flasher questions
flasher questions
does the flasher actually control the amount of amperage going to the taillights or is it just a on/off switch? my LED tails dont seem to have that much of a brightness difference between running lights and turn/brake lights as much as I'm seeing other cars. anyone have the voltage ratings for what it SHOULD be putting out so i can pull some numbers on what it is putting out?
also, when these things go bad, do they just up an fail or will they problematic over time until they die?
also, when these things go bad, do they just up an fail or will they problematic over time until they die?
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Under the flightpath of old ORD 22R
The flasher would not limit the amps, actually the flasher will complain about not enough amp draw by the circuit ( fast flash when a bulb is out ).
Try testing just the brake lamp to the parking lamp. If this shows the same problem ( delta in brightness ) the flasher is out of the circuit.
The brake lamp circuit is to the MFS, in the at rest position, after the flasher.
Do they get any brighter ? If it had the correct bulb base I don't know how it could happen, but in backwards ? ( the brake lamp is actually on all the time ?) Load resistor in correctly ?
The other item to look at is, are they LED bulbs, or tail lamp housings ?
The LED bulb might not be using the reflector that much, depending on the LED configuration on the bulb.
Could be the parking lamp circuit is made with too high of power LEDs ?
The factory stop / turn lamps are a 27 W element, where the parking lamps are a 8W element. The normal brightness increase is only from 19W of light, which is not that much in terms of light, to get that kind of brightness.
When a flasher goes bad, I have not seen that myself, never had a single one go bad in all these decades.
I have switched them when the trailer lamps used to be on the truck's lighting circuit, with the heavy duty flasher, but those days are long gone.
Guess anything could happen if they go bad. If it works with the standard bulbs, I would say there is not an issue with the flasher.
Keep in mind your shift interlock circuit is the same as your brake lamp circuit in your MY truck. Any problems with the brake circuit ( bulbs out also cause a problem ) will make it so the truck does not come out of park while running.
Try testing just the brake lamp to the parking lamp. If this shows the same problem ( delta in brightness ) the flasher is out of the circuit.
The brake lamp circuit is to the MFS, in the at rest position, after the flasher.
Do they get any brighter ? If it had the correct bulb base I don't know how it could happen, but in backwards ? ( the brake lamp is actually on all the time ?) Load resistor in correctly ?
The other item to look at is, are they LED bulbs, or tail lamp housings ?
The LED bulb might not be using the reflector that much, depending on the LED configuration on the bulb.
Could be the parking lamp circuit is made with too high of power LEDs ?
The factory stop / turn lamps are a 27 W element, where the parking lamps are a 8W element. The normal brightness increase is only from 19W of light, which is not that much in terms of light, to get that kind of brightness.
When a flasher goes bad, I have not seen that myself, never had a single one go bad in all these decades.
I have switched them when the trailer lamps used to be on the truck's lighting circuit, with the heavy duty flasher, but those days are long gone.
Guess anything could happen if they go bad. If it works with the standard bulbs, I would say there is not an issue with the flasher.
Keep in mind your shift interlock circuit is the same as your brake lamp circuit in your MY truck. Any problems with the brake circuit ( bulbs out also cause a problem ) will make it so the truck does not come out of park while running.