Gents, need some helpful advice from those on here experienced with switchbacks and smarter than me when it comes to vehicle electrical circuits. I just installed new front turn signal housings in my '01 Vert and I'm in the process of putting in some LED switchbacks for the DRLs/turn signals. As a note, two weeks ago I installed LEDs in the tail lights and everything went perfectly. Although I bought a hyperflash harness, I didn't install it because the rear flashers and hazards worked great - no hyperflash at all. One additional note, a while back I also installed a flasher relay to bypass the hazard light switch since it was causing me issues. No problems from that install either and I thought maybe that eliminated the need for the hyperflash harness since I wasn't seeing anything odd with the rear LEDs.

Now here's my problem when I put the switchback LED bulbs in...
- With only DRLs on, the switchback LEDs burn bright amber. Ok, I was expecting white but can live with the amber.
- Turn on parking lights and the switchback LEDs turn to white. So far so good.
- With only DRLs on I now hit the turn signal. Switchback LED amber lights now go completely out (no signal light up front at all) and the tail lights for that side are constant on but dimly lit (no flashing). No clicking flasher noise from the dash.
- With parking lights on I now hit the turn signal. Switchback LED white lights stay constantly lit (no flashing) and the tail lights for that side are constant on but brightly lit like I'm hitting the brake. No clicking flasher noise from the dash.
- Reinstall incandescent bulb in the front signal and everything starts working properly again along with the clicking flasher in the dash.

Is it the car or the bulbs causing this issue?
Would installing the hyperflash harness correct this even though I'm not seeing hyperflash?
Do I need resistors on the switchbacks?
If I just install a standard amber LED (no switchback) would that solve the issue?

I'm going to continue to troubleshoot tomorrow but was hoping someone out there could point me in the right direction. The reason I want the LEDs is to eliminate the damage caused by the heat of the incandescent bulbs which was quite evident on my factory housings. Any help is much appreciated.

 

Well gents, it seems I answered my own question. Over my "work from home" lunch break, I took a few minutes and installed the hyperflash harness. Although the DRL is still amber instead of the white I was expecting, everything works well now. Since I never read of anyone having the symptoms that I listed above with no hyperflashing, I wasn't sure the hyperflash harness would fix the issue. Well, it did.
Anyway, sorry for wasting your time if you read my long description above but maybe it will help someone down the road if they ever run into a similar issue.

 

Have you tried rotating the switchback bulb 180 degrees in the socket? This might clear up your no white light. Can you tell if the sockets were replaced? (look for spiced in wires) If they have been replaced, we may need to confirm the new wires were correctly hooked up. Almost sounds like the ground and power are swapped. I'll see if I can find the wiring diagram from an older post of mine.

 

Here you go. Make sure the colors are correctly connected to the position within the socket.


LEFT FRONT
A LT BLU/WHT 1314 Left Front Turn Signal Lamp Supply Voltage (And DRL)
B BRN 9 Park Lamp Supply Voltage
G BLK 150 Ground

RIGHT FRONT
A DK BLU/WHT 1315 Right Front Turn Signal Lamp Supply Voltage (And DRL)
B BRN 9 Park Lamp Supply Voltage
G BLK 150 Ground

 

Just got done rotating the bulb 180 degrees and there was no change. I'll check if there were any wire splices added but I don't think so.
I'll investigate this a bit but I'm not gonna spend a ton of time trying to figure it out. I would prefer the white DRL but if it has to be amber (for whatever reason) I'm ok with it. Just didn't want to put the hot incandescent bulbs back in with new housings.

 

3s, thanks for the wiring picture. I checked and it looks like at least the driver's side is wired correctly with no splices. Gotta check the passenger side yet. Maybe it's just the way the bulb was made. Although I'm curious, I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

 

Amber is correct. The DRL uses the signal filament of the bulb, and the signal filament equivalent is amber in a switchback.

 

Thanks lionelhutz. Makes sense but just wondering how these guys in the YouTube videos that I've seen get the DRLs to run white when using switchbacks. I'm just curious at this point since I've already gotten everything buttoned up and accepted that it is amber.

 

I have halo tailights that I want lit up when I'm driving so I drive with my parking lights on. When you do that the DRLs will be white. Or you can get a harness from sharp light innovations that will allow the DRL's to be white without the parking lights on.

I like DRLs, tails and side markers on when driving, makes it more visible plus the halo tails and laser side markers are super cool .

 

Have you looked at the vendor's website or contacted them to confirm what is normal operation? Then you'll know if everything is right or something needs more investigation.

 

What's the point? What I posted is exactly how every standard switchback works in a C5.

 

There is a harness a place or two sells to get that to happen. Or, run with the parking lights on. Otherwise, the DRL's are amber.