don't do it too often, but it only takes one time when you have your turn signals on unintentionally and something happens.

Thanks again. Good info. I appreciate it.

 

[indypup]

Cool, thanks for the info. Something else I've been wanting to do...

 

[VRSCDX]

Does that rectifier come with instructions from radio shack? I'm thinking this can't be rocket science, but electrical mods are not my strong suit.

 

[desertduster]

Does that rectifier come with instructions from radio shack? I'm thinking this can't be rocket science, but electrical mods are not my strong suit.

The rectifier does come with a little schematic and a pinout of the device. Connect the AC Input side of the rectifier to the input side of the indicator and the DC Output side to the bulb. Plug the bulb in the socket and turn on the turn signal. If it lights then you are good to go; if it doesn't light, then pull the bulb and rotate it 180 degrees and then you should be good. I would try to get a non-polarized bulb first and see if you are happy with it. The WLED-G (120 degree) bulb is non-polarized. Another poster talked about using the WLED-G4, 32 degree bulb (Part#: WLED-G4-32). It is 7 lumens and looks like a good solution.

AC Rectifier

Picture of Indicators

 

[VRSCDX]

Thanks. I had everything apart to change headlight bulbs, and your post was quite timely. I'm going to give it a whirl. I want my turn signal indicator brighter, so I am reminded to turn them off. All the parts are in the mail. I will let you kow how it turned out. Thanks for your suggestions. I ordered all the bulbs you suggested, and I'm a big fan of LED bulbs. I'm slowly converting my house and everything. Heck - I just converted my maglite flashlight with impressive results. I will let you know how it turned out when finished.

 

[VRSCDX]

The Results Are in - BEST $20 Mod for a KLR

So this is simply a great mod. 3 white LED bulbs mentioned in the thread + the green one for neutral and the blue one for high beams. What I did a little differently, however, is that I did not solder in the rectifier. I bought the green non polorized bulb mentioned. I thought it would be a little dimmer, and it probably is. But you cannot tell. In fact it looks brighter, probably because of the 32 degree beam. With that buld on the turn signal switch, even on the sunniest of days, I probably will never again forget to cancel my turn signal. This is a great mod. Great suggestion by desertduster. The results are fantastic. The work is easy. SuperbrightLEDs.com is a super bright company. Choose US Postal mail for delivery. I've done dozens of mods to my 2008, and I am thinking this is the best $20 I've spent on the bike.

 

[Savage]

I think my LED's were ~$2.

 

[VRSCDX]

I read your post also before doing the work. I see you had some blue LEDs left over from a dash mod to your truck and then found some whites on ebay. I could not find that deal and was very comfortable using the spec'd bulbs from superbrightLEDs. I did not want to put a blue bulb under the green lense cover for the neutral indicator. How did you address the polarity issue with the turn signal bulb??

 

[Savage]

It doesn't really matter, but I used blue leds, not white. I didn't plan to put a led under the N but it looked so good I had to do it. I didn't use an led in the turn signal.

 

[VRSCDX]

Well for like $4 you can get one for the turn signal. The non polarized one mentioned in the thread that does not require soldering in a rectifier works GREAT. The biggest reason I wanted LEDs was for the turn signal. Too used to riding bikes that automatically cancel, so I find myself way too often not cancelling my turn signal. I'm thinking it will be hard not to notice the bright green flash now. It will help me remember to cancel. Anyway I think everybody who upgrades to LED dash bulbs pretty much agrees they are awesome and relatively inexpensive - the two main ingredients to any good MOD.

 

[Doc]

LED turn signal indicator diodes arrangement

Just installed the TOTAL LED UPGRADE (.../showthread.php?t=10135) to improve visibility and reduce power consumption, and also especially to increase the turn signal indicator brightness. As in (.../showthread.php?t=11969), for the turn signal indicator ‘bulb’, used the SuperbrightLED WLED-GHP polarized bulb (DC-only) first, then used the WLED-GLX non-polarized bulb (AC or DC capable) -- both were surprisingly dim when first installed, and some level of blink on all four LEDs and indicator was seen. Added the Radio Shack rectifier, but no joy.

