Won't work ..........

 

I just read what you write. You seem to have a lot of trouble keeping your storys straight. Maybe just stick to what you know next time and things will work out better.

The simple fact is that the BCM runs the flashers. If The BCM doesn't see a high current at each bulb it assumes the bulb is burned out and goes into a flash flash mode to alert the driver that a bulb is burned out. LEDs are low current devices. Therefor to prevent a fast flash you have to fool the BCM with a high current for each LED replacement. High current at a fixed voltage is high power. High power means heat. The BCM wants to see about the same heat as the original bulb. The original bulb will melt plastic. Therefor the replacement device no matter how simple or complicated will melt plastic as long as it isn't replacing the BCM bulb failure detection circuit. If the one you use on your motorcycle isn't hot then that means it isn't passing the current required of the C6 DRLs. That means it won't work on a C6. But if you want to change your story and say you have these working on C6 DRLs then you will also need to change your claim that they don't get hot. Just pick a story that doesn't violate physical laws and stick to it.

None of this means that LED DRLs can't be made to work. Obviously they can with 50 watt resistors at each bulb. Or you could just leave the original bulbs wired where this resistor goes and moved into the engine compartment. But a 50 watt resistor just like the original bulb needs to be kept away from plastic and kept cool. You can't wrap it in insulation or tape or anything else that would restrict the dissipation of all the heat it is going to generate.

 

i say, ok!

 

Nice editing............. You conveniently left out my mention of having used them to prevent hyper flash with the LED taillight bulbs I used on the '07 !

 

WOW! I didn't know GM had DRLs the the back also. I thought DRLs were only in the front of the car.

Apples, oranges an prunes. Simple physics. If it is going to work as a DRL replacement in the BCM bulb failure detection it is going to get about as hot as the DRL bulbs.

If you ever try this magic device on DRLs and it stays cool, instead of saying it should work and suggesting other people do the experiment for you with their money, feel free to come back and let us know. I will gladly sponsor you for a Nobel Prize in physics.

 

Great points, maybe the resistor could have better heat-sink fins? Really seems the LED bulb and resistor may not be engineered & wired quite right, as my main complaint is the type of flash w/resistor & w/o.


He was speaking of his LED taillights, which also have to have a resistor, but not sure if those have any issues like the DRL's.

We are still not getting any solid answers to this original topic (resistors & flashes), but so far it seems the only way to get the LED DRL's to work right is to add the 50 watt bulb to the circuit, but once done will the LED flash correctly???

 

It is wired right. Oversized is possible. As I indicated the other day you could try increasing the resistance which would decrease the heat and might affect the color though the color shouldn't have changed. Wiring is correct or it wouldn't work at all.


Not all LEDs are the same. Every color has a different current requirement and, in this case, there are probably entirely different numbers of LEDs. In any case, a resistor designed for a motorcycle light has a low probability of working on a car. To fool the BCM into thinking the original bulb is still there the resistor has to be sized to the current drawn by the original equipment being replaced minus the current draw of the replacement LEDs.

It should because the BCM would then see only the original current draw plus a small amount due to the LEDs. BTW, personally I would stick with properly sized resistors instead of trying to reuse the bulbs. You just have to keep them cooler than the way you did the first time.

 

You sure like to twist things don't you. A load equalizer simply goes in line to add enough resistance so that the turn signal doesn't hyper flash when using LED's instead of a filament type bulb. It doesn't give a damn if it's on the front or the rear of the car. What the heck do you think is in line on the Eagle Eye LED tail lights the vendors sell on the forum so that they don't hyper flash ? A load equalizer ! Duh ...........

 

FM Al based on your replies I will assume that you are some sort of engineer. With that said what is the difference between a load balancer and a resistor. They both seem to compensate for the lack of a filament. I will say that when I Google a load balancer they invariably refer to motorcycles. In one case it did make reference to cars.

BTW I was always told that solder may make for a better connection in the world of electronics but I've never seen a soldered splice in a car or electrically in home wiring. The fastener is ALWAYS mechanical. It is always crimped or fastened by some other means.

 

This is what I use to get my LED interior lights to fully shut off. Without it, my interior lights constantly glow and never fully shut off. My only issue with this resistor is that it is incredibly hot when the lights are on. You can get a severe burn if you touch it. The high heat concerns me. I would love to find something that runs cooler.

 

Uh, no. A "load equalizer" goes ACROSS the line to REDUCE the resistance, not in line to increase resistance. And you don't think there is any difference between front and back? Again, maybe you need to understand what you are talking about before making such comments. The resistor added IN PARALLEL with the load to DECREASE the resistance and INCREASE the load has to be designed to replace the load of the original bulb. If you exactly ballance the load you will exactly duplicate the current which will exactly duplicate the power consumption which will exactly duplicate the heat.

 

Oh, shucks. Did I let it slip out that I'm an engineer? BS EECS MS NE working on control systems, computer software, and electronics design for more years than I would like to say.

There is no difference between a "load balancer" and a resistor. Just a fancy name to keep you from going to Radio Shack to get one at a much lower cost. Next thing you do is epoxy encapsulate them so the buyer can't see what's inside and you can charge even more.

