Help! any ideas why my AdventureTech Auxiliary light is rapidly flickering/blinking?

3131 Views 21 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Solo, 5 mo ago

LV Strom1k

Discussion Starter · 5 mo ago

The auxiliary lights and switchgear have been working great for about 4k miles, installed about 8 months ago, running about 50% of the time (don't run at night and usually not on interstate slab sections) - I use the yellow filter and run them as daytime running lights to improve visibility. Just last week noticed the left light was rapidly blinking at a high rate - going to try to attach a short video. Brief examination of the wiring didn’t show any loose connections but I would think a loose connection would either cause the light to not work or if off and on it would be irregular or sporadic - not the high frequency blinking.
Do you have any ideas on what the problem could be?

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LV Strom1k

Discussion Starter · #2 · 5 mo ago

Dang - unable to load the video - and I don't do youtube or any hosting services.

The left light simply blinks off and on and a very high frequency.

Water Light Automotive lighting Sky Entertainment

it never actually blinks OFF - just flickers at a high frequency.

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Yarz1

· #3 · 5 mo ago

LV Strom1k said:
Just last week noticed the left light was rapidly blinking at a high rate - ...cause the light to not work or if off and on it would be irregular or sporadic - not the high frequency blinking.Do you have any ideas on what the problem could be?

My first question would be, are you running the LED lights at 100% when they are turned on or are you running them through a pulse width modulator as a dimmer switch to run them at less than 100% full brightness?

Grimmer

· #4 · 5 mo ago

Check the wiring and all connections.

Swap lights from one side to the other and see if the flicker follows.

If it follows, my guess would be a failing driver circuit inside the light. I had the older models and after several years of service the plastic lense cover got brittle and cracked around the edge, weakening the contact with the rubber seal and allowing water to enter. The circuit was pretty well corroded. Needless to say I supplemented the seal on the replacements with a bead of silicone between the lense cover and housing.

If they are out of warranty and if they can be disassembled, you might check for water or something causing a partial short in there. But if the chip is failing internally you wouldn't be able to easily tell.

LV Strom1k

Discussion Starter · #5 · 5 mo ago

Yarz1 said:
My first question would be, are you running the LED lights at 100% when they are turned on or are you running them through a pulse width modulator as a dimmer switch to run them at less than 100% full brightness?

100%. Not familiar with a pulse width modulator (sounds like something from Star Trek lol)

Grimmer said:
Check the wiring and all connections.

Swap lights from one side to the other and see if the flicker follows.

If it follows, my guess would be a failing driver circuit inside the light. I had the older models and after several years of service the plastic lense cover got brittle and cracked around the edge, weakening the contact with the rubber seal and allowing water to enter. The circuit was pretty well corroded. Needless to say I supplemented the seal on the replacements with a bead of silicone between the lense cover and housing.

If they are out of warranty and if they can be disassembled, you might check for water or something causing a partial short in there. But if the chip is failing internally you wouldn't be able to easily tell.

Excellent idea!
Can probably just loosen the wires and swap connectors L to R to check this out later.

Stalky Tracker

· #6 · 5 mo ago

Have you checked with @richlandrick at Adventure Tech?

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Billyn

· #7 · 5 mo ago

I have those and had one fail due to loose wiring inside the light. I too had them about 8 months and notified RichlandRick and he replaced the faulty light. I did have to pay for shipping it back ($10) but was cool with that. I hope to not have any other issues because I really like the lights

LV Strom1k

Discussion Starter · #8 · 5 mo ago

Stalky Tracker said:
Have you checked with @richlandrick at Adventure Tech?

View attachment 311201

Sent Rick an email Friday night - haven't heard back, assumed he might be traveling for the holidays.

Billyn said:
I have those and had one fail due to loose wiring inside the light. I too had them about 8 months and notified RichlandRick and he replaced the faulty light. I did have to pay for shipping it back ($10) but was cool with that. I hope to not have any other issues because I really like the lights

Did yours just stop working? or was it flickering like I'm describing? thanks.

Nicad

· #9 · 5 mo ago

I have a similar issue with one Clearwater led light I have. The mfg suggested it was often a battery on its way out that causes this … so he said. Will be replacing the battery next spring as it is 5 years old then and I will update the thread.

LV Strom1k

Discussion Starter · #10 · 5 mo ago

Nicad said:
I have a similar issue with one Clearwater led light I have. The mfg suggested it was often a battery on its way out that causes this … so he said. Will be replacing the battery next spring as it is 5 years old then and I will update the thread.

Anything is possible - but the battery was brand new NOCO Lithium and I installed it the same time that I did the wiring for the lights and a few other farkles in April or May '22.

richlandrick

· #11 · 5 mo ago

I'll give you a call if I have your number. We took new year's day off. Meanwhile, I'll look for the email.

Don't worry, we will get you fixed up one way or another.

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dravnx

· #12 · 5 mo ago

I had the same issue with one of my lights. Rick replaced it prompty.

Billyn

· #13 · 5 mo ago

Mine didn't flicker, just worked sporadically

richlandrick

· #14 · 5 mo ago

For anyone coming across this thread doing troubleshooting, the red wire and black wire of the wiring harness should be connected directly to the battery, not a relay-controlled fuse block (e.g., eastern beaver).

