LED experts chime in

[mr1mrwun]

I'm planning on doing a full custom LED install on my exterior lights. I don't want to change the flasher relay mainly cuz I like the hyper flash.

My question is would having the stock relay constantly hyper flashing due to the lack of resistance cause the relay to fail prematurely?

[Sponsor]

[iminhell]

I've yet to see a single flasher fail yet with stock bulbs. So based on that I'm going to say, no. It will outlast the car.

[calebstubstad]

noob question: what is hyperflash? everyone talks about it and idk what it is lol

[FocusedSlayer]

Originally Posted by calebstubstad

noob question: what is hyperflash? everyone talks about it and idk what it is lol

Its when people use an LED bulb without a resistor , and it looks like a light is flashing really fast instead of a slower pace like there suppose too.

[S0C0nFused]

Originally Posted by mr1mrwun

My question is would having the stock relay constantly hyper flashing due to the lack of resistance cause the relay to fail prematurely?

Do the 1st gen models actually have a relay? My 07 does not. I did not think turn signal relays had been used for decades. To answer your question, this must be determined. Remember though, in electrical/electronics, there is no 'free lunch'.

[Sniper Focus]

The GEM handles the blink function if I'm not mistaken, and there's a little speaker that makes the sound in the steering column.

Most of my exterior is LED and I have resistors on the blinker circuit. Then I found out that the GEM doesn't like having little resistance to the running light circuit. With no resistance in the running light circuit the blinkers didn't work correctly, the opposite side would blink faintly. Plus with the hazards the door chime would beep and the interior lights would flash. So I added small load resistors on the running light side to fix it.

You might be able to not add resistors to the blinkers, but won't get away without having any resistors at all; at least with out a lot of annoying problems.

[S0C0nFused]

What Sniper Focus said. Without any resistance in series, you have a 'run away' condition. feedback issues etc. The flasher driver is designed for incandescent. AS you wanted a "LED expert", to achieve a high flash rate, you need an LED interface circuit that 1: provides the required resistance for the OEM flasher circuit. 2: A timer (async) that produces X 'flashes' per second. 3: adjustable LED driver output section (so you can adjust based on LED specs which can change). I would suggest (rough assumption) not to exceed 2-3 flashes per second.

[mr1mrwun]

Originally Posted by Sniper Focus

The GEM handles the blink function if I'm not mistaken, and there's a little speaker that makes the sound in the steering column.

Most of my exterior is LED and I have resistors on the blinker circuit. Then I found out that the GEM doesn't like having little resistance to the running light circuit. With no resistance in the running light circuit the blinkers didn't work correctly, the opposite side would blink faintly. Plus with the hazards the door chime would beep and the interior lights would flash. So I added small load resistors on the running light side to fix it.

You might be able to not add resistors to the blinkers, but won't get away without having any resistors at all; at least with out a lot of annoying problems.

Okay, maybe I worded it wrong. I've been doing research on how to correctly plan out and make an array of LEDs. Not planning on using bulbs but making my own custom setup inside the light housings. So I know resistors are needed in the circuits for the LEDs to work properly to begin with. Also from my research I found out that just a LED bulb swap makes the GEM (thanks for that) think that the lights are not working/burnt out, hence the hyper flash, because of the missing resistance from what used to be incandescent bulbs. So when I do this will the GEM's life be diminished because of the state it will be put in?

Originally Posted by S0C0nFused

What Sniper Focus said. Without any resistance in series, you have a 'run away' condition. feedback issues etc. The flasher driver is designed for incandescent. AS you wanted a "LED expert", to achieve a high flash rate, you need an LED interface circuit that 1: provides the required resistance for the OEM flasher circuit. 2: A timer (async) that produces X 'flashes' per second. 3: adjustable LED driver output section (so you can adjust based on LED specs which can change). I would suggest (rough assumption) not to exceed 2-3 flashes per second.

Thanks for that info. Gonna have to look into that LED control interface. Would you have any suggestions for me to start looking in the right direction?

[S0C0nFused]

OK. I have tried to find the more advanced kits for you. They apparently no longer exist. The closest one I could find is here
http://www.mtmscientific.com/timer.html
You would need to reengineer the output (relay not suitable),timing cycles etc. I was trying to find the dual timer brds but no luck. I wanted to stay with a 555 as they can drive a power trans directly.

[mr1mrwun]

Originally Posted by S0C0nFused

OK. I have tried to find the more advanced kits for you. They apparently no longer exist. The closest one I could find is here
http://www.mtmscientific.com/timer.html
You would need to reengineer the output (relay not suitable),timing cycles etc. I was trying to find the dual timer brds but no luck. I wanted to stay with a 555 as they can drive a power trans directly.

Thanks for that.

Pardon my ignorance, like I said I'm still learning about LEDs and small circuits, but is that timer a standalone or would I just need integrate it into the car's flasher circuit past the GEM? Or is it something I can/should put on the bread board for each separate array?

Both you and the description says it's a kit. So some searching on DIY electronics forums are in order. Still have a lot of research and learning to do!

Btw, whats a brd?