Touratech Modulating Rear LED Brake Light

[markgoodrich]

UPDATE: Called George at Kriss awhile ago, explained the problem to him, and he told me they'd designed the canbus isolator based on another customer's comment that the "baseline" voltage going to the tail lights is 2 volts. On my '06 RT it's 3.2 volts. He said that's why the relay is buzzing...being triggered constantly, I guess. Anyway, he is going to work out a new workaround and give me a status update within the next couple of days. Although I'm disappointed the unit didn't work the first try, I'm very pleased and encouraged with his response and his reaction.

 

What am I missing here? Why do these vendors all seem to be selling incorrectly designed and inadequately tested systems? Why are you willing to cut them so much slack?

 

I cut Road Rocketeer a lot of slack last fall and January because of the sound of sincerity in the owner's voice. I eventually realized I was not being told the entire truth, and lost patience.

 

With Kriss, the unit's CANBUS isolator didn't work upon installation, but with one phone call I was able to speak directly to the guy who said the isolator was set up for another BMW customer who gave him a reading of two volts; he's promised a fix and an update right away. I don't think waiting two days is cutting much slack. His company has been in business for many years, with a good reputation. Road Rocketeer has not been in business for long and has yet to prove they can provide a reliable product, so you're right, I cut them too much slack.

 

Here's the best reason yet that I've cut Kriss some slack; spoke to them around 5:00 Austin time, and got this email just now:

Our Chief Engineer and I went over this issue and with the voltages numbers

you supplied he suggested a different design. The unit will be a bit more

complex but will assure no operation below 3.5 volts which is well within

the 2.8 - 3.2 you measured. This is going to be a sure fix.

 

We'll build one and mail it you on Wednesday. The connections will be the

same and only slightly larger in size.

 

Thanks for providing the voltage readings for the R1200RT,

 

George

 

[lopaca]

Don't bother calling Touratech they are just going to give you this number to call:

250-412-7524

 

Save yourself some time (I was on hold for about 5 minutes before someone picked up at Touratech), just call them direct. All they need is your shipping address. You don't need a Touratech order or confirmation number or anything else.

 

6 days later and I have not received the add on "fix". I just left message asking for an update but this is not going the way I was hoping. More to follow....

 

lopaca, six days is nothing. Try seven months. Good luck with it.

 

Good luck it with my as@%&^. It is going to be returned to Touratech. I will let them deal with the manufacturer - life is too short for this kind of nonsense!

[Bruce H]

I installed a Road Rocketeer light on my 07 GSA last year without any problems. I did tap into a hot source for the light. What would be the difference between a GS and a RT? It does seem like this shouldn't be so difficult. A flashing tail light is a safety issue and should come standard from BMW when you buy the bike, why not?... Most new cars come with a "third" brake kight.

[Jon_M]

Here's the best reason yet that I've cut Kriss some slack; spoke to them around 5:00 Austin time, and got this email just now:

Our Chief Engineer and I went over this issue and with the voltages numbers

you supplied he suggested a different design. The unit will be a bit more

complex but will assure no operation below 3.5 volts which is well within

the 2.8 - 3.2 you measured. This is going to be a sure fix....

Thanks for providing the voltage readings for the R1200RT,

 

 

Sorry to seem argumentative, but why does a company in business for years have to ask customers for the specs on units they are already selling to the public? What kind of a design process and business model is that? You are more tolerant than I am.

[rwbloch]

I just talked to a nice lady at Road Rocketeer who told me the "fix" should be in th email tonight or tomorrow.

 

RB

[DMilan]

Ahhhh...

 

Mine was shipped on the 11th of May.

Is it going to work on my '05 RT or should I expect problems?

 

No response to my e-mail and I, as a rule, don't leave voice jail messages.

 

I have use the BRAKE! product twice b-4/ My '04 GT and my '05 GS (as I remember) worked fine in both.

 

DMilan

[lopaca]

No call back to my message left two days ago.

