ST1100 brake and turn bulb numbers

Can anyone tell me what replacement number (e.g., 1157, 1156) are the various brake and turn signal bulbs on the ST1100 without having to go into the bike itself to find out?

On a very related note, I am thinking about replacing the standard bulbs with LED bulbs - mainly because they would most likely draw much less current. (I am not yet mentally ready for a 40A alternator upgrade).

I heard somewhere that the turn signal unit may think the LED's are just burned out standard bulbs... if so, is there a replacement for that?

I believe the problem with the turn signal unit not working because of the different bulb type may possibly be taken care of by using a relay. The turn signal unit operates the relay while the relay operates the LED's. Not sure.

However, one thing I am pretty sure of is that the LED bulbs really are not designed for use in non-LED housings. Light output is very different and you loose all the effectiveness of the reflector that's in the housing. What you often end up with is a brake or tail light that can be seen very well when you're directly behind it, but move off to the side a little bit and the light begins to dim a lot. If you want more/better brake lighting, add some LED's. Or use Kisan's brake light flasher. And remember, the tail light bulbs don't draw much current anyway, so you're not going to save much replacing them with LED's anyway. I'd just make sure all your charging system connections are clean and tight and get rid of that one connector between the main wiring harness and the alternator by crimping, soldering, and heatshrinking those three large gauge yellow wires together. Then make sure you have a good voltmeter installed and just keep an eye on things.

Front turn signals use 1157's rear turn signals use 1156's and the brake light use 1157's,, i just recently bought 1157's that are 360 degree red super led's off ebay for 15.00 and have installed them in the brake lights and i noticed a big difference when hitting the brake before i could watch my headlight dim pretty bad and now thats not the case,, also i have a GIVI 52 top case with the brake light option installed also for more brake lighting,, but the led's are almost just as bright as the regular bulb's just a tad bit dimmer but can hardly tail though,, hope this helps.

Can I hear the short version of that last post? At $15 a bulb you are saying they are NOT much better than stock bulbs? PITS! I thought this was going to be an easy fix.

I think he said it was an improvement. The headlights don't dim as much while hitting the brakes now. Which is a good thing. BTW this thread is 5 years old!

I am about to change the tail bulbs to LED ones (2 x 1156 , 2 x 1157 ) so this thread needs to be resurrected! I wanted to know if there was an easy/well-known way to access the tail bulbs.

This thread explains it in one sentence : : --> https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?31008-Replacing-ST1100-Taillight-Bulbs

"you can access the bulbs by unclipping each side of the black plastic "tool tray" that's in front of the bulbs, and fold/force it forward and down to access the bulb"

I'll check out if I can make do with the above description if not I'll post a few pictures & take it forward from there.

The 1156 (Amber) & 1157 (Red) LED bulbs are ready. I Used 45 SMD versions (45 LEDs per bulb)



Regards,
Vishnu

But wouldn't you need 1175's in amber for the front t/signals?
Can't find them offered at the linked dealer...

ST1100Y said:

But wouldn't you need 1175's in amber for the front t/signals?
Can't find them offered at the linked dealer...

Click to expand...

I was only changing the rear turn + rear brake lights! I'm sorry I didnt mention that in the link, I'll update the post to make it clear.

But I actually wasnt able to reach the rear 4 bulbs yesterday I removed the licence plate holder plastic, and 2 additional 'star' bolts that were facing downwards (close to the amber turn light plastic) but I still couldnt reach the bulb holders.

Was I trying to reach it from the wrong side? I tried to move the entire amber-red rear plastic tail tight cover , by easing it slowing out backwards but it seemed to be held strong. I would really love to hear any approaches to removing/changing the rear bulbs, thank you!

Regards,
Vishnu

Ya take off the seat and get at them from inside like everyone has already said.

thepaleobiker said:

But I actually wasnt able to reach the rear 4 bulbs yesterday I removed the licence plate holder plastic, and 2 additional 'star' bolts that were facing downwards (close to the amber turn light plastic) but I still couldnt reach the bulb holders.

Click to expand...

Won't do, the tail-light assy is also bolted into the tail cone from the inside...

Sooo...
Remove both panniers, carrier stay plate, passenger handles, and side covers to access the forward tail cone mounts (watch out for the harness grounding point at the LHS there; neglect to reconnect upon later reassembly will lead to "Gremlins"... ;-) )
Once that all is undone, spread the two "legs" aside the seat frame and lift the rear end of the tail cone over the 4 pylons on the rear support frame...
Once you've lifted the whole assy about 2" rearward from the bike, you'll need to detach the 5-pin connector shell for the tail-light...

Then you've full access... and you'll also see the two bolts on top of the base holding it in the tail cone...

ST1100Y said:

But wouldn't you need 1175's in amber for the front t/signals?
Can't find them offered at the linked dealer...

Click to expand...

Yup, they should put out the same color as the lense is. But make sure the OD will fit through the reflector housing, if the bulb/socket assembles through the back of the reflector housing.

SuperBright LED's has amber 1157's & 1156's .