[1982 silvering gl500]

Hello all. My wife and i have recently took on a project bike a 1982 Honda silverwing gl500 interstate.
We pulled off the fairing and or working on putting on front turn signals. The issue we have ran into is with the new turn signals they don’t blink. They come on and just stay solid. If we pull the bulbs out of the original fairing and pop them in the new light assembly they blink but there to large to put the lenses back on. My question is why won’t they blink? Any help would be awesome. Thanks

 

[1982 silvering gl500]

 

[Randall-in-Mpls]

Are the replacements LEDs? They won't draw enough power to cycle the thermal flasher. You'll need a modern electronic flasher. Not hard to come by.
There's a ground wire in the harness for the extra terminal on the new flasher.

 

[reclinedrelic]

The stock front signals function as both running lights and turn signals. Perhaps your signals are connected to the running light wire?

 

[1982 silvering gl500]

Are the replacements LEDs? They won't draw enough power to cycle the thermal flasher. You'll need a modern electronic flasher. Not hard to come by.
There's a ground wire in the harness for the extra terminal on the new flasher.

No, they aren’t LED. I read that they wouldn’t work in these older bikes with out changing out that electric flasher unit (to be honest I’m not sure what that is) so i didn’t wanna get into that.

 

[1982 silvering gl500]

The stock front signals function as both running lights and turn signals. Perhaps your signals are connected to the running light wire?

That is possible. But i don’t understand why if i put the bulb from the original fairing in the new light assembly it’ll blink. Wouldn’t that prove that the wiring is correct?

 

[nolimitz]

Do you have the correct 2 element bulb installed?

 

[1982 silvering gl500]

Do you have the correct 2 element bulb installed?

The bulb that come with the turn signal kit didn’t have a 2 element bulb. Does it need 2 elements? We just ran down to the parts store and they got us new blinker bulbs i didn’t know it needed 2 elements 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

[DouginEasternWashington]

How many wires are on the new signals? Your original signals are also parking lights which is why there are 2 filaments in the old bulbs. You can hook up the signals and cap off the wires for the parking lights. It sounds like the new bulbs don’t pull enough power to operate the flasher. You can either wire in a resistor or get a digital flasher unit.

 

[nolimitz]

How many wires are on the new signals? Your original signals are also parking lights which is why there are 2 filaments in the old bulbs. You can hook up the signals and cap off the wires for the parking lights. It sounds like the new bulbs don’t pull enough power to operate the flasher. You can either wire in a resistor or get a digital flasher unit.

I believe the fronts are considered running lights/w signals. the rear is single filament signal only. the parking light function is in the brake light circuit.

 

[DouginEasternWashington]

I believe the fronts are considered running lights/w signals. the rear is single filament signal only. the parking light function is in the brake light circuit.

I have always considered the front markers to be parking lights, but calling them running lights is perfectly fine and I would consider them one and the same. The OP is perfectly fine not using these lights in the USA. Capping them and only using the turn signal wires is perfectly legal.

 

[1982 silvering gl500]

Ended up changing the turn signal relay and it’s working now. Thanks all for the advice!

 

[Sidecar Bob]

I have always considered the front markers to be parking lights, but calling them running lights is perfectly fine and I would consider them one and the same. The OP is perfectly fine not using these lights in the USA. Capping them and only using the turn signal wires is perfectly legal.

"Parking lights" are lights that you turn on so that drivers can see your parked car and not run into it. "Marker lights" or "running lights" are lights intended to make your vehicle more visible on the road. There is a big difference between these concepts.

And I think you will find that you are required to retain all lighting functions that the vehicle had originally. You may get away with not having the marker lights because some makes/models didn't have them and no cop could be expected to know which ones did but, why would anyone want to make their bike less safe by making it harder for other road users to tell what it is at night? Or give someone in a car an excuse to run into you and claim that they couldn't tell what your bike was or where it was on the road).
Not to mention that their lawyer could bring an expert to court to show that the bike didn't have the marker lights it came with and put the blame on you.

FWIW, I have turn signals that do not act as marker lights on both of my bikes but I also have separate marker lights.

'82: Welcome to the forum. Please add your location and your bike's model and model year to your profile so that you don't have to remember to tell us every time and we don't have to keep asking when you forget (see Forum Settings link in my signature).

And welcome to the world of antique vehicle ownership (they own us, not the other way around). Your bike is about 4 decades old and may or may not have had all of the maintenance necessary to keep it safe & reliable so it is highly recommended to download the Factory Shop Manual for your model (available through the CX Wiki - link in my signature) and go through all of the service procedures, regardless of whether your bike has reached the specified mileage.
I also recommend looking on all rubber parts with suspicion because rubber does not age gracefully. Check the date codes on your tires and replace them if they are over 5 years old no matter how good they look & feel (old rubber simply cannot flow around the irregularities in the asphalt well enough to grip, especially if it is cool or wet). If your bike still has the original rubber brake line(s) (should be replaced every 2 or 3 fluid changes = 5 or 6 years) I recommend shopping for modern stainless braided ones (they last practically forever and double the life of the fluid). And don't forget things like the rad hoses and the boot between the engine and swingarm (they can crack on the bottom where you don't see it).

