Help L.E.D. resistors
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,299
Likes: 387
From: Fort Worth TX
St. Jude Donor '14-'15
Yup, same here; I finally doubled up and run two on each side so that each resistor is carrying half the load. So far so good; has been over a year without having to replace anymore.
My next step (should I burn out anymore) will be to mount the two resistors on an aluminum plate and mount the plate on the wheel side of the access cover. This way it will have air flow from the front wheel.
Good luck
My next step (should I burn out anymore) will be to mount the two resistors on an aluminum plate and mount the plate on the wheel side of the access cover. This way it will have air flow from the front wheel.
Good luck
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 923
Likes: 37
From: Green Bay Wisconsin
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,299
Likes: 387
From: Fort Worth TX
St. Jude Donor '14-'15
By using two resistor's in parallel, each resistor will only need to handle half the total load (heat) while still giving a total of 50 ohms of resistance.
I found it best to crimp the wires on to the resistors, not solder. The heat from the resistor will soften the solder enough to loose connection. Hope this all helps
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 11,367
Likes: 211
From: Edgewood Washington
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Unfortunately, the resistors installed on the front turn signal LED's are "on" when the lights are in DRL mode. That is when the turn signals are on constantly and consequently, the resistors will get very hot.
I have 6 ohm, 50 Watt resistors for each of my rear turn signals/brake lights. They have integral finned aluminum heat-sinks.
They are mounted to small aluminum plates with an air-gap underneath. The plates are bolted to a piece of canvas phenolic (pic 1).
The phenolic panel/resistors are then bolted to the inner, rear tub (pic 2).
All four resistors are grounded to the rear ground point directly below the passenger side tail lights (pic 3).
The resistors and aluminum plates are from V-LED's and the phenolic panel is from Grainger.
I would suggest something similar in the front with the resistors/etc mounted in the engine compartment where they will be exposed to more air-flow.
I have 6 ohm, 50 Watt resistors for each of my rear turn signals/brake lights. They have integral finned aluminum heat-sinks.
They are mounted to small aluminum plates with an air-gap underneath. The plates are bolted to a piece of canvas phenolic (pic 1).
The phenolic panel/resistors are then bolted to the inner, rear tub (pic 2).
All four resistors are grounded to the rear ground point directly below the passenger side tail lights (pic 3).
The resistors and aluminum plates are from V-LED's and the phenolic panel is from Grainger.
I would suggest something similar in the front with the resistors/etc mounted in the engine compartment where they will be exposed to more air-flow.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 11,367
Likes: 211
From: Edgewood Washington
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Here's the Ohms Law Pie Chart.
This will help you see the relationship between the resistance of the lighting circuit versus the wattage and voltage.
For Watts use E squared divided by R to determine P. E = Volts, R = resistance in Ohms and P = Watts.
The OEM lamps in the C6 draw around 26-28 Watts at around 13 Volts.
The 6 ohm resistors I used draw about 25 Watts. Not a perfect match, but close enough to fool the BCM.
Their 50 Watt rating is more than high enough to dissipate the load and associated heat.
This will help you see the relationship between the resistance of the lighting circuit versus the wattage and voltage.
For Watts use E squared divided by R to determine P. E = Volts, R = resistance in Ohms and P = Watts.
The OEM lamps in the C6 draw around 26-28 Watts at around 13 Volts.
The 6 ohm resistors I used draw about 25 Watts. Not a perfect match, but close enough to fool the BCM.
Their 50 Watt rating is more than high enough to dissipate the load and associated heat.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 8,514
Likes: 235
From: Currently somewhere in IL,IN,KY,TN,MO,AR,MS,AL, or FL
Then install them as they were intended to be installed on heat sinks. All those little fins are trying to get rid of the heat but you are putting them near a several hundred degree heat source so you need more cooling. Adding several resistors in series and/or parallel with values calculated to be the same as a single resistor will help by sharing the heat but mounting on a large heat sink will be a lot less expensive. Be sure to also use heat sink (silicone ) grease.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 923
Likes: 37
From: Green Bay Wisconsin
Sounds feasible but that's not how it works. It takes 50 ohms of resistance to make up the difference between the LED replacement bulb and the standard OEM bulb so the blinker will not Hype-flash. Adding more resistance will only slow down the blinking and not lessen the heat generated by the resistor.
By using two resistor's in parallel, each resistor will only need to handle half the total load (heat) while still giving a total of 50 ohms of resistance.
I found it best to crimp the wires on to the resistors, not solder. The heat from the resistor will soften the solder enough to loose connection. Hope this all helps
By using two resistor's in parallel, each resistor will only need to handle half the total load (heat) while still giving a total of 50 ohms of resistance.
I found it best to crimp the wires on to the resistors, not solder. The heat from the resistor will soften the solder enough to loose connection. Hope this all helps
That is how it works my friend. I did not say add resistance, I said a higher wattage resistor was needed (or heatsinked resistor).
If you place two 50 ohm resistors in parallel you have 25 ohms but twice the wattage.
Solder flows at 600 + degrees, if you resistors are becoming desoldered you have a problem.
Hope that helps,
Douglas in Green Bay
