Bypassing the Reisistors on LED Turn Signaling Bulbs

Hello,

I want to change my front turn signal bulbs to LED, I heard that I am required to have a reisistor. Is there anyway that I can bypass the need of having a resistor? Thanks.

 

No. Without the resistors you will get hyper-flashing. They are not difficult to install

 

I have these and no issues or hyperflashing. Had them for a couple months now.

SIRIUSLED 7440 Anti Hyper Flash Built-in load resistor True 25W Yellow Orange Extremely Bright LED Bulb for Turn Signal only 7440A T20 W21W Pack of 2 (Upgrade Version)

SiriusLED 7440 Anti Hyper Flash Built-in load resistor True 25W Yellow Orange Extremely Bright LED Bulb for Turn Signal only 7440A T20 W21W Pack of 2 (Upgrade Version)

 

I also just picked up the same ones. No issues. 10 second install.
Brighter and gets rid of the orange/amber in the headlight.

I've been reading a lot about the LED turn signals. It seems a lot of the fronts will be fine without resistors. Once you install LED's in the rear, hyperflashing will occur. Something with the load/draw disbursement. @BLKTRDPRO - Read here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/led-lighting-conversion.436865/page-205
Start at 205 and go backwards. A lot of updates since then. Don't even bother reading in the beginning. Only thing I've seen is that some of the cheaper options will work fine for the fronts because of the way the Tacoma's are wired.

I was eyeballing this:

Syneticusa 7443 Error Free Canbus Ready Yellow/Amber LED Front/Rear Turn Signal Light Bulbs DRL Parking Lamp No Hyper Flash All in One With Built-In Resistors

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L6S5NBR



Resistor is build into the small housing and you have plenty of room between the body and rear tail light. I like this because it's easy and priced well.
@mesojdm also has a plug n play kit. The benefit of this is utilizing the entire taillight for better output/visibility. Does cost more $$$. I believe $110 - $240 depending on which kit. Also features the switchback.
Others also make adapters for the lights where they are plug and play. No splicing or soldering.

Rear turns are 7443 and Front turns are 7440. There are ways around splicing/soldering. Just do your research. Sometimes it's better to buy your own adapter/connectors and make your own harness. Seems like a lot of them come apart over time. Can always buy a harness and just make it better. Get shrink wrap and solder the connections. You can usually find a set for $8-$20. Just find a good mounting point.

 

xSpeedLighting 7440 7441 T20 LED Light Bulbs Extremely Bright 2000lm RX-Chips with Projector Lens For Back Up/Reverse Lights Brake/Tail Lights Turn Signal/Parking or Running Lights, Amber Yellow

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074YVZD4X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8

Been running them for over a year. No hyper flash, no resistors required.

 

Quite possibly the best name on the forums. Kudos good sir.

 

There is a lot of talk about hyper-flashing, which may, or may not happen if you're only replacing the fronts, but there is something else to watch out for if you start swapping in more LEDs; a single flash, or no flashing at all.

After replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs, check for proper functionality with the engine off, AND with the engine running. The system might flash properly with the engine off, but may flash once, or not at all, with the engine running. Properly sized resistors will eliminate this issue. If you have LEDs all around, a 10 ohm resistor in each taillight circuit seems to be the sweet spot.

 

I've also found having the headlights on versus off can produce different hyperflash results. Test it both ways.

I ended up with 15-ohm resistors wired into the rear turn signals (also converted to LED) but didn't need resistors in the front after putting in the LED bulb.

 

So the XSpeeds look good for the fronts. What about the rears. They are clear. Or you could you use Red. What is everyone using for rear LEDs.

 

Thanks for mentioning these. Just bought a set!

 

Hyperflash happens when the total power load of the turn signal circuit drops below some critical level. The system interprets that as a bulb out and hyperflashes to indicate that a bulb failed.

Since modifying the flasher circuit itself isn't feasible, avoiding hyperflash when converting to LEDs is a game of keeping the load of the flasher circuit high enough not to hyperflash and low enough not to overload the circuit.

In my iterations of bulb combinations, I found that you can get different results with different bulb combinations, as well as different electrical system statuses on the truck (ignition on/off, lights on/off, etc.).

If you aren't doing anything really fancy (aka: Meso mods), you can replace all your standard signal bulbs with LED and know that you'll need a load resistor per side for the turn signals. 6-ohm will work, but you can get away with 10-ohm or maybe higher. You do NOT need a resistor per bulb. You need one per CIRCUIT. It can be installed in the front or back and makes no difference electrically.

 

Why not?

 

The flasher is built into the instrument cluster. It isn't a standalone relay.

 

As resistance drops the current through the circuit increases, the increased current causes the pulse of the blink to increase in speed. Basically the lower resistance of the LED circuit results in more power through the bulb. This is why some people have blown fuses or have other issues when installing LEDs in modern vehicles. If you had a voltmeter with the resistance function you could measure the OEM bulb from lead to lead and compare against the LED you have to put it. The difference would tell you what type of resistor you would need.

*edit* The reason for hyper flash from a blown bulb is similar, the loss of resistance in the bulb circuit results in another bulb receiving more current.

 

It's not a matter of resistance in the circuit. LEDs aren't a resistive load. The circuit is only concerned with current. To determine the size of the resistor, you need to figure out what size resistor will mimic the load of the bulb you're replacing.

EXAMPLE: If you're replacing a 15w bulb with a 1w LED, you need to find a resistor to dissipate 14w to make up the difference. In practice, that value can be more or less and still fall within the tolerances of the circuit. Ohm's law will get you the exact value.

Power (P) = Current (I) x Voltage (V): 14w = I x 14.4v = .97 amps
Voltage (V) = Current (I) x Resistance (R): 14.4v = .97A x R = 14.8 ohms

 

That would explain why I couldn't find it when I was installing my dashcam. Thanks

 

I’m new here, and I know this may be a long shot because it’s an old post.

I just replaced all turn signals with LEDs and installed 50W 6ohm resistors on the rear turn signals. I realized the video I watched listed the wires to splice incorrectly, as I was getting hyperflash intermittently. So I un-spliced the incorrect wires and spliced the correct ones.

Now, the turn signals flash fine with headlights on, but only flash once when headlights are off or DRLs are on. Could the size resistor used be my issue? Should I go up to a 10ohm resistor?

Thanks in advance!