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Suitable for almost all 50cc Piaggio/ Gilera mopeds e.g. Zip, Stalker, Typhoon, NRG, Runner etc.
Most Piaggio/ Gilera mopeds are fitted with an indicator relay which is built into the voltage regulator unit.
This guide shows you how to bypass the built-in Piaggio indicator relay and fit a universal 2-pin indicator relay instead.
Why would I want to do this?
If your indicator relay fails it would otherwise be necessary to replace the whole regulator/ indicator relay unit.
which is considerably more expensive than a universal indicator relay.
More importantly this conversion also enables you to fit an LED indicator relay as the indicator relay built into the Piaggio voltage regulator will not flash properly with LED indicators fitted.
The reason for this is that conventional flasher relays work by detecting how much current is being drawn by the indicator bulbs. Because LED bulbs draw far less current than conventional bulbs this confuses the flasher relay which may then flash at the wrong speed or not at all.
There are 2 possible solutions to this.
The first option is to fit resistors such as these (click here), which fit in parallel with your newly fitted LED indicators. These resistors work by creating an additional current draw on the indicator circuit (they do this by effectively being small heaters) which, provided you choose the correct resistors, increase the current draw back up to where it was with the original less efficient bulbs fitted enabling the standard relay to work again.
One of the problems with this is you have to get the resistor value just right. If you fit just rear LED lights and get them flashing correctly you may need to change the resistors for different value ones if you then late additionally upgrade the front indicators.
A much easier option is to fit an LED compatible indicator flasher relay such as this one which instead of being current dependant operates on a timer circuit. The relay will switch on and off at a set speed regardless of the current load or whether the indicators are LED or conventional bulbs or a mix of the two.
Does my Piaggio/ Gilera have a built-in indicator relay?
If your regulator looks like the one below and has 8 pins then yours is the type with a built-in flasher relay.
click to enlarge... |
click to enlarge... |
The voltage regulator/ flasher relay can be located in different places depending on which moped you have. On the Gilera Stalker used for this blog it is located behind the front fairing panel (behind the headlight). On a Piaggio Zip it is located behind the left hand rear panel (on the side of the seat).
Ok, let's get on with it!
First of all snip the blue/ black wire close to where it enters the regulator as shown in the picture below
The blue/ black wire is the wire which runs directly to the indicator switch and then on to the indicator bulbs themselves.
We need to extend this wire and fix a spade connector onto the end. Similarly we need to splice into one of the red/white wires and connect in another wire with another spade connector as in the picture below...
The red/white wires connect directly to the +12v positive connection on the battery after passing through the ignition switch and scooter main fuse so is a perfect place to take the power supply for our LED indicator.
In the pictures above we have soldered the new wires on and then covered them with heatshrink tubing but you can use any method you wish provided it makes a secure insulated connection.
Now attach your LED indicator relay, we are using a 2 pin universal LED compatible one (click here).
and locate it somewhere sensible with a cable tie or other suitable fitting.
Job done. You can now use LED indicators all round (or a combination of old and new) and replace your flasher relay cheaply and easily if it ever fails without having to renew the entire original voltage regulator/ flasher unit.
