Where can I find replacement LED flasher relays for an '09 truck? Bought all LED lights to replace turn signal and brake lights but can't find the find the relays.

 

http://www.customled.com/products/fl...sher_relay.htm

these are for bikes but i THINK you can still use them

im not too sure, i haven't gotten this project on my list yet, I'd like to know more about it though..anyone have any further info?

 

SuperbrightLEDs.com sells flasher relays and ballast resistors. The rest of their merchandise is excellent too.

- Jack

 

If your truck uses the same as others then its part # E-27 and can be found at NAPA auto parts for under $20. Save u the wait.

 

Looked at the suggested sites, but still can't find the right relays. Am I looking at the right ones in my truck? According to the manual they are in positions 37 and 38 and they are 4-pin. Does that seem right? I wouldn't have thought they would have a separate one for each side. The 4 pins are at each corner, but the ones I find on all the sites have 1 pin in the center and 3 to one side. Really don't want to have to splice load equalizers onto this thing.

 

Less hassle to get the resistors, Amazon.com for about 17.00 for each. That way you can still use the stock flasher. Stock flashers are easy to find if some reason you need one while on the road.

 

1. I was going crazy trying to figure out where you got those numbers ( figured I knew what you were looking at, but could not confirm it ).
I looked at this post, and then the upper right hand corner, where you still have your 02 listed. When you get a chance, in UserCP change your truck info, so you don't accidentally get bad info. I finally went back to post #1 to get the correct MY info.

2. The position 37 & 28 are the trailer tow stop / turn lamp fuses, not a flasher.
Your 2009 does not have a flasher, it is micro controlled circuits, with FETs on each circuit to each corner of the truck.
The MFS signals the SJB ( aka Smart Junction Box / cab fuse panel ) that you want to turn ( and the direction ) and the SJB flashes the correct side, no running the brake circuit though the MFS anymore, the MFS is now really a switch.

You are going to have to install load resistors with each light to correct the fast flash issue.
I think this is required in the CHMSL for the cruise control to work as well, just like the 04-08 MY. Not 100% on this, have not had a need to read that section in detail yet.
Be careful when doing this, if you accidentally short the circuit, the FET will turn off if the current ramp up is quick enough, prior to the fuse blowing. After a set interval, the FET will reset and the circuit will come back on again.
There are conditions where the FET will turn off and not turn back on, which means a trip to the dealer ( cannot recall, but I think this is new SJB time ).
The FETs are after SJB Fuse #6 for the stop / turn lamps. I think removing the fuse from the circuit the FET is on will shut it off, but I cannot 100% confirm this yet. Just be careful in what you are doing, and check your work prior to turning the truck back on, and testing.

In short, load resistor time, give up on the bad info ( might be from the about me info, from UserCP that is in the upper right hand corner of each post ) about finding a flasher for your MY.

 

Hi Scully;

If they are indeed FET's (in essence, just switches), then the time constant is, presumably, also determined by the electronics & is fixed programmtically, not based upon the load's current draw, as is the case in a traditional heated flasher.

Thus, given a fixed TC, it should be able to flash any appropriate load at the same rate, irrespective of draw (as does the aftermarket SS flash devices).

So - is the issue then just the Cruise functionality?

I find it odd, in this era of looming LED ubiquity, that these new MY trucks don't accommodate same.

I hates load resistors!

Thanks - just tryin' to understand...

 

The FET is for circuit protection, the mirco control in the SJB pulses the circuit for the turn signal to work.
I am making a guess it works the same way with a fast flash when the load is not seen by the mirco control, maybe someone needs to pull a rear light, and test and see if the front signal and the cluster indicator flash at the same rate, or fast.
You are correct, the flashing being controlled by the mirco control should just turn the circuit on and off at a given rate, up to what the unit can handle load wise, and above this the fuse would blow ( high draw vs. the FET shutting off from a fast / high current inrush to the circuit / what is usually a short to ground, and on the specific light ).

The 04-08 if the tails were switched to LED, the Cruise control would not work ( signal that the brake lamps are out ). IF the CHMSL was installed with a load resistor, and the flasher was changed for the turn signals, then the CC would work.

The problem still is the tail lamp housing was designed for standard incandescent lighting, adding a LED bulb under this reflector is not the the best route, as the reflector is setup for wide dispersion of light.
If the design was made for something like the Hella tail lamp housings, where the LEDs and the reflector are make to work together as a single unit, then this is what the truck would be designed for, and not have an issue with the LEDs.

Too many people think installing the tower bulb of LEDs ( trying to mimic an incandescent bulb ) is a good thing to do.
Up close they look like they work the same, on a dark county road, they are not going to be as bright at a distance, from a vehicle approaching from the rear. Add in fog or other additional items to refract the light, and the back will be just about blind from anything less than ~200'.

Seen this too many times on motorcycles, where in trying to save the current for other items ( heated gear, aux driving lamps, etc ) people would swap the stop/tail bulbs for LEDs. The rear light output was diminished.
I changed my tail lamp housing to a Whelen 700 series light head, where the entire reflector was changed from the factory one, to a LED light head.
The results were lowered AMP draw, and actually a brighter than factory tail lamp, and the brake lamp was much brighter than the 2 26 W elements ever could have thought of supplying.


This is the light pattern from 12' away on a wall, picture taken in total darkness, no flash, standard f-stop.

 

Thanks.

Not to hijack ( too late, lol)... but I had positive results on a taillight swap with a Radiantz product on my VTX - 127 LED array - OEM reflector. the OEM bulb was semi-shrouded anyway, but there is no comparison with output between stock & this thing now.

I doubt I reduced the current consumption, though .

 

Sorry about not updating my profile. Been a while since I was on this site. I tried to install the bulbs when I first got them and they would flash really fast, so apparently the system is still load-based somehow. I would really llike to find a flasher relay rather then splice 4 load resistors just to get these to work, but if there is no such thing than oh well. Just too many things that can go wrong not to mention the reliability if I don't get everything sealed up good. What size resistors do think would be the correct size because there are a bunch of different sizes of available?

 

stopppp. all you should need is an LED flasher. It replaces your stock flasher. Had the same issue.

 

People who mod their vehicles are in for a world of hurt with new technology, all of the new Fords are very advanced in the electrical department, if they see something they dont like it will just say screw you I aint workin. For example...with a traditional flasher the reason it flashed fast with LEDs is because of excessive current heating the coil in the flasher, over the years this has become a way of knowing when you have a bulb out. NOW, the new system is monitored by the SJB, its not forced to blink fast like the old flasher style, its TOLD to flash fast by the SJB to inform the customer of a problem.

You need to be VERY carefull even adding lights on some new vehicles will shut down circuits.

Example 1
Adding OEM lighted running boards on an 08 superduty will set a DTC in the SJB and cut power to your cargo light circuit and set a DTC because they did not come on the truck, we found this out the hard way. Removed running boards and cleared DTCs. Cargo lights work again

Example 2
I replaced a signal bulb on an 09 explorer the other day, and needed to clear DTCs before the flash returned to normal speed.

 

i think what SSCULLY is saying is these new trucks dont have flashers

 

That is exactly it, posted it in post #9 above, thank you for pointing that out to migdaddy.
Nothing is routed through the MFS anymore, the MFS signals the SJB for the function


In this case, the micro control in the SJB flashes the signal. The FETs are on each turn signal, so if there is a problem with that one turn signal, only that one is out ( no more loosing everything in a circuit when there is one problem ).