Tail LED turning bulbs

MM3Canuck · Feb 12, 2007

I bought these LED turning bulbs to replace the amber incandescent factory bulbs. (Clear when OFF, amber when ON)
Now the tail light is completely clear and looks amazing.
BUT, now I have the hyper flashing happening due to the LED's. All one has to do to overcome this is a special designed signal relay for LEDs.
However, I called Mazda because I couldnt find one on my 2007 Mazda 3. The dealer told me that the signal is controlled by the computer and not mechanically anymore.

So now I dont know how to overcome the hyper flashing.

Does anyone know any more about this?

Cheers (canada)

Tiger Brand · Feb 12, 2007

you need some load equalizers. That should fix em right up. they're small enough that you can install them inline on the harness.

Rotus8 · Feb 12, 2007

MM3Canuck said:
So now I dont know how to overcome the hyper flashing.

Does anyone know any more about this?(canada)

You need to add a resistor across the two wires going into the socket. Get a 2 watt, 15 ohm resistor (probably available from Radio Shack) and connect to the wires. The resistor will get pretty hot so place it so it won't melt anything. You will need some skills in dealing with wires, solder etc. - don't try this unless you have confidence in it.

Good luck!

MM3Canuck · Feb 12, 2007

Thanks guys

load equalizers are the same as resistors?

I am pretty good with the solder gun.

Are there any I can get that wont burn down my car?

Rotus8, how do you know that I need a 2 watt, 15 ohm resistor? What is it based on?

Rotus8 · Feb 12, 2007

MM3Canuck said:
Rotus8, how do you know that I need a 2 watt, 15 ohm resistor? What is it based on?

Incandescent turn signal bulbs are about 15 to 25 watts. The LEDs are less than 1. The controller is seeing too little current and thinks the bulb is burned out. The resister fools the controller into thinking the bulb is there. The value of 15 ohms draws a bit less than 10 watts but is probably enough to fool the controller. The 2 watt resistor is probably big enough because the duty cycle is low and it is not on for long periods of time. If you can find a higher power resistor it would be better. It is going to get hot!

It might be worth experimenting with higher resistance values to find the largest that will still work without dissipating too much heat.

Tiger Brand - What is a load equalizer? If it is made for this purpose it might work even better. Do you have any sources or references?

MM3Canuck · Feb 12, 2007

Rotus8 said:
You need to add a resistor across the two wires going into the socket.

You mean bridge the two cables going into the socket?

What is the difference between a 2watt 15ohm and lets say a 15watt 15ohm reistor? Would they both work?

MM3Canuck · Feb 12, 2007

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LED-...tegoryZ33713QQihZ008QQitemZ180084008321QQrdZ1

Is this what you mean?

Rotus8 · Feb 12, 2007

MM3Canuck said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LED-...tegoryZ33713QQihZ008QQitemZ180084008321QQrdZ1

Is this what you mean?

That eBay item is perfect. Price seems good. It includes the wires and connectors, no soldering. Do it. Good find. (yippy)

TheMAN · Feb 12, 2007

if you care so much about them looking clear, why not just get those osram diadem bulbs?

Mocoso · Feb 13, 2007

MM3Canuck said:
You mean bridge the two cables going into the socket?

What is the difference between a 2watt 15ohm and lets say a 15watt 15ohm reistor? Would they both work?

Stick to the 15 watt resistor and make sure your mounting location doesnt burn anything....

If we round off the amount of current a 15 ohm resistor will pull on a typical 12V system to roughly 1 amp (I = V/R) it means you will have about 12-14 Watts of power running through the resistor (Power = VI) - granted it wont be all the time but that is still a lot higher than what a 2 watt resistor is rated for...

I would find the largest resistor value that would work given it will pull the least amount of current aka heat - if yer gonna go 2 watts try a 150 ohms instead....

Personally given how hot some of those power resistors can get I would stay away from do it yerselfer on this one

MM3Canuck · Feb 13, 2007

TheMAN said:
if you care so much about them looking clear, why not just get those osram diadem bulbs?

I looked for other bulbs, couldnt find anything thats clear when off, and amber when on.

MM3Canuck · Feb 13, 2007

Hmmm, so heat really is a big concern huh?! (boom03)
Now, Im afraid to burn down my car.

