Radiantz DIP light vs SMDs

[Gondul]

Knowing nothing about Kawasaki's... would these fit on Valk?  I'm simply going off the fact it says it suitable for lenses mounted with two screws.

"LED turn signals for Kawasaki cruiser bikes offer superior brightness and a longer lifespan than many conventional signals. These lights are 48-LED inserts that will fit Kawasaki cruisers that have the lens mounted with two screws. Suitable for both stock and clear lenses, these LED turn signals are available in red or amber. These signals can be ordered with a single-action 1156 or a dual-action 1157 base."

https://www.radiantz.com/Kawasaki-Turns-p/122.htm

And the follow up would be, why get these older tech DIP LEDs when there are much more efficient SMDs available at SuperBrightLEDs?

[Ramie]

I can't remember which ones I used on my I/S but I'm pretty sure I got them from https://www.customdynamics.com

[MarkT]

 why get these older tech DIP LEDs when there are much more efficient SMDs available at SuperBrightLEDs?

Because SMD's are very touchy about their ground impedence.  You'll get one side brighter than the other if you have them wired in parallel. They seem to get a preference to favor one side which affects the light output.  I found this is true with a big variety of SMD arrays which are now just sitting in a box.  No such problem with the DIP LED's.  All of the lights on my Jade are LED's - with the back markers 48 red LED arrays run-brake-turn behind clear lenses.  Fronts are the same, amber. Also have the Radiantz tailight array - spendy but superbright.  Have 2 pairs of LED spots (top pair are actually hi-lo H4 headlights) plus a dragon-eye LED headlight.  I didn't measure the current draw of the DIP arrays but it is still way smaller than the design power so they are easy on the alternator.

[Gondul]

Because SMD's are very touchy about their ground impedence.  You'll get one side brighter than the other if you have them wired in parallel. They seem to get a preference to favor one side which affects the light output. 

Interesting... I've already ordered them (they had a sale goign on) so I guess I'll have to take a look when they arrive. I hadn't noticed any difference in other vehicles in which I've installed SMDs. 

Thanks for the info and I'll guess I'll post up what happens.

[MarkT]

I got mine from mostly superbrightleds.com and that was while working on Deerslayer's lights some years ago.  I would think the makers of these might fix whatever is causing this.  Maybe you won't see the problem if they did.  Or maybe there was some anomoly on my bike causing it.  But I concluded it was due to the SMD's, went to the DIPs and problem gone.

[Gondul]

I got mine from mostly superbrightleds.com and that was while working on Deerslayer's lights some years ago.  I would think the makers of these might fix whatever is causing this.  Maybe you won't see the problem if they did.  Or maybe there was some anomoly on my bike causing it.  But I concluded it was due to the SMD's, went to the DIPs and problem gone.

So I installed them this morning (one indicator bulb was a dud)...plugged in new relay, wired in tue diode.  Zero issues with the SMDs and they are nice and bright.

So maybe it was the bike or an issue with the SMD proper... if it was the SMDs then it appears that issue has been resolved, either way, I appreciate the heads up.

And yeah, I have had the Radiantz taillight for a good long while.  The Tsukayu had some Lincoln Zephyr replica LED taillights installed...just never got around to switching out the other lights.

But now that I picked up the trunk, I figured it was time to make all the lights LEDs...will also be reaming out the inner sockets on the truck to take a 1156 socket.

[MarkT]

Yeah I made all my lights on Jade LED.  I burned out my alternator at less than 50k on the return from Roanoke likely from too much load on it. I had the 130/90 headlight and 2 H4 60/55 "spots" in addition to other loads - powerful amp and crossover, heated clothing (I rarely use), Rostra electronic cruise, radar, gps, electric trailer brakes, phone charger, air horn, fuel pump.  Most don't use much power but it adds up I suppose.  Now have 5 fwd lights that in sum use less power than the one headlight.  Not quite as bright, but they are bright enough and certainly announce a bigger presence with 5 lamps.