 

Just left my last and final message.

 

Hard to believe a company doing this crap can stay in business.

 

I am very disappointed.

[lopaca]

My Email to them today:

Gentlemen:

I contacted and spoke to you regarding the fault indicator caused by your product but advertised that none would be produced on May 12.

I was promised that the “fix” would be shipped to me via 2 day expedited. That was 7 days ago.

I have no fix nor has anyone called me to explain why not.

Additionally I left a phone call message that was not returned to date. I just left a second message and it will be my last one.

I am not at all impressed with your product as advertised nor your customer service. I am disappointed that a company as solid as Touratech would distribute your product. This is the first product in over 3 years of ordering from them that did not live up to its description.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience to resolve this issue.

 

Their Reply:

Thank you for your email. We're up to our eyeballs in projects, and it may take a day or so for us to get back to you.

If you don't hear from us within 48 hours, or your request is particularly urgent, feel free to give us a call at 250-412-7524. Otherwise, thanks for your patience.

 

 

Problem is when I call all I get is an answering machine - they are in the same time zone as I am so it's not like it is after hours.

[markgoodrich]

My Email to them today:

Gentlemen:

I contacted and spoke to you regarding the fault indicator caused by your product but advertised that none would be produced on May 12.

I was promised that the “fix” would be shipped to me via 2 day expedited. That was 7 days ago.

I have no fix nor has anyone called me to explain why not.

Additionally I left a phone call message that was not returned to date. I just left a second message and it will be my last one.

I am not at all impressed with your product as advertised nor your customer service. I am disappointed that a company as solid as Touratech would distribute your product. This is the first product in over 3 years of ordering from them that did not live up to its description.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience to resolve this issue.

 

Their Reply:

Thank you for your email. We're up to our eyeballs in projects, and it may take a day or so for us to get back to you.

If you don't hear from us within 48 hours, or your request is particularly urgent, feel free to give us a call at 250-412-7524. Otherwise, thanks for your patience.

 

 

Problem is when I call all I get is an answering machine - they are in the same time zone as I am so it's not like it is after hours.

 

This is exactly the sort of thing I was told over and over, from November through January.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, George Kriss has been in contact with me today four times. His staff has decided to forego the fix to the canbus isolator and begin manufacturing a complete new canbus-compatible unit, which will work with the existing bulbs. He's informed me some new parts have to be obtained, and rather than shipping tomorrow it will be next week before he gets it out to me.

[rickmoen]

I ordered a Brake! LED on May 8 and received a tracking number that day. The unit shipped on May 12, but sat in customs for a few days. Finally made it across the border and to my house today, May 19. I hooked it up to my '05 R1200RT. Tested and worked perfectly - really bright and the flashes are certainly attention getting! Did not have to install the load resistor that comes with the kit. The directions mention an orange wire, which doesn't exist on my bike. I put the brown wire on the ground spade and the other wire on the power connector spade. As stated, didn't need the resistor. The bike has been started and tested in the garage about 10 times with no burned out bulb warning or any other kind of warning, for that matter. Looking good so far! I'll carry the "old" bulbs and sockets for a while, just in case, but hopefully won't need them. I'm pretty happy right now!

 

Rick

 

Edit: I ordered directly from RR, not through Touratech (if that matters).

 

[SageRider]

My Email to them today:

Gentlemen:

I contacted and spoke to you regarding the fault indicator caused by your product but advertised that none would be produced on May 12.

I was promised that the “fix” would be shipped to me via 2 day expedited. That was 7 days ago.

I have no fix nor has anyone called me to explain why not.

Additionally I left a phone call message that was not returned to date. I just left a second message and it will be my last one.

I am not at all impressed with your product as advertised nor your customer service. I am disappointed that a company as solid as Touratech would distribute your product. This is the first product in over 3 years of ordering from them that did not live up to its description.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience to resolve this issue.

 

Their Reply:

Thank you for your email. We're up to our eyeballs in projects, and it may take a day or so for us to get back to you.