Had to figure it out for myself (always best, anyway). Do this: Cut the wires about 1” from the bulb holder, leaving the two ‘bulb-side’ wires and two ‘switch-side’ wires to be re-connected. Slip a ¾” length of heat-shrink on each wire for later shrinking. On the ‘AC RECTIFIER’ image from Desertduster above, solder the bulb-side Gray to “DC Output +”. CUT-OFF the “DC Output –“ lead from the rectifier – it’s not used. Solder the bulb-side Green wire to a NEW 6” length of stranded 18 ga. Black wire, and crimp or solder a small eyelet on the other end of the Black wire. Find the Black/Yellow wire (DC ground) connected to the back of the instrument cluster, and piggy-back the new Black wire onto this ground screw connection. Solder the switch-side Gray wire to the “AC Input +” rectifier lead, and solder the switch-side Green wire to the “AC Input –“ rectifier lead. Test the blinker system – all is okay now that the LED ‘bulb’ has a good ground all the time. Move the heat-shrink tube over the cooled solder joints, and use a heat gun to shrink it tight over the exposed wire. Put a small glob of electrician’s putty around the rectifier to cover all remaining exposed conductors, and work it into a neat water-proof lump. Cover the lump with friction tape (different than plastic electrical tape).

Figure it out for yourself. Study the schematic to find the DC negative ground connection used by Kaw on the indicator bulb. It’s not there! For the 2008 KLR, a Gray wire (RH turn) and Green wire (LH turn) connect to the indicator bulb and to each of the (RH turn or LH turn) signal lamps. Notice that each turn signal bulb has a Black/Yellow (“Bk/Y”) ground wire, as you’d expect. But the indicator bulb has only the Gray and Green wires connected. In a way, Kaw ‘cheated’ by using the filaments to the opposite-side bulbs as the conductor path to ground, but actually this is part of the dead-bulb fast-flasher lamp system strategy used. The flasher is always ‘trying’ to provide an on-off 12 VDC power signal on the Orange wire to the turn-signal switch center pole, but there’s an open-circuit when the switch center pole is in its off position. When signaling for RH turn, you set the switch to the RH position with your thumb, and this sends the flasher on-off signal through the Gray wire to the indicator bulb and also to the RH signal lamps. Again, the signal must have path to ground, else it ‘stops’ (open circuit). For the turn signal lamps, they have a Bk/Y ground wire, so no problem there. But for the indicator bulb, after lighting the indicator bulb, the signal must ‘find’ ground by passing through the Green wire and then through each of the LH! signal lamp filaments to their Bk/Y ground. Remember that the LH signal lamps have no power when the RH signal is turned on. It’s in the nature of DC that, after lighting the RH indicator bulb, there is not enough potential remaining in the electric current to light the LH filaments as it passes through them to ground. On the other hand, if the indicator ‘bulb’ is now a LED, the LED uses too little potential as it lights, and so there’s enough potential remaining in the electric current as it ‘finds’ its way to ground through the LH filaments to make the LH turn signal bulbs to glow (or, if they’re LEDs, to light).

So with a LED indicator ‘bulb’, only two diodes in the rectifier are needed. At the indicator bulb, when the RH flasher is working (signal on Gray wire), a diode is needed on the LH circuit (Green wire) to prevent the current from passing into the LH signal lamps. When the LH flasher is working (signal on Green wire), a diode is needed on the RH circuit (Gray wire) to prevent the current from passing into the RH signal lamps. The direction of the arrows on the rectifier schematic shows the direction current will pass through the diodes. But a good ground is needed on the negative side of the LED indicator at all times, so a NEW Black wire is needed.

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