LED lights on a non-LED flasher relay?

[TijmenK]

I dropped the flasher relay that came with my led lights and broke into a thousand pieces, a new one is on the way but I hope I can make do with the flasher relay that was already on the bike. It works great with one of the old lights wired to it, and gives a constant current with the LEDs attached to it, pretty much as expected. So I figured I could just put one of the old lights between the flasher and the indicator switch, as a makeshift resistor. But that doesn't work, the old light seems to get bypassed, because it's exactly the same as with just the LEDs attached.


The light I'm trying to use as a resistor looks like this, if that makes any difference:

 

[SONICJK]

Why not just go to radio shack and get resistors, or just use hand signals until your new relay arrives

 

[TijmenK]

If I have to wire in resistors I'll just bypass the flashing relay for now, unless I can wire in one resistor in the wire to the switch?

 

[SONICJK]

It needs to be between the flasher relay and the led.

 

[TijmenK]

That's what I figured, so I did main -> relay -> bulb (as resistor) -> switch -> LEDs -> ground. But that makes no difference versus the same set-up without the bulb as resistor, but it works when I have ground immediately after the bulb so the relay isn't broken.

It was referencing the resistor, got it.

 

[SONICJK]

Yup needs to go main-switch-relay-resistor-LED

 

[TijmenK]

So that's a separate relay for both left and right?