If you don't hear from us within 48 hours, or your request is particularly urgent, feel free to give us a call at 250-412-7524. Otherwise, thanks for your patience.

 

 

Problem is when I call all I get is an answering machine - they are in the same time zone as I am so it's not like it is after hours.

First of all, the email reply is an automatic responder. They are up to their eyeballs. They're trying to resolve the problem. I am assuming here, but based on the number of non-functioning units reported in the last week, why would they continue to send out a fix that does not work?

I have already returned my unit to Touratech, but I provided info to Road Rocketeer which we are communicating back and forth on (twice today so far) to resolve the issue.

A little patience (a week or so) might be in order here.

 

[lopaca]

Just got a reply to my email:

 

"My apologies for the slow communication. We had an unplanned closure over the last weekend, and are currently catching up on messages and e-mails. I have forwarded your e-mail to Kevin, who will be contacting you later today to sort out the warning light issue. As it turned out, some additional testing testing was required due to some further customer feedback, but we do have a solution to the problem.

 

Again, thank you for your kind patience.

 

Kind regards,

Timea Meszaros

 

I have to admit that if they get this darn thing to work it will be worth the wait and hassle (it is so much brighter and I like the idea of a modulating brake light) - on the other hand considering what they charge for the unit, one would think that they would have been a little more thorough in their production and testing.

 

So Sagerider, I will wait and see what happens, after all patience is a virtue - right?

[DMilan]

Just got a reply to my email:

 

"My apologies for the slow communication. We had an unplanned closure over the last weekend, and are currently catching up on messages and e-mails. I have forwarded your e-mail to Kevin, who will be contacting you later today to sort out the warning light issue. As it turned out, some additional testing testing was required due to some further customer feedback, but we do have a solution to the problem.

 

Again, thank you for your kind patience.

 

Kind regards,

Timea Meszaros

 

I have to admit that if they get this darn thing to work it will be worth the wait and hassle (it is so much brighter and I like the idea of a modulating brake light) - on the other hand considering what they charge for the unit, one would think that they would have been a little more thorough in their production and testing.

 

So Sagerider, I will wait and see what happens, after all patience is a virtue - right?

 

I paid for the product on May 6th.

No delivery as of today.

No replies to my e-mails.

Not liking this.

 

Dmilan

 

 

[SageRider]

What happened with the May 11 shipment?

[DMilan]

What happened with the May 11 shipment?

 

 

Good question.

I have inquired..Twice

No response received

 

Double checked the on-line invoice

Purchase date was May 8th.(not the 6th) Scheduled ship date May 11th

 

Dmilan

[SageRider]

OK.

Just trying to understand.

Notice of intent to ship, but no tracking number?

Tracking number but no actual shipment?

 

In any case, I too would be getting impatient here...

 

[markgoodrich]

OK.

Just trying to understand.

Notice of intent to ship, but no tracking number?

Tracking number but no actual shipment?

 

In any case, I too would be getting impatient here...

 

I hate to continue to be the Cassandra in this thread, but this is the same exact way my November '08 order was handled; I actually got tracking numbers (twice, if I remember correctly), but nothing was ever actually shipped. I'll add that when finally reached by telephone the owner was quick to be totally surprised and confused and blame someone else, promise to check up on it and respond within hours, and of course nothing happened.

 

Meanwhile, the other company, Kriss Industries, which had sent me a unit which had a "kludge" workaround for the CANBUS, when contacted, rather than make promises, the SAME NIGHT redesigned their unit to work with our bikes, based on the voltage readings I gave. Two days later they were creating the production model, which I should receive this week. The contrast in responses is stark. I'll receive the new unit this week and get it instaled as quickly as possible (my daughter's getting married Saturday, so it may be next week, although an escape to the garage would be a blessing.

[bobbybob]

OK.

Just trying to understand.

Notice of intent to ship, but no tracking number?

