Brake Light/Turn Signal Combo

I ordered this kit off of Amazon.com and it should be here sometime in the middle of next week. I'll post pictures and let everyone know how they work. I may end up redesigning the switch to make it smaller and less *** looking but I won't know until I see it and try to put it on.

 

bought the exact same kit about a month ago, was disappointed with the size of the unit containing the turn signals and brake light. I bought it to turn into a decicated brake light as i already have a quality set of turn signals. (http://www.bicygnals.com)

Messed around soldering for an hour of two and got fustrated with the **** thing and threw it into my bike parts box. I found some dedicated brake lights and went with those instead.

(http://www.motorcyclestuffs.com/servlet/the-57/Wireless-Brake-Light,-Electronics,/Detail)

The whole set up wasnt cheap around $200 but it will keep the police off my back as i use my bike most days over a 10 mile urban commute.

The unit will pass for legality reasons if the police want to give you a hard time, after all it does have turn signals, brake light and a horn, good as a temp fix but if i were you would look to upgrade in the not to distant future...

 

The bicygnals wouldn't work with the shape of my handlebars. Were you dissapointed that they were too small or too big? I appreciate your input.

 

If you don't mind how much did you pay for that....I just ordered the same thing from a different source.



Mich

 

Brand name? Price?

 

I have ordered 20 of these units wholesale, and I plan to mount them on future builds that I perform for customers. I have rigged up a metal box-type container, and I plan on padding with foam or something, because the vibration causes problems. This particular device is really cheap and flimsy looking, but it's the only all in one thing that I've found that doesn't cost too much! I'm trying some different ideas to beef it up a bit, perhaps I could remove the electronics from the case and put them in a stronger box with better switches. I need it mostly for the brakelight, it's mandatory here in Alberta.

 

cost around $10,

they were too small for my liking should have done more research as it does tell you the size,

http://www.motoredbikes.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6505&d=1209421887

i nearly sure this is the same unit so it will give you a good idea about their size.

The reason i went with the bignals is they are as professional looking setup you will find for a bicycle without making your own lights. + they have two sets of indicators one up front and one at the rear, the major downside is no brake light.

They are big and take away some of the "its is just a bike feel" but for my commute in crazy traffic they are a must.

The set you ordered will work just fine, they are very lightweight but with some glue and tlc they should hold up.

 

These are junk, junk, junk. I bought 2, and put them on 2 different bikes. One lasted for 2 rides, the other for 3 rides. They didnt cost much so I salved a few parts and threw them in the trash. They would have been ideal if they were built to last. I would have paid triple if they worked.

 

these things are bad. dont buy them. i bought mine off ebay and they ship from china. the mount that it clips in to broke right off. send them back

 

Today I bought some silicon and expanding foam (my God how the money flies into this hobby!).
My plan is to mount this item into a metal enclosure, and seal it from vibration, water and physical damage. If I can fiddle with the controller a bit, make it a bit more durable, that would be ideal, but the brake light is what I'm really after!

 

We seem to been be in the same boat with this issue. I've ordered 3 so far.

The first has the same controller unit as pictured in previous posts but the rear tail light / brake light unit is much bigger and square.

The second unit (not rcvd yet) is the one pictured in the previous posts.

The 3rd unit I ordered (not rcvd yet) the other day is much like the first 2 but has a more substantial control unit minus the goofy horn, forward LED and weak slide switches. The control unit I've seen on more expensive units.

I have about $700 worth of motorbike upgrade hardware and accessories sitting in my front room making cobwebs for weeks now for want of 2 wee metric clutch bushings. After weeks of effort I finally cleared that hurdle. My apologies for not having pics and such of the units mentioned att.

Anyhoo, we will get rear blinkers and brake lights that are workable and durable on the cheap. Once that is ironed out; front blinkers next (augi?)


Michael

I apologize for not having pics att.

 

This is the only picture I have as of now, it hasn't stopped raining here in a good month.

I had to splice all the wires to make them long enough to even reach my handle bars. Also I re-did all the soldering on the unit because face it, 5 year olds in China aren't too good at it. I ran the wires underneath the rear fender and then had them run along next to the throttle cable.

The horn is the most pitiful worthless thing I think I've ever heard and I don't plan on ever using it except for laughs. During the day you can't see the turn signals or brake light much at all, but during the evening and at night they are very visible.

Overall I feel I got my moneys worth out of this cheaper product. I will take more detailed pictures soon but I wanted to at least get one posted.

 

pics & ideas

Reiterating on an earlier post the first pic is the 2nd unit I got. It has the same cheapo control unit but bigger directional / brake light housing.

The 3rd one has what seems to a sturdier control unit minus the goofy horn and red fwd facing led. I think this is the same one pictured in an earlier post mounted on that cool cargo box.

The headlight in the last picture I ordered two of ($7 ea.) and they are bright as ****. I have them mounted on either side of the steering stem although the original plan was to bar-end mount them.


I ordered 2 more for the bar ends:

These lights have 3 modes; on, off and FLASHING. The unit has a simple sealed push button on top. I plan to get a sheet of yellow film, cut out 2 circles the size of the led reflector and viol la! Front directionals that are bright as **** and certainly will be visible during the day.

As far as improving the luminosity of the rear unit ? Maybe a 3rd AA battery. I think it can handle it. They have 9 leds. The only problem is fabricating a simple, sealed housing for the 3rd battery.


Michael

 

I like that third one! Where did you get it? Perhaps a person could rig a setup with two of these units together, with some heavier wire, more batteries. Double the LED's, double the light, right? Would 4 batteries work, or could you use a lantern battery?

 

lights

http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.905

I was thinking about wiring 2 rear led units together. It would be easily done since the batteries are in there not the control unit. But then you'd have two sets that are still dim in the daytime. Would be a bit more visible though.

4 batteries might work. Thats why I got all three units the price is cheap. With all the different parts I expect to come up will one solid unit. If I smoke one experimenting no big deal.

If adding more batteries I would wire it so you are upping the milliamps not the voltage (series vs. parallel wiring). A lantern battery would not be the right voltage I would think. Plus you don't need all that size and weight. LED units that take only 3 AA batteries are blinding and run a long time.

As mentioned before it is a good idea to silicone seal these units. It's tricky though because you have to be able to open it up later to change the batteries.......:?:....unless..... we make the batteries (3x, 4x if it works) external to the rear unit. That would kill 2 birds with one stone. That would make sealing it up easier and make the 3x battery compartment thing easier.


Michael

 

You don't really have to seal up the whole unit, just use some silicone glue or epoxy on the electronic components and thats it. Seal everything thats bare electrical except for the lens portion of the LED's themselves and even if water gets in the housing itself it still has no way of shorting the electrics. The batteries and battery leads shouldn't have to be sealed. The terminals may get rusty with time if they are exposed to moisture but thats easy enough to just scrape off to make a good connection again.

 

Thanks for the site, I just finished my custom made signals, but I will keep this in mind for my customers.

 

I received that 3rd unit today. The control unit is way better: smaller, better sealed. It has two small leds to tell you if you are blinking left or right.

The rear unit seals better; no need for silicone. The brake light actuator is a better quality. The leds are brighter that the other units.

The only fly in the ointment is that they used red leds for the directions.


Michael