Hi, I'm probably super daft for whatever I've done to the bike, I swapped out the bulbs for LED's after the bike fell and broke the originals, now the indicators turn on and blink at the right speed, but both sides do so simultaneously, regardless of what side I flick them onto.

I've attempted to look for an answer but it all seems far too technical for my smooth brain and I need someone to dumb it down caveman style. I've seen some people saying it needs a relay? or other electronic part? Not entirely sure.

Any help would be appreciated

Hihi, first off, welcome in...

 

So...

LED swaps aren't just straight forward... Ever...

 

There are several questions that need answering before you get anywhere near an answer to this.

 

1/ Did you purchase a dedicated LED indicator upgrade for your particular bike?
2/ If not, did you just buy a cheap set of 4 LED indicators?

3/ If not, did you go the very cheap route and just buy 4 LED indicator 'bulbs' and replace them?
4/ Does your bike run on a 'CANBUS' (Controller Area Network) system?

5/ Did your install include a controller unit?

 

There will be several more questions no doubt from more knowledgeable people, but that's your start...

 

The fact that your indicators flash at the correct speed means that your bike isn't detecting the low power draw of the LEDs as a burned out bulb, which means either they're regulated or you replaced your indicator relay...

 

6/ Does your bike have a single turn signal indicator bulb on the dash or a right & left indicator?

If it only has one indicator bulb on the dash, it's possible that you're getting a current leakage thru the shared turn signal indicator bulb.
Removing this bulb and trying again will tell you if this is the problem.
If it is, you need to install a diode in the bulb wiring...

I know about standard bulbs on bikes but not LED's, so go with Snakes posts for advice, however, i did a search on the forum using the search feature at the  top and found quite a bit, but this post may be of some help, especially as snake also mentioned the bulb on the dashboard. see the last entry in this post.

 

Any news on this issue CWizz?

We get a lot of 'one posters' in here, but very few of them actually become members to do this! lol

Did you get them working?

You're not daft at all, this is a super common issue when switching to LED indicators on a bike. The problem happens because your old bulbs used more power, and your bike’s flasher relay was designed for that. LEDs use way less power, so the relay isn’t getting the right load, which makes both sides blink at the same time. Some bikes also have a single dash indicator light for both sides, and with LEDs, power can bleed through and activate both.

The easiest fix is to replace your flasher relay with an LED-compatible one. Just swap out the old relay for an LED-specific version, and it should work normally. If that doesn’t fix it, you might need to add load resistors to each indicator, which trick the system into thinking the old bulbs are still there. Resistors take more effort to install, so try the relay first. If your dash light still causes weirdness after that, there’s a simple diode mod that can help, but one step at a time!