Tracking number but no actual shipment?

 

In any case, I too would be getting impatient here...

 

I hate to continue to be the Cassandra in this thread, but this is the same exact way my November '08 order was handled; I actually got tracking numbers (twice, if I remember correctly), but nothing was ever actually shipped. I'll add that when finally reached by telephone the owner was quick to be totally surprised and confused and blame someone else, promise to check up on it and respond within hours, and of course nothing happened.

 

Meanwhile, the other company, Kriss Industries, which had sent me a unit which had a "kludge" workaround for the CANBUS, when contacted, rather than make promises, the SAME NIGHT redesigned their unit to work with our bikes, based on the voltage readings I gave. Two days later they were creating the production model, which I should receive this week. The contrast in responses is stark. I'll receive the new unit this week and get it instaled as quickly as possible (my daughter's getting married Saturday, so it may be next week, although an escape to the garage would be a blessing.

 

 

Well Cassandra, just watch your back for Ajax the Lesser.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aias_Kassandra_Louvre_G458.jpg

[DMilan]

OK.

Just trying to understand.

Notice of intent to ship, but no tracking number?

Tracking number but no actual shipment?

 

In any case, I too would be getting impatient here...

 

That's right, notice of intent to ship.

No tracking #

 

UPDATE

 

This afternoon received and e-mail response from RR / Kevin.

Apologetic, with explanation of issues....

Seems sincere... wants to fix b-4 shipping, thinks that it is fixed,etc....reasonable,I guess.

 

Hmmm...I'll wait and see.

My sister say's that my brother in-law and I both see the glass as half full, and leaking.

 

Dmilan

[BrianV]

Alas, I too got one of these that caused a canbus fault. Which was too bad, because the light is brilliant, and the flash programs are real attention getters. I WANT to keep it - provided they can do something to get rid of the canbus fault.

 

I emailed them, got the automatic responder, then a very nice email from Kevin same day. I told him I would give them 7 days to get me a fix, then request an RMA. I heard from them today (day 6), and called back - talked to a very nice lady, who called back within 5 minutes - they are shipping the "fix" parts today, 2 day delivery from Canada (not including customs delays - which they have no control over).

 

Every company has "oops" products from time to time. The real test is what they do to correct them, and how they go about it. I have had a really good customer service experience dealing directly with RR, and provided the fix is delivered on time, and works - they have 100% of my support.

 

-Brian

[lopaca]

According to Kevin my fix is on the way supposedly overnight express. It is going out tomorrow. I should have it on Saturday or Monday (coming to my office).

 

I will post a review of the fix asap. He said they are still being very cautious on the amount of fixes they send out initially and that they want to see what the response is with the ones they ship out.

 

To their credit, they have been on this since they first found out the issue. More to follow....

[lopaca]

According to Kevin my fix is on the way supposedly overnight express. It is going out tomorrow. I should have it on Saturday or Monday (coming to my office).

 

I will post a review of the fix asap. He said they are still being very cautious on the amount of fixes they send out initially and that they want to see what the response is with the ones they ship out.

 

To their credit, they have been on this since they first found out the issue. More to follow....

 

Got it yesterday as promised. Installed the "fix" this a.m.

 

Still getting the fault. I will call again and see what their next suggestion is.

[SageRider]

Thanks for the update....

[markgoodrich]

According to Kevin my fix is on the way supposedly overnight express. It is going out tomorrow. I should have it on Saturday or Monday (coming to my office).

 

I will post a review of the fix asap. He said they are still being very cautious on the amount of fixes they send out initially and that they want to see what the response is with the ones they ship out.

 

To their credit, they have been on this since they first found out the issue. More to follow....

 

Got it yesterday as promised. Installed the "fix" this a.m.

 

Still getting the fault. I will call again and see what their next suggestion is.