The best advice anyone can give you about customizing any vehicle is to get it safe & reliable in more or less original condition and use it for a while before you start making any changes so it can tell you what changes it needs to make it do what you want/need better. That approach almost always results in something you actually want to keep and use but making changes based on style or on what someone else (who may or may not really understand how the changes affect the way it works) has done often results in a piece of expensive yard art that you can't stand sitting on for more than a few minutes and might even be dangerous.

 

[DouginEasternWashington]

"Parking lights" are lights that you turn on so that drivers can see your parked car and not run into it. "Marker lights" or "running lights" are lights intended to make your vehicle more visible on the road. There is a big difference between these concepts.

And I think you will find that you are required to retain all lighting functions that the vehicle had originally. You may get away with not having the marker lights because some makes/models didn't have them and no cop could be expected to know which ones did but, why would anyone want to make their bike less safe by making it harder for other road users to tell what it is at night? Or give someone in a car an excuse to run into you and claim that they couldn't tell what your bike was or where it was on the road).
Not to mention that their lawyer could bring an expert to court to show that the bike didn't have the marker lights it came with and put the blame on you.

FWIW, I have turn signals that do not act as marker lights on both of my bikes but I also have separate marker lights.

'82: Welcome to the forum. Please add your location and your bike's model and model year to your profile so that you don't have to remember to tell us every time and we don't have to keep asking when you forget (see Forum Settings link in my signature).

And welcome to the world of antique vehicle ownership (they own us, not the other way around). Your bike is about 4 decades old and may or may not have had all of the maintenance necessary to keep it safe & reliable so it is highly recommended to download the Factory Shop Manual for your model (available through the CX Wiki - link in my signature) and go through all of the service procedures, regardless of whether your bike has reached the specified mileage.
I also recommend looking on all rubber parts with suspicion because rubber does not age gracefully. Check the date codes on your tires and replace them if they are over 5 years old no matter how good they look & feel (old rubber simply cannot flow around the irregularities in the asphalt well enough to grip, especially if it is cool or wet). If your bike still has the original rubber brake line(s) (should be replaced every 2 or 3 fluid changes = 5 or 6 years) I recommend shopping for modern stainless braided ones (they last practically forever and double the life of the fluid). And don't forget things like the rad hoses and the boot between the engine and swingarm (they can crack on the bottom where you don't see it).

The best advice anyone can give you about customizing any vehicle is to get it safe & reliable in more or less original condition and use it for a while before you start making any changes so it can tell you what changes it needs to make it do what you want/need better. That approach almost always results in something you actually want to keep and use but making changes based on style or on what someone else (who may or may not really understand how the changes affect the way it works) has done often results in a piece of expensive yard art that you can't stand sitting on for more than a few minutes and might even be dangerous.

You have no clue how the law works in the US. Federal does not trump state in all cases and this is one of them. What a vehicle needs installed and operating on it is decided at the state level. What the vehicle came with from the factory isn’t necessarily required to be kept on the vehicle. The federal government mandates what vehicles must have to be imported. Once imported it is in the state’s jurisdiction.
I fully understand the difference between driving lights and parking lights, get over yourself. Do you not agree that vehicles with parking lights often use the turn signal fixtures to accommodate them? That is why I call turn signals with dual filaments parking lights, big deal if you can’t accept that.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

You need to do some research about what is required and what isn't and which level of laws & regulations takes precedence.

Yes, some vehicles have parking lights combined with the turn signals but these are specifically NOT parking lights. They don't come on when the key is turned to the Park position (like the tail light does).
Your persistence in referring to what are clearly not parking lights as such almost seems like you are intentionally trying to confuse new people.

 

[DouginEasternWashington]

You need to do some research about what is required and what isn't and which level of laws & regulations takes precedence.

Yes, some vehicles have parking lights combined with the turn signals but these are specifically NOT parking lights. They don't come on when the key is turned to the Park position (like the tail light does).
Your persistence in referring to what are clearly not parking lights as such almost seems like you are intentionally trying to confuse new people.

You need to do the research about the laws that take precedence before telling people what the laws are. Educate yourself.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

I have spent many hours researching this.

 

[DouginEasternWashington]

I have spent many hours researching this.

You haven’t been researching in the right place then. American law is very complicated. To help you understand better maybe research “states rights”. Maybe also research sheriff. There is a reason the position of sheriff isn’t hired by the county but is elected to that position by the voters of the county.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

Maybe so, but vehicle standards must be consistent or they are meaningless.
Believe it or not there is a treaty that says that most vehicle standards have to be the same in Canada and the US for that very reason.

 

[DouginEasternWashington]

That is for manufacture and importing Bob. The states still have jurisdiction over what is required in their state. For someone who likes details as yourself, this detail is very crucial in understanding how the law works in the USA. It isn’t what you “think” makes sense.