Adding LED's to 1983 KZ440 LTD

Correct. If you have a multimeter just check what resistance you get on a filament bulb then use that size resistor across the led poles in the dash. From memory I "think" I used a 20 ohm resistor on one of mine when I changed to led several years ago.

I don't think I have any brake failure units to test since I just delete them. There could be other solutions. I chose the relay solution as it should work regardless of what bulb is used in the tail and regardless of what bulb is used in the dash.

Maybe it's a bad idea to get rid of the failure detection since it gives a false sense of security to see that dashboard brake indicator light up. If the LED tail/brake fails you wouldn't know from this circuit. Do LED tail/brake bulbs fail often? I haven't used them so I don't have a sense of how failure-prone they are.

Because I have no dash lights, I do a brake light check periodically.

At any rate, the coil of a relay will use about 1/4 the current of a 20 ohm resistor.

Here is an update for the Kz1000 wire colors.

although I think if your worried about the level of difference between a resistor and a relay you should be more worried about your charging system or lack of.

Warren3200gt wrote: although I think if your worried about the level of difference between a resistor and a relay you should be more worried about your charging system or lack of.

Agree! When the bike left the showroom floor all the lighting, etc. worked fine. If the systems are still in good shape all that stuff will still work fine. If that stuff isn't working fine I would replace the part that has a problem rather than trying to re-engineer the electrical system to work around the problem. If the goal is to install a brighter headlight than was available back in the day that can be done without changing the electrical system; one simply needs to buy a modern headlight that has a load similar to the stock unit. Ed

Cavemen got by just fine on two feet for eons. So why even ride a motorcycle?

Just kidding. We all know it's to pickup chicks.

Warren3200gt wrote: You dont need to use a relay, just put a resistor across the wires into the brake dash light. Costs about nothing and is super simple fix which makes the circuit work the way it was designed. Ie on when the brake is on and flashing if the tail bulb fails.

I understand how this would allow the circuit to be fooled into working i.e. dash light on when brake light on, but if the resistor is acting like an intact filliment then even if the bulb burns out the resistor with continue to fool the circuit, No flashing dash light if bulb burned out. True?

If that is the case and I'm loosing the bad bulb flash with either system, I'm leaning toward the relay which is claimed to draw the least

This thread parallels my other about rough idle and pour acceleration. It was mentioned in that post that low voltage to the coil primary could be the cause of my issues. My coil primary voltage is just about 1.65 volts below battery. I have a carb backfire that I cant seem to correct. Also I cant get the timing to the f mark without the bike stalling. I chase my tail with that issue, if I turn up the idle to keep the bike from stalling the timing mark moves, So I thought I would try to free up some voltage by swapping out incandescent for LED.

Wired george relay mod will resolve the low coil voltage issue. Alternatively you need to go through the entire ignition side of the loom and clean and tighten every conection in that system paying particular attention to the internal kill switch connections.
This would mean totally dismantling the kill switch which has a small ball bearing and spring inside so beware. Also the plate which the components sit on is often cracked and badly aged. These are not available seperately or complete.

Regarding the stop light indicator, my thoughts were the same as yours however once I had installed the resistor I checked by removing the tail light bulb and the warning light did flash.

Warren3200gt
Thanks for the update. Did you install the resistor between the hot and ground at the dash bulb? Or somewhere else in the harness. I have the gauge cluster apart waiting on my gauges to be restored. (Thank you Asphalt900). The tank is off while testing voltage, so I have access to anywhere that would be best.

I don't want to mingle two posts. So a quick response to your "inspect and clean" comment. Been there done that. I will leave that post stand on its on. I only wanted to clear up the reason I'm trying so hard to free up draw and voltage by going to LED's. Please read my post "rough idle and pour acceleration" If you see anything I missed or have a suggestion id really appreciate any and all comments.

Because the resistor is tiny, maybe 5mm long at most I put it in Parallel to the led in the dash. I broke into the 2 wires going into the rubber boot and put it across them.

I'll have a read through your other thread again. I did see the first few posts but didn't chime in and muddy the waters further.