Turn signal question

    Quote from Edward Neal

    if they havent heard about it whos fault would that be? If people never take the issue directly to the manufacture then how can the manufacture be blamed if they dont know about it.?


    in this case it sounds to me like TricLED jumped right on it and took care of it - not much more you can ask than that

    Not so, I mentioned earlier that I bought individual pre wired LED light bulbs that have a resister already in the hot wire. So if a tiny individual light bulb needs a resister why wouldn’t a whole string of them? That’s why I say they dropped the ball by not having or not knowing they need one. It certainly could be the black box.....mine could be bad or getting weak also.


    As I also mentioned.....people have been having issues right after installing these switchback string lights way back in 2015. Nobody is 100% certain SoCals problem is fixed. Adding a resister might not fix my problem. If they really wanted to jump on the problem their lights would have resisters on them. Other companies have already figured out their bulbs need to come with a resister.


    If a resister doesn’t fix my problem I’ll be contacting them about a black box too. On the other site I read this info on about the light problems they tried everything from the flasher to the flasher relays. I didn’t read anything about adding resisters.....


    Personally I’m hoping Sam is the smartest guy on the planet.

    @samowens44


    Thank you for sharing info on this.


    I installed some "el cheapo" DRL / sequetial turn signal strips last summer.

    I believe I paid around $17 for them on Amazon (Big spender!!).


    They work perfectly when the key is on.

    Normal "on" is white daytime running lights, turn signal activates a sequential chasing amber.


    My problem was with key off, there seemed to be too much of a drain to allow hazard flashing to operate.

    Luckily, I haven't been in an emergency situation that required hazard flash but, there have been a few times when it would have been safer to have flashing hazards.


    The 100 ohm resistor addition has solved the problem!!


    I added a 100 ohm (2 watt) in series with the with the turn signal wire going to the "black box".


    I purchased the 2 watt resistors in a large assorted pack from.......any guesses???.....for a whopping $10.

    and.... I have 198 assorted leftover sizes for future projects.

    200 pc, 2 watt assortment


    This is a video showing before and after adding the 100 ohm resistor:

    https://youtu.be/QSfZYKUBamw

    thanks for trying the resistor to lower the current to allow the Flasher Module work within limit.

    This will work for any devices added to the turn signal leads. TricLed is only one manufacturer out of many. Thanks mpj220 for your doing the Resistor mod. Thanks for the excellent video. The emergency flashers are important and should be checked after any mod to the Turn Signal System. As seen each may flash for left and right, but fail for Flashing emergency.

    I just check mine and the resistor allows all my turn signal system to work with key off and flasher on.
    I did not think to test this when I developed the resistor mod.

    This is why form discussions are important.

    Let me explain why this condition may happen when aux Lights are connected to the Turn Signal System. Again, the Flasher Module monitors the current levels when the Signal are activated and the emergency flashers. The turn signals only operate normally 2 led units front and rear, when the Emergency Flasher is working with the ignition on, there are all the systems drawing current throughout the Slingshot. This lowers the voltage and current into the Flasher module and it may meet the limits with aux lights.

    Here is the problem, when the key is off, when you most likely will use the Emergency Flashers. Now all current is flowing in the Flasher Module. This will allow more voltage and current to flow in the Flasher Module causing the Limits of current to be exceeded.

    Folks, it is clear to me, the after market manufacturers did not investigate the Slingshot Flasher Module and determine how it worked with current limits. All they need to do is ohms law, calculate the draw of current from their product and add the proper resistance to lower the current to meet the Limits of the Flasher module and this thread would have never existed. I hope they see it and take the action needed to properly design the product current draw on the Flasher Module to meet the limits. Simple as that. They could add the resistance to the Driver Module (black box). With only two complains, I feel they have not redesigned the system and each module can have a little different resistance to meet the Flasher. SoCal, please check your Emergency Flashers with the ignition off, and let us know if they flash properly.

    This is important to know if they have made changes to their Driver Module and it does lower the current limits.

    The Flashers are important for road side conditons and need to know they are not failing due to Aux Lighting systems.

    Thanks for your input, I was just made aware of this failure condition.

    samowens44 welllll how about that! Key on and all flashers work- key off and no flashers work.


    Did you put the resistor only on the hot wire? Or one on both the ground and hot going to the black box?



    I added a 100 ohm (2 watt) in series with the with the turn signal wire going to the "black box".

    We’ll get there when we get there and not a minute before. 😎

    Yellow box is the factory turn signal.

    Black boxes are for the additional lights.

    Two are switchbacks, one is for sequential lights.

    Red wire is the hot wire which leads to the flasher module.

    Blue is the resister.



    So would it be better to add the resister right after the factory turn signal (first picture) or after all the lights(second picture)?

    Quote from SoCal

    samowens44 welllll how about that! Key on and all flashers work- key off and no flashers work.


    Did you put the resistor only on the hot wire? Or one on both the ground and hot going to the black box?



    I added a 100 ohm (2 watt) in series with the with the turn signal wire going to the "black box".

    Which leads me to believe the black boxes are not 100% of the problem.

    just a side question - reducing the current flowing to the aux lights with a resistor - - doesnt this also reduce the light out put of those lights?

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    LED have a wide range of operating current. The brightness of the LEDs will not change. LEDs either go on full bright or if voltage and current are too low they will not operate. ON or OFF! So if they don't light, then too much resistance. I think 100 ohms is just right.