 

Meanwhile, the Kriss new-design from scratch Canbus flasher arrived exactly on time today, as promised. I should have time to install it tomorrow afternoon, and will post install photos plus a report on the function. Nine days, start to finish on a complete redesign of their flasher to accommodate CANBUS, including delivery. Assuming it works, how could you ask for anything more from a company?

[SageRider]

From what I can tell, the Kriss system still uses incandescent bulbs. This simplifies the design considerably vs. RR's LED design.

 

From the Kriss web page for the Canbus variant:

"Will work with LED's however LED's cause a fault on the warning system"

Which is exactly the issue RR is struggling with.

 

This is not an apples to apples comparison here...

 

 

[lopaca]

From what I can tell, the Kriss system still uses incandescent bulbs. This simplifies the design considerably vs. RR's LED design.

 

From the Kriss web page for the Canbus variant:

"Will work with LED's however LED's cause a fault on the warning system"

Which is exactly the issue RR is struggling with.

 

This is not an apples to apples comparison here...

 

 

It is the LED and the modulation that I want. These lights are bright and the modulation configurations are so cool that even if I have to live with a fault indicator I would do it.

 

Which begs another question: Will having a continual fault lead to other issues, such as shut downs and what nots?

[Froy]

[quote=lopacaIt is the LED and the modulation that I want. These lights are bright and the modulation configurations are so cool that even if I have to live with a fault indicator I would do it.

 

Which begs another question: Will having a continual fault lead to other issues, such as shut downs and what nots?

 

I've have tried several versions of the Kizan modulated halogenbright brake bulbs lights on my 08 RT. They all flash yellow in the dash when activated, but I've gotten used to it. There is no other issues with using them apart from the fault reports they read out at the service. I just have remember to inform them beforehand as to the reason reason why.

[lopaca]

Great to hear - thank you.

[Ken H.]

Which begs another question: Will having a continual fault lead to other issues, such as shut downs and what nots?

No, it will not cause any issues.

 

But you don’t have to put up with it either. Put a 10 ohm 5 watt resistor across the input side of whatever LED or whatever tail light you are using and the fault will go away.

 

Cheers!

100% LED and fault-free sense 2005.

 

[bobbybob]

Ken, have you done this? It just seems like a 10 ohm would drain the circuit so much there wouldn't be enough left over to energize the LED circuit...? or not? Does the resistor get hot? And it seems like such a simple solution that the mfgrs would have tried this already.... Tell us your experience with this, please.

[lopaca]

Which begs another question: Will having a continual fault lead to other issues, such as shut downs and what nots?

No, it will not cause any issues.

 

But you don’t have to put up with it either. Put a 10 ohm 5 watt resistor across the input side of whatever LED or whatever tail light you are using and the fault will go away.

 

Cheers!

100% LED and fault-free sense 2005.

 

Unfortunately, I would not know the input side from any other side. They sent a fix that appears to be something akin to a resistor. If could figure out how to post a photo I would put one on here.

[SageRider]

Bob,

I did this with my RR unit before shipping it back.

Getting down to 8 Ohms total resistance was necessary on my bike before the alert would go away. A 10 Ohm resistor in parallel with the 50 Ohms which was stock on my RR was right on the edge.

Problem is, that this is still way less than what I expect the current to be if the stock bulbs are used, so while it may work on some bikes, it may not work on all.

The other issue was that this is a 12VDC system (nominal 14VDC while running). Worse case is nearly 20W being dissipated by the 10 Ohm resistor. With this much potential heat being generated, I would want the resistance inside the taillight housing, or at least in a place where the potential heat can't damage other plastic or wiring.

These concerns were relayed to RR & Touratech when I returned my unit, along with recommendation to measure the actual current in a stock circuit and adjust the circuit accordingly.

[SageRider]

Unfortunately, I would not know the input side from any other side. They sent a fix that appears to be something akin to a resistor. If could figure out how to post a photo I would put one on here.

The fix sent to me was a resistor with tabs for easy mounting. I assume they have done the same for you. If so, there should be a value on the resistor. If it isn't too much effort, could you post here what any numbers on the resistor might be?

