| First you have to understand how a turn signal
flashes. It is done with a capacitor relay. The
capacitor is charged by the battery. Once the capacitor is
fully charged it discharges its energy to the bulbs causing them to
light up. Once it discharges, the capacitor needs time to recharge.
During this time, the bulb goes out. Then once the capacitor
is charged again, it discharges to the bulbs and makes them light up
again. This goes on and on, causing the lights to flash on and
off. Most flasher capacitor units are rated directly on the unit.
My capacitor has 10W X 2 written on it... This means that the
capacitor is rated to run 2 bulbs at 10 watts each, or 20 watts
total for it to flash properly. If you don't have enough
wattage drain on the capacitor, the lights won't flash at all.
If you have too much wattage drain on the capacitor, the lights will
flash very rapidly.
Many people who replace their turn signals with after market
signals don't realize that they just changed their wattage. Or
they may add another lamp somewhere and then not understand why it
doesn't work. This is why. If your lights don't flash or
flash really slow, this mean you don't have enough draw on the
capacitor to discharge the stored energy. So a higher wattage
bulb(s) is required. If your turn signals flash really fast,
then too much wattage is being drawn from the capacitor not giving
it time to charge all the way. You need to change to a smaller
wattage bulb(s).
You can also change your turn signal relay (capacitor).
Most automotive stores carry several different rated relays.
Just know what the total wattage of your bulbs are, and purchase the
appropriately rated relay. There is only one relay on your
scooter and it supplies power to both direction turn signals.
You only need the total wattage for one side though because only one
side is flashing at a time. |
