Turn signals blink fast
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 13
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From: Beardstown, il
Turn signals blink fast Hey guys picked up a used cts that has had led turn signal bulbs installed. The signals flash overly fast. I've read that you can install a resistor to slow the flashing down. Does anyone have any Experience with this?
TECH Regular
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 456
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I second this. With my first car, a 6-cylinder automatic dark green Firebird, I was using bi-color Amber/White flashing LED turn signals and the only way to get them to work at normal speed was to buy an LED flasher sold by the website. It worked, it didn't need resistors spliced into the wiring. As for my tail lights, they need resistors and that was something I was not willing to mess around with back then but definitely a modification for the somewhat distant future.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,329
Likes: 346
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
8.Lug is correct - your CTS doesn't have a traditional flasher like f-bodies. It has a flasher module that is vehicle specific with a 10 pin connector. I haven't seen any LED-specific replacements like there are for traditional flashers.
The signals are flashing at twice normal speed (hyper-flashing) as an indication that something is wrong with the system. This is intended to show when a bulb is burned out although I see many cars driving around with hyper-flashing signals so obviously many people aren't aware of the meaning. In your case it is caused by the way LED bulbs draw far less current than standard incandescent bulbs so the system assumes a bulb is burned out.
You can fix this with load resistors. They are 50-watt 6-ohm resistors designed to simulate the load of a standard bulb. You can get a pack of four resistors with heat sinks for under $10. You tap one lead of the resistor to the power wire of each LED turn signal bulb and the other end goes to ground - either tapping into the ground wire of the bulb or directly to a good chassis ground, whichever is more convenient. The kits usually come with Scotch Lock style connectors so installation is easy as long as you can get at the wires. The resistors generate a fair bit of heat so make sure you don't put them anywhere that could melt surrounding plastic or wires.
The signals are flashing at twice normal speed (hyper-flashing) as an indication that something is wrong with the system. This is intended to show when a bulb is burned out although I see many cars driving around with hyper-flashing signals so obviously many people aren't aware of the meaning. In your case it is caused by the way LED bulbs draw far less current than standard incandescent bulbs so the system assumes a bulb is burned out.
You can fix this with load resistors. They are 50-watt 6-ohm resistors designed to simulate the load of a standard bulb. You can get a pack of four resistors with heat sinks for under $10. You tap one lead of the resistor to the power wire of each LED turn signal bulb and the other end goes to ground - either tapping into the ground wire of the bulb or directly to a good chassis ground, whichever is more convenient. The kits usually come with Scotch Lock style connectors so installation is easy as long as you can get at the wires. The resistors generate a fair bit of heat so make sure you don't put them anywhere that could melt surrounding plastic or wires.
TECH Resident
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 967
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From: Winter Haven FL
This is why I don't mess with new cars. On the plus side the Caddy forum has some good info if you're registered there. I'm not so I can't get you any of the pics or attachments though. I just spy to get ideas for projects. Best bet is to register there if you aren't already.
https://www.cadillacforums.com
https://www.cadillacforums.com
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Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Aug 2018
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From: Beardstown, il
Yea I found out a few days ago at the parts store the relays wouldn't work. I had read about hacking into the wiring and splitting the flashers off to remove the hyper flash diode to correct the problem. For this much headache I'm just going to let them hyper flash for now and swap them to standard bulbs some weekend.
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Verdad Gallardo Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,329
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From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
Why do so many people refuse to do the simple fix... install load resistors? For less than $10 and maybe an hour's work you can have LED bulbs on all four corners without any flashing issues. I used an electronic flasher to fix the problem on my Trans Am but I've had load resistors on my Mustang for seven years now without any problems.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Beardstown, il
Why do so many people refuse to do the simple fix... install load resistors? For less than $10 and maybe an hour's work you can have LED bulbs on all four corners without any flashing issues. I used an electronic flasher to fix the problem on my Trans Am but I've had load resistors on my Mustang for seven years now without any problems.