[Ken H.]

Ken, have you done this?

Yes.

 

It just seems like a 10 ohm would drain the circuit so much there wouldn't be enough left over to energize the LED circuit...? ?

No more so that the conventional bulb that was there.

 

As Michael said, one may have to play with the value a bit to match the current drain of the OEM bulb (actually you could use an actual bulb, hidden in the tail or something) but the idea indeed works.

 

[markgoodrich]

THIS is the end of my part of this long story.

[lopaca]

Unfortunately, I would not know the input side from any other side. They sent a fix that appears to be something akin to a resistor. If could figure out how to post a photo I would put one on here.

The fix sent to me was a resistor with tabs for easy mounting. I assume they have done the same for you. If so, there should be a value on the resistor. If it isn't too much effort, could you post here what any numbers on the resistor might be?

 

I would post those numbers assuming I knew where/how to get them.

 

[lopaca]

Just got off the phone with Kevin at RR. They are surpised as it worked on their test bike. I suggested perhaps there was an issue with the bikes shipped to Canada vs. USA - I have no idea but knowing how our Nazi state here in the USA works, perhaps we have some different requirements.

 

They asked for patience and are working on it.

 

I really love the light so I am going to stick it out.

[SageRider]

What was sent as the "fix"?

In my case, it was a power resistor with wires and terminals on each end.

In the power resistor image below, the resistance is 50 Ohm. The tolerance is 5%, and the power rating is 20W. Your fix resistor should have something similar on it.

The resistor shown in the image is likely a different design than what is sent as the fix, but the concept is the same.

 

[lopaca]

I will check it out and get back to you. Pictures of what was sent are on my thread at bmwlt.com under RT forums.

[SageRider]

I was able to read the resistance off of the photo on the LT web site. The resistance is 12 Ohms.

The resistor is also rated at 25 Watts. BUT that style of resistor is intended to mount to something metal to meet it's heat dissipation specifications. Mounting on plastic will degrade it's Wattage rating as well as potentially damage the plastic.

[Jon_M]

Every time this company makes another run at establishing a market for their brake light modulator, what follows is a long and anguished discussion of failure after failure, promise after broken promise, deception after deception (" Here's your tracking number!"). Each time, they manage to snag a long list of buyers who will put up with their silliness. I can understand why the early customers would give their product a try, but why in the world would anyone buy it after reading a dozen pages of complaints? What happened to caveat emptor? I don't mean to sound snotty, but Sheesh! Even Touratech de-listed them.

[SageRider]

I find it frustrating, even though I have already returned my unit, that RR sent out a 12 Ohm resistor as a fix when they already knew that it wouldn't work in all cases (such as mine).

 

The reality of the situation is that the stock bulbs are rated at 21 Watts. This is 1.5 Amps EACH at 14VDC.

I had to get the "fix" resistance under 8 Ohms for the bulb out alarm to extinguish on my bike. This would draw a calculated 1.75 Amps at 14 VDC.

Using the 12 Ohm "fix" resistor will only lower the resistance to 9.7 Ohms, drawing 1.4 Amps.....

At least in my bike's case, the controller wants to see more current than a single bulb will draw, otherwise it will indicate open.

[lopaca]

I was able to read the resistance off of the photo on the LT web site. The resistance is 12 Ohms.

The resistor is also rated at 25 Watts. BUT that style of resistor is intended to mount to something metal to meet it's heat dissipation specifications. Mounting on plastic will degrade it's Wattage rating as well as potentially damage the plastic.

 

I am far from knowledgeable regarding this matter, however, they did say that it is fine to mount onto plastic as it is never on long enough (only when the brakes are applied) to heat up enough to melt any plastic. FWIW

[SageRider]

I was able to read the resistance off of the photo on the LT web site. The resistance is 12 Ohms.

The resistor is also rated at 25 Watts. BUT that style of resistor is intended to mount to something metal to meet it's heat dissipation specifications. Mounting on plastic will degrade it's Wattage rating as well as potentially damage the plastic.

