LED Mirror Mod - partially working....help please

[ST Gui]

If you do an online search for a LED/resistor calculator you'll need the voltage and current and number of LEDs to get a recommendation of resistance value. LEDs can have a huge range of voltage for operation and knowing the details will give optimal performance.

I neglected to mention even though you asked— for optimal performance the color of LED does make a difference that you may or may not notice.

Since you've ordered 'pre-assembled' LEDs it's all moot. But it would be nice to workout why you were batting .333.


You posted will I was composing. So just ignore the above.

 

[jemo]

ST Gui, I used this website: http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

I entered a 12V source voltage, 2.5V forward voltage (per ebay ad), 20V forward current (standard number the poster above said to use), 3 lights in array.

Maybe the forward voltage in the specs was incorrect. I used yellow lights and I think the color does matter.

 

[ST Gui]

I used your link and a yellow eBay LED with a 2.6V/20mA/3/12V and got 220ohms so that's in the ballpark. Anyhow you have a solution en route so just remember one key thing – pics of your crafting!

 

[jemo]

haha, well let me see how pretty it looks first.

 

[k2mpw]

The cathode is the positive wire of the LED and is the longer one.
The anode is the negative wire of the LED and is the shorter one.

Make the connections: ST-1300
On the R/H turn signal the solid light blue wire is the turn signal positive. Solder the cathode lead (the positive wire) of the LED array to this blue wire.
On the L/H turn signal the solid orange wire is the turn signal positive. Solder the cathode lead (the positive wire) of the LED array to this orange wire.
On both turn signals the solid green wire is the ground. Solder the remaining anode lead (negative wire) of the LED array to this green wire.

I know this is an old post but I just gotta ask did the hookup of anode to ground and cathode to turn signal positive ever work?

I've always found that LEDs were forward biased for illumination.... non geek speak meaning that the anode is positive and the cathode is negative which is contrary to the posted information. The longer lead of a 5mm LED is the Anode the shorter is the Cathode. Using multiple LEDs in series is kinda like stacking up AA batteries. The second positive connects to the first negative, the third positive connects to the second negative.... and so on .....

Eh?

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I know this is an old post but I just gotta ask did the hookup of anode to ground and cathode to turn signal positive ever work?

Yes it did work only because I was not assembling them based on identifying the LED's conductors as anode/cathode. I assembled them using the longer = positive mantra with no regard for correctly identifying which was the anode and which was the cathode. Ignorance is bliss they say.

The original instructions I received only referenced that the longer conductor of the LED connects to 12 V+ and the shorter connects to 12 V-. While I knew that they were referred to as anode and cathode I had no knowledge at that time which was which. It was only when I was passing these instructions on to someone else that I thought that I should probably identify them properly. Since I didn't know which was which I asked the internet.

Here is the question I asked;
What are the conductors on an LED called.

Here is the answer that I found;
Anode and cathode. Anode = negative lead, cathode = positive lead.

I just looked again and found several places that state the same thing. What answer is presented seems to depend on whether they are referencing which battery terminal the conductor is connected to or what polarity charge it attracts. I guess I didn't get far enough in to it to notice the difference.

I should have left well enough alone I guess and stayed with the longer = positive mantra. Old adage- no good turn goes unpunished.

Good catch- I have edited the original post and hopefully have it correct this time.

 

[k2mpw]

There will always be the European types that use the positive car body logic. The electron flow from negative to positive is great theory but I dare anyone to try to troubleshoot a circuit from the ground path back to the battery!
The only reason I found your old post was that I made the mistake of setting my ST center stand on grass without paying enough attention to the slight lean it had. Upon my return I found the bike sleeping on its right side with a broken mirror! I took that as a sign that I should install the mirror LEDs that I keep telling myself that I need to install 'cause I can't see the dash turn indicators easily. I needed the wiring colors and that you had! I'm going to try to use a LED tape of three amber 5050 style LEDs along the far inside edge. There is just enough clearance... I should add it to my ST farkle web page as long as I take the right amount of pics.
Thanks for the original post! It helped! That's what all this is about!

 

[Andrew Shadow]

You might be interested in what Dan found then.
Mirror turn signals.

 

[k2mpw]

You might be interested in what Dan found then.
Mirror turn signals.

Too bad that in 2019 they no longer carry them... The search begins....