Rotus8 · Feb 13, 2007

MM3Canuck said:
Hmmm, so heat really is a big concern huh?! (boom03)
Now, Im afraid to burn down my car.

Heat can be a concern. Mount the resistors so they float in free space, there is plenty of room in the rear, just make sure they don't touch anything.

Osram/Sylvania don't make a direct replacement for the Mazda tail lights. I have ordered some of these http://www.sylvaniaautocatalog.com/...=3357/ 3457A ST&PartNo=/+3457A+ST,+/+3457A+ST to see if I can make them work. I think they will just plug in, but they have two filaments where the stockers have only one. I may require some fettling to get them to work but they are irredescent blue when off, amber when on and should look good.

MM3Canuck · Feb 13, 2007

Rotus8 said:
Heat can be a concern. Mount the resistors so they float in free space, there is plenty of room in the rear, just make sure they don't touch anything.

Osram/Sylvania don't make a direct replacement for the Mazda tail lights. I have ordered some of these http://www.sylvaniaautocatalog.com/...=3357/ 3457A ST&PartNo=/+3457A+ST,+/+3457A+ST to see if I can make them work. I think they will just plug in, but they have two filaments where the stockers have only one. I may require some fettling to get them to work but they are irredescent blue when off, amber when on and should look good.

I used the sylvania SilverStar 1157A ST for the front signal, looks amazing. Blue when off, amber when on.

Let me know if you managed to make it work. I wanted somehting plug&play, thats why I bought the LEDs (thinking that no extra resistors were needed)

There is plenty of room back there, I think I will order those resistors, and just mount them like you said. - Have em' float.

MM3Canuck · Feb 13, 2007

Which one would you get?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=250082320804&rd=1&rd=1

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=180084008321&rd=1&rd=1

The first one looks a bit heavier than the second? The lighter the better? Since it will ge floating...

Rotus8 · Feb 13, 2007

MM3Canuck said:
Which one would you get?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=250082320804&rd=1&rd=1
or
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=180084008321&rd=1&rd=1

The first one looks a bit heavier than the second? The lighter the better? Since it will ge floating...

I would say they are both essentially identical. Go with the vendor the feels the best to you.

MM3Canuck said:
I used the sylvania SilverStar 1157A ST for the front signal, looks amazing. Blue when off, amber when on.

How do you get to the front signal bulbs? The owner's manual tells me I am too weak to do it, but I know better. But with a hint I might avoid screwing up the first time.

MM3Canuck · Feb 13, 2007

Honestly, I don;t know why the book says that. If you open up the hood, you can see the turning bulb sockets. Just get your hands in there and turn it counter-clockwise I believe. The driver side, just remove that battery vent cover. The passenger side is a bit more tricky, because of the windshieldwasher fluid container. ( I have big hands, and still managed to get in there)
I have a Mazda3, so I dunno if your Speed has other things in the way.

Other than that, should be a 5 minute job.

Rotus8 · Feb 13, 2007

MM3Canuck said:
Honestly, I don;t know why the book says that. If you open up the hood, you can see the turning bulb sockets. Just get your hands in there and turn it counter-clockwise I believe. The driver side, just remove that battery vent cover. The passenger side is a bit more tricky, because of the windshieldwasher fluid container. ( I have big hands, and still managed to get in there)
I have a Mazda3, so I dunno if your Speed has other things in the way.

Other than that, should be a 5 minute job.

Hmmm. I will try again, but on my car neither side has access to the bulb sockets. It looks like you have to unmount the whole assembly to get access. If anyone else has experience on the speed, I would appreciate a pointer. Otherwise I may just have a go at it, or try to have patience and wait for the service manual I ordered to arrive.

MM3Canuck · Feb 13, 2007

do you have HID's?
I dunno if the factory HID need more space behind the socket

P5 Rally · Feb 13, 2007

Rotus8 said:
Hmmm. I will try again, but on my car neither side has access to the bulb sockets. It looks like you have to unmount the whole assembly to get access. If anyone else has experience on the speed, I would appreciate a pointer. Otherwise I may just have a go at it, or try to have patience and wait for the service manual I ordered to arrive.

go to www.toprotege.com and send MYK a pm or post a message. Myk sells LED bulbs buy the truck load at cheap prices and load equalizers. You need one for each side of the car...check it out.

I have LEDs all around and they work nice

Tail LED turning bulbs

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