Rear Led Lights

[vazoosh]

I recently had rear LED lights installed bougth from the US but since they have been in the indicators are flashing more quickly.

Was just wondering whether anyone else has these lights installed and if they had any problems?

Also, does anyone know why the indicators all flash really quickly?

Thanks

Vazoosh

[Dave-Ellen]

normally means there is a fault from what I recall.

My LEDs are fine & have been since I fitted em 9/12 months ago

[shake]

Hi

afaik it means theres no "resistor" built into your rear lights causing them to flash quickly.

im sure someone with more technical knowledge will tell you how to fix this.

[shake]

click me ebay linky

this should solve the problem

[shake]

apparently the LED indicator draws more current, making the car think theres a bulb out, hence why it flashes quickly. (as its telling you a light is out, but in fact you have leds!)

[vazoosh]

apparently the led indicator draws more current, making the car think theres a bulb out, hence why it flashes quickly. (as its telling you a light is out, but in fact you have leds!)

Thanks for that Shake,thats a great help,checked out the link for the resistors, doesnt seem that hard to wire the resistors in.

Are they definately 50 watt load resistors i require,if so,i'll purchase them from eBay and see if it works ;)

[TigerFish]

I think there was another topic on here recently that had a link to a replacement Relay that meant they would flash correctly without load resistors. Does anyone else remember the topic? or am I wrong about the relay?

[shake]

unfortunately i dont know what watt resistor will be needed.

on the link, he/she sells 25W resistors for sidelight applications suggesting 50W would be appropriate for indicators.

i searched the forums but couldnt find anything specific re' this problem. it might be worth contacting the supplier incase there is a resistor thats faulty in your unit, or they maybe able to tell you if the resistor is suitable.

i'd do alot more research before attempting to do a diy fix. search on google, there are many with the same problem and found solutions.

[TigerFish]

Found the Relay I was on about in the other thread. Seems a fairly cheap and easy option

Clicky

[Geoffers]

I would look at a 50W, 6ohm resistor. The bulb is 21W. By using a 50W, you have double the capacity increasing its life and reducing chance of failure. 6ohm will load the flash unit with correct current. (per LED unit). The load resistor goes across the +/- of the LED unit and is not polarised.

Tigerfish is right - swapping the relay would also solve the problem. You would need to make sure the connection points are exactly the same, although it ia Toyota so you would so. Swapping the relay also saves you the hassle if the LED unit goes faulty, taking out the load resistor so you can replace with a normal bulb.

The reason the indicators flash quickly is because the standard flasher unit is thermal based. The higher the current drawn from it, the hotter one end of a bimetalic strip gets causing it to open. It cools down, then closes the circuit again. This cycle continues while the indicator is switched on. They flash faster because it doesn't stay open as long as the bimetalic strip doesn't gather enough heat.

The relays built specifically for lower current systems are electronic. They are astable multivibrators giving an equal mark/space ratio to the relay coil. The contacts of the relay coil are independent of the astable therefore are not influenced by the current being drawn across the contacts..

[shake]

"I won't ship to Italy address, Please don't bid if you are in Italy."

LOL, wonder what thats about

[Einstein]

Scuse.. but..

they flash faster if you have a bulb out, so that is LESS current..

LED's also use a lot LESS current that a bulb..

The resistor increases the load, so more current, so as Geoffers says, the flasher heats more etc.. and works correctly.

Personally, I think the electronic flasher unit is a better idea..

John

[vazoosh]

"I won't ship to Italy address, Please don't bid if you are in Italy."

LOL, wonder what thats about

Maybe the seller is a Zinedine Zidane supporter

[vazoosh]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and help.

Still dont know whether to go for the relay or the resistors

How would the relay be installed and where?

[TigerFish]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and help.

Still dont know whether to go for the relay or the resistors

How would the relay be installed and where?

The relay should just plug in and replace your current flasher relay.

[shake]

relay seems best option by far

[steve2006]

Just type "LED flasher relay into eBay search.

[vazoosh]

the relay seems to be the better option.

I saw Steve from Charlesworth today and he suggested wiring in a bulb holder between the pos and neg terminals going to the rear indicators.

I would also have to leave the bulb in there.

Apparently this is another option which is probably more reliable than adding the resistors as they could burn out

[TigerFish]

I would definately go for the relay option myself. Totally reversible and no fannying around with wiring.

[peter.liu]

the relay seems to be the better option.

I saw Steve from Charlesworth today and he suggested wiring in a bulb holder between the pos and neg terminals going to the rear indicators.

I would also have to leave the bulb in there.

Apparently this is another option which is probably more reliable than adding the resistors as they could burn out

This is what my mechanic did to my car after i installed the LEDs.....first we used a 25w load resistor but became extremely hot...the 50w is a bit bulky so decided to fit in an extra bulb.