LEDs are NOT light bulbs. The DRLs and tail lights and most of the interior lights on the C6 are incandescent light bulbs. You put voltage across a filament, a relatively large current flows through the filament and it glows white hot. An LED is a semiconductor. 2/3rds of a transistor. You put a voltage across it in the reverse direction and nothing happens unless you get the voltage too high because it is a diode and only allows current to flow in one direction. Reverse the polarity and current flows until the current is limited by something else or the LED goes up in smoke. The LED will act very much like a fixed voltage battery until it burns out. To replace a 12 volt light bulb with an LED you use a resistor in series with the LED to limit the current to what the LED can handle. The LED drops about 1.5 volts and the series resistor takes the rest. The current is MUCH lower to get the same light output.

So when you replace the DRL light bulbs with a small resistor and set of LEDs the current is much lower. This would be no problem if you were turning them on and off with a mechanical switch like a relay or toggle switch. The next issue, however, comes when you try to turn them on and off with a semiconductor switch which is what the BCM does. A semiconductor switch depends on a current flow to toggle the logic. If the on current is too low the switch doesn't fully switch when you apply the logic voltage telling it to turn off. That's why replacing interior lights with LEDs sometimes results in the LEDs glowing when "off" or even not turning off at all. In that situation all it takes is a little more current and the switch will "finish" the off command. This is not a critical value so pretty much any "load balancer" will solve that issue. You put a resistor in parallel with the LED/resistor combination to use a little more current. Just a little more and the semiconductor switch toggles properly. Even changing the color of the LED which would change the LED voltage which would change the current might solve the issue.

The issue of the OP, is more critical. Not only does the BCM turn the DRLs on and off, it monitors the current thinking there is a filament that might burn out and the engineers wanted to warn the driver of this situation. Now you have to match the original current or the BCM will have a problem. Too much current and you burn up the BCM. Too little and the BCM thinks the "bulb" is burned out and gives a fast flash to warn the driver. Solving this issue requires correctly sizing the resistor in parallel so that it drops just enough current to simulate a filament but not so much that it burns out the BCM. In other words, you can't just throw a part designed for a motorcycle lighting system on there and hope it will work. Most likely it won't because being designed for a smaller system it won't pull enough current to fool the BCM. That's confirmed by Mickey saying his doesn't get hot. When you get enough current to simulate DRL filaments that is going to get very hot. No way around that.

To summarize, LEDs are not light bulbs. LEDs replacing light bulbs consist of one or more LEDs and one or more resistors in series to limit the current to a much lower value than filaments would use. The low current of LED replacements can cause multiple issues. The easiest solution to all of them is to add a resistor in parallel to increase the current back to what the filaments were taking. Current times voltage equals power. Same voltage and same current equals the same power. To reduce the power use a higher resistance value to lower the current knowing it may or may not solve the issue.

Finally, your second comment. Yes, solder tends to be used more in electronics because the parts are smaller and can be easily soldered. Larger mechanical connections are used where possible to save time, cost, and make it easier to disconnect if needed. Mechanical connections can also be made more vibration resistant. Solder connections will give more contact area which means less resistance and therefor less chance of building up heat in the connection. This discussion started when it was observed that the solder connection had melted on a resistor and someone suggested that a mechanical connection would work better. Exactly the opposite is true. A mechanical connection would have gotten even hotter than the soldered connection. In that case the heat was coming from the resistor, not the connection. Bottom line, always solder if you have the time and skill. Use a mechanical connection if the connector is overdesigned for the application or you plan to take it apart later.

 

Isn't this is a combination bulb? Two circuits? One is a constant-on DRL and the other circuit is the turn signal? The resistor is for the turn signal circuit to prevent hyperflash. Therefore, isn't the resistor eating up current and making heat only when the turn signal is on? If so, during the 99% of operational time while the turn signal is off, the heat is being dissipated? If all assumptions are correct, why the concern about heat on the resistor? Polite corrections requested.

 

DRL, turn signal, parking lamp share same bulb (dual filament bulb).

DRL and turn signal share same circuit. So resistor is "eating up current" when ever the DRL's are on. So basically anytime other than at night.

 

Personally, I don't give a rats a** what your so called background is. All you do is try to tear people down. Until you've modded your car as some of us are doing, butt out.

 

I have installed every LED light offered from Corvette Mods on my modified 2007 Coupe - interior, rear, front - some nearly 2 years ago. Of course I didn't install any of them myself - had forum vendor ZIP do it. So far, the only problem I have had was with a DRL switchback that arrived damaged - they replaced it no questions asked. I drive my car everyday, rain or shine and no problems with heat or resistors...yet. I have the 6000K DRL's, low beams and switchbacks - no hyper flash. I also have the resistors installed on my Eagle Eyes LED tail lights - no hyper flash. I may be the anomaly here, but I am a very satisfied customer.

 

Awesome. I've got a white C6 and want to do the same thing. do you know where and how the resistor's were mounted?

 

The Eagle Eye LED tail lights have the load equalizers mounted in line. Everything is true plug and play. The DRL's require placing the load equalizer in line on the turn signal wiring on each side so two are required. This prevents hyper flash.

 

Like the vendor, the wires are zip tied and the resistors are free floating in the space between the light socket and the wheel well - they touch nothing and have plenty of open air to assist with the cooling.

 

Exactly how I did mine. No heat issues what so ever. I've had several people mention that they are bright as all get out.