So I just installed some switchbacks today and cleared/blacked the headlights, before I put everything back together I tested all the lights and blinkers and everything worked just fine. After getting everything put back together I headed home, while driving I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my light was dimming or flickering. Once I got home I checked how everything was looking and the switchbacks were considerably dimmer, to the point were you can see each little light whereas before they were far too bright to tell. I also noticed the passenger side light flicker, not completely off, just flicker really dim then go back to dim.

Anyone have this problem or know a fix? I tapped the resistor into the ground and the red/blue wire on the driver side then the ground and white wire on the passenger side. By the way it's an 07 base w/nav

 

Anyone?

Before


After


After checking the lights they were perfect


I didn't think about taking a picture after they dimmed I will tonight though. Any and all help is appreciated

 

Maybe because the resistors are kind of freely hanging? I didn't want to drill into the frame and forgot my double sided tape. Will be addressing this tomorrow regardless

 

Driver side light magically started working better today? It's back to being bright can't tell if it is as bright since I've never seen them lit fully during the day. As for the passenger side it's still noticeably dimmer, the amber looks to be the same brightness as the driver side. Beginning to think it's a faulty light.

 

When i installed mine 3 years ago, the driver side one did that all the time. I read on here somewhere that they are light sensitive. So i took it out, turned it over (180 degrees) and put it back in. I shit you not it has never had a problem since!!

 

Oh yeah, when i was having that problem it was flickering at night too..... Don't know why but like i said, haven't had a problem since.

 

I never thought about turning them 180 I know they're polar sensitive and figured I got lucky both times. I'll try this when I get home and report back. Really hope it works they looked so good for the 5 minutes they were bright lol

 

I swear turning LEDs 180 will result in them not lighting up at all if they are already working, just dimly..

 

Its worth giving it a try before sending them back.....

 

Flipping the leds 180 degrees didn't work. Although they did still light up just even more dimmly. The seller has already shipped me replacements so hopefully they work out this time

 

Got A replacement in today and all I have to ask is how the hell is this possible?!?!



The picture towards the top was right after I got everything back together and lasted a few minutes now this is how the lights look, even the new one. WTF?! Any ideas?

 

Link to the bulbs you purchased and the resistor you're using?

I soldered my resistor to the turn signal relay and it's been trouble free for 2 years going on 3 years now.

I went thru 3 pairs of switchbacks (not because they were faulty, but I wanted to upgrade to more brightness and more 5k pure white)

I'm currently using Triton v3 in 5k switchback and they work just fine.

http://www.vleds.com/v3-wa-5k.html

 

I went the eBay route since I couldn't find any that were 60/60 white/amber.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330775966222...84.m1497.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230666881433...84.m1497.l2649

 

Do you have LEDs in the rear?

 

I have leds throughout the entire car minus rear turn signals, vanity light, glove box and center console

 

Did you figure this out?

Your load resistors sound like they're in the right place, the only thing those are going to provide is preventing them from hyper-flashing when you hit the turn signal.

Do they light up dimly in the amber color as well?

Did they come with a control unit of any type?

Is your turn signal/hazard relay plugged all of the way in in the under dash fuse box?

If you were to pull the battery negative, wait about 10 minutes so everything resets, plug it back in and turn the headlights on again do they come on very bright again and then go dim after a few minutes?

I'm curious, I don't think the MICU adjusts the brightness in any way by regulating the current. It just has some diodes in it, it looks like one for a sense circuit and the other probably just for protection.

If pulling the battery negative and then re-connecting it after everything resets makes them come bright again for a while then something is adjusting the brightness down, I don't think that'd be the case though.

Other than that it sounds like they're just burning up or something.

Mounting the resistors doesn't matter, that's just to help the resistor dissipate the heat. They shouldn't blow that quickly.

I'll be installing some VLED triton switchbacks soon myself, just waiting on some new seals for headlights & new desicant packs to put inside of them by the ignitors.

Those vampire taps suck as well, sometimes the tap part doesn't go all of the way into the wires and make a good connection.

I just installed LED door sills and they came with taps, but I opted to cut and splice my wires in so I could ensure a good connection.

I have LED signals as well and instead of using load resistors I changed the sense on the turn signal. I have LEDs everywhere in my car though, the only bulbs left that aren't LED are the HIDs.

Here's the DIY so you don't have to run load resistors:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/g-109-diy-eliminate-led-bulb-induced-hyper-flashing-without-load-resistors-815219/

Those things are dangerous anyways, a little math shows:

The way they're spliced in they're in parallel so..

6ohm / 2 = 3 ohm (can do it this way since both are 6 ohm)

I = 14V / 3ohm; I = 4.67A

4.67A(14V) = 65W of wasted energy

That's almost enough energy to run both of the OEM HID headlights.

Each load resistor is running at about 32.67W and you're pulling an extra 4.67A through the turn signal relay, MICU and the 15A turn signal fuse just from the load resistors.

 

Did you figure this out? I have not figured it out unfortunately

Your load resistors sound like they're in the right place, the only thing those are going to provide is preventing them from hyper-flashing when you hit the turn signal.

Do they light up dimly in the amber color as well? The amber lights up dimly as well

Did they come with a control unit of any type? No control unit, just the bulbs, resistors and taps

Is your turn signal/hazard relay plugged all of the way in in the under dash fuse box? I'll have to look at that I'm not 100% sure

If you were to pull the battery negative, wait about 10 minutes so everything resets, plug it back in and turn the headlights on again do they come on very bright again and then go dim after a few minutes? I will also give this a shot, didn't even think about it

I'm curious, I don't think the MICU adjusts the brightness in any way by regulating the current. It just has some diodes in it, it looks like one for a sense circuit and the other probably just for protection.

If pulling the battery negative and then re-connecting it after everything resets makes them come bright again for a while then something is adjusting the brightness down, I don't think that'd be the case though.

Other than that it sounds like they're just burning up or something.

Mounting the resistors doesn't matter, that's just to help the resistor dissipate the heat. They shouldn't blow that quickly.

I'll be installing some VLED triton switchbacks soon myself, just waiting on some new seals for headlights & new desicant packs to put inside of them by the ignitors.

Those vampire taps suck as well, sometimes the tap part doesn't go all of the way into the wires and make a good connection.

I just installed LED door sills and they came with taps, but I opted to cut and splice my wires in so I could ensure a good connection.

I have LED signals as well and instead of using load resistors I changed the sense on the turn signal. I have LEDs everywhere in my car though, the only bulbs left that aren't LED are the HIDs.

Here's the DIY so you don't have to run load resistors:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=815219

Those things are dangerous anyways, a little math shows:

The way they're spliced in they're in parallel so..

6ohm / 2 = 3 ohm (can do it this way since both are 6 ohm)

I = 14V / 3ohm; I = 4.67A

4.67A(14V) = 65W of wasted energy

That's almost enough energy to run both of the OEM HID headlights.

Each load resistor is running at about 32.67W and you're pulling an extra 4.67A through the turn signal relay, MICU and the 15A turn signal fuse just from the load resistors.


I was actually thinking about getting rid of the resistors and following that DIY you linked.
Thanks for all the info as well, hopefully this gets figured out. It's pretty embarrassing at night with these poorly lit parking lights/turn signals

 

Just checked the fuses for the hell of it and the relay. All is good, pulled the negative cable for 20 minutes and nothing. I believe the bulbs are just junk

 

Well got another set in from the seller and still no good. The bulb on the passenger side only lights up in the front (lights facing the roadway). Driver side is so dim it's barely visible from a distance. About to tell the guy to just refund my money and I'll just get the vleds