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Solo

· #15 · 5 mo ago

richlandrick said:
For anyone coming across this thread doing troubleshooting, the red wire and black wire of the wiring harness should be connected directly to the battery, not a relay-controlled fuse block (e.g., eastern beaver).

I have the feeling I'm jumping into something I know nothing about. Would you explain this to a simple minded bloke? There's a difference between the ign switch energizing & a relay?
Thx Rick.

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Motorpsychology

· #16 · 5 mo ago

LV Strom1k said:
Sent Rick an email Friday night - haven't heard back, assumed he might be traveling for the holidays.

Did yours just stop working? or was it flickering like I'm describing? thanks.

I had the flickering in one of mine. Rick sent a new one and I returned the bad one so he could analyze what the problem is/was. He thinks He may have gotten a bad lot from his vendor. Rick is 6 stars out of 5 for customer service,
You'll hear back. 👍

LV Strom1k

Discussion Starter · #17 · 5 mo ago

Motorpsychology said:
I had the flickering in one of mine. Rick sent a new one and I returned the bad one so he could analyze what the problem is/was. He thinks He may have gotten a bad lot from his vendor. Rick is 6 stars out of 5 for customer service,
You'll hear back. 👍

Agree - Rick has been excellent on all fronts - and everything he sells is top notch!

Along with the Cree lights and mounting bar and harness, also put a set of mirror extenders and soft saddlebag supports on my VStrom.

Already sent the flickering light back and expect he will ship a replacement out any day now - went ahead and ordered another light kit and mounting bar and mirror extenders for my new to me 2020 Tracer 900 also.

Motorpsychology

· #18 · 5 mo ago (Edited)

Solo said:
I have the feeling I'm jumping into something I know nothing about. Would you explain this to a simple minded bloke? There's a difference between the ign switch energizing & a relay?
Thx Rick.

On the harness that came with your lights, the switch to the harness' relay has the yellow wire coming out of it.the relay's purpose is to control a high current with a low one. When you turn the lights on, the switch closes a circuit to the relay with a small current, the relay closes a higher current circuit coming from the battery to turn on the lights. There is no need to further run it through another relay, and may actually cause weird gremlins to pop up either in the wiring or the lights.

Connect red to the + battery terminal, black to the - terminal, not just to the frame or other ground (earth), and the yellow one (energizes the relay) can go to a switched positive wire; one that's only powered with the ignition on, such as a headlight, city light, not a turn signal . My wiring may be different than yours, but the earth in almost all cases is black with a white stripe: "b/w" so the positive would be the other wire.

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richlandrick

· #19 · 5 mo ago (Edited)

I have received three light back because of flickering. I have no doubt that what the customers say was happening on their bike was happening so new lights were sent out.

However, plugging all three lights into a 12v power supply resulted in nothing but a steady light. No flickering of any kind. So something was different. After a lot of "thinking" I came to a theory that seems logical but unproven.

First all these lights are as exactly the same as any light built from standard parts. Each resistor, capacitor, and coil have the same nominal value +/- some tolerance. That is important because that means they are not exactly the same, just so close to the same as to be called the same.

Since the lights work fine when the only thing that is charged is the power supply, the voltage (low voltage) must be causing the observed behavior.

In hindsight now I should have asked if the flickering was noticed at idle. This is because the voltage on a V-Strom (or any motorcycle) at idle can be much less than 12 Volts.

This is where the minor differences in lights come in. The light with the highest "low voltage threshold" will cut out first. When it cuts out voltage goes up and the light comes on, dropping voltage, on and on causing the observed flickering. Only one light would flicker because the other has a lower low voltage threshold by some extremely small amount.

I really wish I had asked folks to check to see if the flickering went away as the revs increased to normal riding levels like 2500 rpm and above where these bikes put out an honest 12 Volts or better.

Anyway, I eventually remembered that the voltage downstream of components like fuse blocks and relays is lower than at the battery. Since the wiring harness has it's own relay, connecting the wiring harness to another relay serves no good purpose, but could contribute to the flicker observed.

So bottom line - my advice is to connect the wiring harness to the battery per the instructions on our website.

And if anyone notices flickering give me a call. The overwhelming majority of people don't have issues and really love the lights, even the three that noticed flickering, including one who ordered a second set for another bike after reporting the flickering, so don't let this discourage you. It's just a discussion that normally would be handled by a phone call.

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OCL

· #20 · 5 mo ago

richlandrick said:
In hindsight now I should have asked if the flickering was noticed at idle. This is because the voltage on a V-Strom (or any motorcycle) at idle can be much less than 12 Volts.

I have the lights on my '21 VStrom 650 XT for about 1.6 years now. Maybe 14k miles. Never had an issue until now.

I can confirm the flickering happens at idle and only on one light. Flickering disappears when engine revs up. So this seems to confirm your analysis. This started happening only recently after I started using my new heated jacket liner+gloves, drawing over 60 watts.

However, I can also confirm that after a prolonged period of riding, with my heated gear on drawing maybe 60 watts, the lights would just shut off. I am unable to confirm if BOTH lights shut off because it happens while I'm riding. This was not the case WITHOUT my heated gear on drawing 60+ watts. In addition, when I turn the switch off, wait a bit, then turn the switch on again, both lights work again. Could this be a related issue? Could I be maxing out my VStrom 650's charging power with the Auxiliary light on, heated gear on drawing the 60+ watts, my Phone hooked up and charging?

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