I've been trying to upgrade most of my bulbs to LEDs and LED bulbs with good success. After two wrong units I finally was able to figure out an LED-compatible flasher unit that lets me use LED bulbs in my turn signals. It's a Grote unit, I will have to look up the number if anyone is interested (the part number was wrong on their website last I checked, FYI).

Anyway, I installed the new flasher unit and tested the hazards. All four lights (with original bulbs) flashed at normal speed. Then I installed the LED bulbs (1156 amber) and tried it again. Now the front turn signals do NOT work with LEDs but the rear do. This is extremely puzzling to me for many reasons:

1. All the LED bulbs are working. If I put them each in the rear turn signals, each will light up.
2. When I put the regular incandescent bulbs in the front turn signals with the new flasher unit, they work fine, so clearly the current is getting through!
3. Back when I tried all four LED bulbs with the stock flasher unit, of course they flashed twice as fast as they're supposed to due to the low resistance, but they ALL LIT UP.
4. Now when I try all four LED bulbs with the stock flasher unit, they flash twice as fast as they're supposed to AND the front two STILL DO NOT LIGHT UP, so that sort of rules out the new flasher unit as being the problem.
5. Same thing goes for the actual turn signals with the new or stock flasher units: rear work, front don't.

Can anyone suggest a reason that the LED bulbs would not be lighting up when both the bulbs and the wiring seem fine? I have my interior dome and door lights out of the car at the moment, if that matters for some strange reason. Thanks for any help; I'm completed baffled and frustrated.

LED bulbs look like this:

 

i think you need a resistor.

 

The whole point of the LED-compatible flasher unit is to avoid those stupid resistors.

 

Those "stupid resistors" took me 30 seconds to install on each side and work perfectly without a problem.

 

Except that they create a large amount of heat, require digging into your wiring, use 100x more power than LEDs, and four load resistors cost more than a single plug-and-play flasher unit. Which is the simpler, more efficient option?

 

but the stupid resistors work.

 

True, but I don't think the flasher unit is at fault here. Does anyone have constructive advice?

 

bump sha-lump

 

if you're using resistors then you'll be spending the same energy as you were with bulbs. SO then what is the purpose of getting LED's. LED's are used to save energy.

On my car I'm just using them on all my brake lights and license plate lights.

 

Bumping an old thread. I'm wondering if anyone has installed a flasher unit that works when all four turn signal bulbs are LEDs (with no additional load resistors installed). I don't even remember where I got this supposedly LED-compatible flasher; probably eBay.

 

The Grote unit I had has a minimum load of 1 amp for the flasher to work, thus it's not really an LED-compatible flasher even though it claims to be.

The unit linked below has a 0.02 amp minimum and thus should work just fine. I will be installing it when it arrives, but if I don't post back, you can assume it works.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/specs/CF13JL-02.html

 

Do you have LEDs interior lights? That's my next project since one of my bulbs just burnt out. Sorry for going a little off topic.

 

so... I'm curious as to the outcome.
I'm just now upgrading my 1997 Maxima lights to LEDs & have encountered the same non-working front turn signal issue.
New LED turn signal bulbs will not work... resistors did not help, neither a new electronic turn signal relay. The rear work fine & front will work w/ incandescent old bulbs.
Any advice?

 

Yep, I meant to post back here. I have given up. Even with the new flasher unit I have the problem you described. I can't get LED bulbs to work in the front no matter what. Must be something related to the car's wiring, not the flasher unit.

I've been running LEDs in rear and incandescent in front, and I could add load resistors to make the LEDs work in front. But rather than make things more complicated, I'm thinking I'll switch back to all incandescent so they match.

At least my LED tails and brake lights work like they should.