Rear turn signals

[Whitey]

  My front turn signals are both park lights and turn signals but my rear is just turn signals. They don't light up like the front ones! Is this stock or do I have a problem somewhere? Thanks!

[Glaserbeam]

Hi Whitey.  That's stock.  Honda has been doing that since the '70s.  Not sure why they didn't include the rear signals as running lights, but I updated my Valkyrie by installing the Signal Minder https://kisantech.com/mag/signalminder.html

It's an easy mod (plug-and-play, no wire splicing) and also makes the turn signals self-canceling (which I like because I can't stand the push-to-cancel signal switch).

[72cutlassdude]

Rear turns are just turns unless you convert to RTB. There are several ways to accomplish this, just search the tech board and you should find what you are looking for. I did a signal minder kit on my Interstate 5 years ago along with LED's front and rear and love it. https://kisantech.com/mag/signalminder/sm-3.html

[flash2002]

What I did was buy two used front flasher and installed them in the back. For the lens I got clear red model lacquer and painted the inside of the yellow lens, it takes a few coats and looks great.

[Harryc]

I used a Kury RTB controller and also painted the inside of smoked lenses with Testors #1605 Gloss Custom Red.

[RonW]

The rear signals use single filament bulbs. They only have a high filament for signaling. They go dark when not signaling. The fronts are dual filament bulbs. The low filament in the front bulb is used for running lights (constant ON) so they don't fry the sockets. The running light has it's own switch that shuts off for the duration that the activated signal is flashing. This creates dark moments between blinks to make the individual blinks more distinctive. Below is a graphical representation of how the running light switch works. Note that the contacts on the running light switch are transposed, right is left, left is right. The running light switch is ganged to the turn signal switch, essentially a double pole, double throw switch. That said, there's no law that your front turn signals must function as running lights in addition to the headlight.

[mrgeoff]

I have had a 2004 VTX 1300C and a 2006 VTX 1800R before I got my 99 Valk Tourer...On each one , I did a rear turn signal mod that I think you would like...I used LED Bulbs(Amber) on the Rear TS only...and then replaced the amber lens with clear ones...I drilled a single hole into the center of the clear lens...placed a single Red LED into the hole I drilled and wired them up to my License Plate Light Circuit, using a 1/2 watt 330 ohm resistor for each to the Hot wires of the Plate Circuit...If done properly, the hole, in the center of the Rear Lens, is an Exact fit for the Red LEDs(no sealer or rubber cement used)...The finished product...Red LEDs are lite while riding and as it gets darker out, those behind me can see the rear lens glow red...but when I turn left or right, the Amber LED Bulbs blink...keep in mind that they blink faster than normal, but that draws attention to those behind me...The front TS are still original stock bulbs and function as normal (but still blink faster than normal)...T his makes a Very Clean look for the back turn signals and the cost was only a few dollars...I hope to send pics...!!!
 ( http://www.superbrightleds.com )( RL5-RD1560 )

[lakehunter]

Check out the Electrical Connections kit, it ads a led ring into your existing housings. This mod gives you running lights, bright brake lights and keeps the original turn signal lights. Have had them on my Valk for years and they are really effective. Check the below link.

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/ledturnsignalmod.htm

[mrgeoff]

Lakehunter...I have seen these before...look good...but I prefer a cleaner, simpler, look...more of a ' one of a kind ' thing...!!!

[bill-jr]

SM-3 is the signal minder needed for the valkyrie ? Tourer ?

Do the springs they talk about need to be installed in the switch on handlebars ???

[MarkT]

Don't put incandescent running lights in back as their heat will melt the innards of the plastic pods and the guts will fall out. There isn't enough air behind the bags to cool them. Yes I found this out the hard way.  Use LED's - arrays are best, but old school LED's, not the surface mount types.  SM LED's are sensitive to exactly equal resistance on the grounds so that type makes your lights look uneven.

I have wired my rear marker lights as run brake and turn with my own circuit design using relays.  Yes it works quite well, is inexpensive but you need some electrical skill.  I used clear rear pods, red LED arrays, and front pods (1157 2-conducter sockets, but they can be wired with 1156's - what the bike comes with.)

This is the circuit:



Tech article on this:

http://www.horseapple.com/Valkyrie/Tech_Tips/VTX_signals/vtx_signals.html

If you use LED turn signals you will have to do the LED indicator turn signal mod or you wind up with 4-ways inadvertently.  I think the Kisan Signal Minder unit prevents that but I could be FOS. The problem is the OEM circuit uses the opposite bulb as the ground which works for tungsten bulbs but LED's light up making them 4-ways.  This has been covered repeatedly here before.  I just installed separate LED's inside the flash indicator bezel with their own grounds.  But you can buy a kit to fix this.
Here's a reprint from a previous thread on this issue:

 In a nutshell, the OEM flash indicator  circuit uses one indicator and gets it's ground through the opposite side turn signal bulb, which doesn't matter with incandescent bulbs.  It does matter with LEDs, because the tiny current that the indicator bulb will pass will also light the opposite side turn signal LED array on it's way to ground, as the LEDs only need a little juice to light up.  So you wind up with both signals flashing. Or alternatively, the indicator won't light up as the polarity is wrong going through the opposite side LED array. (I'm forgetting what behavior I got - it was a while ago and I get senior moments sometimes.) In either errant behavior, the solution is to install a diode on each side of the indicator, and send it's ground directly to ground, not through the opposite socket.   I went a bit further and used the elegant version of the mod, installed red LED diodes in the turn signal indicator to provide the  polarity needed for each side of the circuit, the grounds, and the lights in the indicator. Subsequently the amber LED 1157 arrays behind the clear lenses in the front markers work properly, save juice, and will never burn out while being brighter than incandescent.  And look better, IMHO.

Here's the one-indicator diode mod kit from Custom Dynamics:

CRAP.  They broke the link. Well I guess you can google for "motorcycle metric one indicator LED front blinkers mod"  as well as I can.
http://www.customdynamics.com/loadequalizer.htm#Genesis_Metric_Cruiser_Diode_Kit

And their well-explained PDF on the circuit design and why it's needed:
http://www.customdynamics.com/instructions/MDK%20Tech%20sheet.pdf

[72cutlassdude]

SM-3 is the signal minder needed for the valkyrie ? Tourer ?

Do the springs they talk about need to be installed in the switch on handlebars ???

Yes, the springs have to be installed to basically make the TS switch momentary. I ended up cutting one coil off each spring and the setup has worked perfectly for the 5 years I have had it installed. I run a Raidientz 2" led array in the rear turns and the Raidientz brake light, that setup really lights the phat gurls back side up when I hit the brakes. 

[Whitey]

Thanks guys! I'll look into it!!

[98valk]

different options

http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/circuits.html