 

I am far from knowledgeable regarding this matter, however, they did say that it is fine to mount onto plastic as it is never on long enough (only when the brakes are applied) to heat up enough to melt any plastic. FWIW

I would test that by, with the vehicle parked and the resistor exposed to the touch, applying and holding the brake while touching the resistor case. If, after about 5 to 10 minutes the resistor is still touchable without burning your finger, you should be good to go from a power dissipation viewpoint under normal circumstances.

If at any point it gets to hot to touch, release the brake and end the test. Test will have failed.

IMO, this is the bare minimum condition that I would consider acceptable. YMMV.

[bobbybob]

make a heat sink out of scrap metal and attach to the resistor with hi-temp glue.

[SageRider]

Heat sink still needs to be mounted to something, and there needs to be airflow to cool the resistor as well as any heat sink. Both are problems in the area shown.

[DMilan]

Anyone heard back from these folks recently?

 

I requested a refund to my unfulfilled May 8th order nearly a week ago. No reply to e-mail(s) or refund as of yet. "voice mail box is full, pleae try again later"

Not likin' this.

 

Thanks

dmilan

 

[Tony_K]

From most previous reports regarding this "company" you're either going to need to try harder at getting compensation or just hope for a rainbow to fall in your lap.

 

Both are going to be difficult to get.

[DMilan]

Golly...

 

Ya mean I paid my $145.00 and I'm probably not gonna get nothin' for it?

 

I'm shocked and very dissapointed in my fellow man.

 

Seriously though, I had the flashing LED tailite bulb (BRAKE!) set up on my 04 GT and it worked very well. Great safety enhancement. Thought I had installed one on my Can Bus equipped '05GS (bad memory.. many bikes) with no problems. I think that they were from a company named Gizzmomill. At least one of the two had the BRAKE! name on the packaging.

 

Guess I should have been more cautious.

 

Dmilan

[markgoodrich]

As you can tell from my earlier posts on this thread, I have a very low opinion of Road Rocketeer's customer service...can't address their product, as they never sent one. But, I did get the Kriss Industries unit, which uses the OEM bulbs, sorted out. Here's my report, posted on another thread:

 

Final update, at least as far as I am concerned: there was a a ten day delay while the Kriss engineer was on vacation. I mailed the original unit shown in the photos back to Kriss last Thursday. They replaced the "microprocessor" and shipped it back to me Tuesday. I received it today and installed it. It works perfectly. The yellow fault triangle is gone.

 

For those who have commented that the flashing "bulb out" icon should not appear, well, it does, very, very briefly, with each flash of the two bulbs. Kriss is aware of the situation and at this time is going to leave the design as is. I'm totally satisfied with the solution. The brief bulb out icon flash is insignificant to me; others will need a more perfect solution.

 

Those of you who have followed the two threads relating to this saga are aware of the inconsistent and evasive and "confused" information coming out of the Road Rocketeer quarter, and are aware I long ago became fed up with their version of customer relations. The contrast with Kriss could not be more stark and dramatic. I have gotten almost instant replies from George Kriss at every turn in the development of the unit, and almost instant turnarounds on complete redesigns of the unit when problems surfaced.

 

I give Kriss Industries six stars out of four for customer service, and four out of four for the product they sold me.

 

I still believe the Kriss approach is superior to the other approaches I have seen, as it uses the OEM lens and bulbs. Assuming the product is dependable, I only have to spend a few bucks to replace a bulb every now and then, instead of replacing an entire unit. I'll agree that LED tail/brake lights are brighter, but I'm confident I'll be seen, and sooner, with the Kriss flasher.

 

I have no financial or other interest in the Kriss company, but George did waive the extra cost of the revised unit for my "assistance" in troubleshooting. So I think maybe I saved twenty bucks or less.

 

Link to post with photos: http://tinyurl.com/kjstfb