    For all that want to add resistors to the Turn Signal Leads to have all theTurn Signal System to work properly, I have created a Video to help with how to connect the resistor using soldering iron and solder along with using shrink tubing.

    Hope this will help.


    Quote from SoCal

    samowens44 welllll how about that! Key on and all flashers work- key off and no flashers work.


    Did you put the resistor only on the hot wire? Or one on both the ground and hot going to the black box?



    I added a 100 ohm (2 watt) in series with the with the turn signal wire going to the "black box".

    I added a 100 ohm, 2 watt in series (inline) on the turn signal input to each black box. I will draw a picture and post up shortly.

    All factory wiring to stock remains intact.


    To expand a bit on what Sam has posted:


    I hope this does not confuse anyone but.....

    My added LED strips are "T-tapped" to the existing running and blinker lights.

    Electrically, this is an added "parallel" circuit.

    Adding anything in parallel drops total resistance of a circuit, thus increasing current.

    The lower the resistance of the added parallel circuit, the greater the increase in current.


    While I did not measure the impedance (resistance) of these "el cheapo" LED strips, I can assume they are quite low.

    As Sam mentioned, when the key is off, battery voltage is slightly lower. Add that additional current caused by the added low impedance LED strip and "boom boom.......out go the lights".

    Adding an additional resistor in a parallel circuit increases impedance but actually reduces the load and thus, reduces the current. Making the factory Slingshot circuit happy again.


    My light strips are blinking at the same brightness as without the resistors. As Sam also mentioned, LED's are not like incandescent or halogen bulbs. LED's are lit by a chip that provides a constant voltage.


    I would be willing to bet that larger value resistors will likely work. How big? That would depend on the minimum input voltage requirements of the LED strip.


    Being a firm believer in "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it"......

    I will just thank Sam again for sharing the 100 ohm resistor mod.

    It works for me.

    mpj220 Thanks for adding to the understanding of Ohms Law. I have one more idea that may be for someone to check out. Instead of a fixed resistance value of 100 Ohm. A potentiometer, variable resistor, could be used to find the range of resistor needed for special application where the 100 Ohm does not work. It has a nob or shaft to turn and changes the resistance to the circuit. You could select one with a range up to 1k put it in the circuit of the turn signal lead and turn it up until the flashers flash properly and then go up more to see how high it will go until it does not flash.

    This would be for anyone wanted to find the proper resistance. Actually, you could just use it and leave it where it works. I would use a larger one than the little mini potentiometers out there.


    pasted-from-clipboard.png It has three leads you hook to the middle and one of the end leads. Using an ohm meter across the leads will tell you how much resistance is at any setting you turn to. Go out and engineer. Let us know what the range is for best working of all functions of the turn signal system.

    Quote from Bigdog

    @sam, look a the pictures in post #146....


    What is the best place to add the resister?

    You want to add the resistor like the first drawing. The resistor needs to be going to the Turn Signal Lead, then all other drivers go together after that. I am not sure how 4 drivers work they way it is connected, they look like they would all fire at the same time. You may need more resistance than 100 ohms. All of our discussions have been about 1 driver module with one LED strip. I don't know the operating parameters to give you a sure answer. But, that is the way to hook them up.

    Quote from mpj220

    drew this on my phone.

    Let's see if it uploads.

    That shows the resistor connection to the TS lead very well. Earlier Post I posted a similar drawing to help how how the resistor is places in the circuit. The thing that is got me puzzled is the 4 driver modules. I don't understand how they operate as a unit.


    So now I’m trying to decide if it should put resisters here or here....


    Good thing I ordered 20 of them....I could possibly need 6 total.


    I’m thinking I’ll start with the one on the sequential lights first. There are actually 6 LEDs total just on them. That’s when my trouble started after them. And if I need to move on to the other switchbacks....until my problem is solved....

    Now that we have found that some members want to add multiple lights with each having its own driver module. Each module that will draw current when connected to the turn signal lead will need a 100 ohm resistor. 4 driver modules, 4 resistors. Now, all together in parallel will create even more current in the turn signal system going to the Flasher Module. The Flasher will test to see if it is in limits. If too much current is flowing, your new aux lights will not operate.

    This may not work and have intermittent failures due to spikes in voltage during certain conditions of driving. You will have to add a main resistor to lower the current more.


    The Resistor Mod is designed to handle adding 1 driver module or LED strip to the turn signal lead on front, left and right. More than that and you have to do some Resistor testing to find what values you will need. This is outside this mod. range for absolute answers. You also have to increase wattage if you gain all together for 1 resistor, like 480 ohms as mpj220 suggested. You should also feel the resistor as the system is flashing to see if there is excess heat in the resistor. If it is hot, then you need a higher wattage resistor. Wattage is what allows the resistor to handle the current without overheating. Let's always be safe and check things out when we are trying to design something.

    A design engineer would use Ohms Law formulas to arrive at the correct value and wattage. We are doing it trial and error. Hey it works.


    I want to make it clear, the resistor is only required when wiring aux lighting to the Turn Signal System leads. If you add to the side marker lights, you do not have the failures that the Flasher Module checks for current. Good Luck and let's thank mpj220 for his drawings, video and supporting comments to help understand what we are doing with this mod.