Duck05

Attended this months JDM gathering. Got there a bit late so missed a few cars. Nothing not seen before except for an LS400 I parked next to…. The owner had his drone and provided a quick aerial view.

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

Hey Nick, did you have any issues with the turn signals hyperblinking once you installed the LED’s? I tried LED’s in my turn signal years ago and my signals blinked fast, so I took them out. Those bulbs look great.

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

You’re welcome! I’ve always wanted to repaint my SC either Royal Sapphire Blue, Ultrasonic Blue from the IS-F, or a nice purple but could never bring myself to do it.

Maybe if I had a second SC I’d go for it but that could get expensive.

CLass of 1

Hey Kira! No issues, because I replaced the flasher relay with a model specifically for this upgrade. A lot of guys install resistors to stop the hyper blink but that’s a bandaid, and a bad one at that. Resistors generate heat and they can get so hot that they melt plastic! Last I checked, our headlights are made of plastic, so I went the better route. Cost me like $15. You can find them at any auto parts store. Here’s one: https://www.autozone.com/electrical-...p35/849390_0_0

If you want more LED advice, let me know. I’ve gone through almost the whole car now.

Nick

Bimmerbill

Hey Nick,
I may be totally wrong on this but doesn't the early cars like mine and Kira's have 4 prongs instead of three like the late models? The best bet now is to buy bulbs that do not hyper blink. I have seen these on eBay.
Bill

CLass of 1

Hey Bill, I have no clue if the earlier cars came with a different flasher relay. If they do, I would say there’s still probably a flasher relay out there to suit. To me, the relay is the only way to do it because of the reasons I outlined above. If you’re down to choosing a specialty bulb that has a hyper blink defeat built in, now your selection is severely limited. I’ve found through this process that selecting LED bulbs is not as easy as it seems. You need to keep a lot of factors in mind such as the way the light is spread and how intense that light is. Each application calls for something unique.

Nick

962jzsc415

Hey Walt, what's the JDM meet info?

Bimmerbill

Thanks Nick
I did put LEDS in my taillights and have put up with the HYPER FLASH ever since. I really did not want to go with the resistors even after I bought them so I have not done anything just put up with the HYPER FLASH. My next purchase will be for the for the specialty bulb that defeats the this annoying feature. I wish there was a flasher that would work for the earlier models but everyone that has tried all the the different ones have come up empty handed. Best of luck to you and yours.
Bill

CLass of 1

Bill, go buy the one I linked. I just did a little digging for you and the website confirms it’s a direct fit for your car, and mine. Both are 3 prong relays. There’s no risk with this relay, it will work or it won’t, but I’m willing to bet it will work for you, like it did for me. Good luck!

Nick

Duck05

PM sent with other meet info.

- V -

iTrader: (1)

Figured out why my fog light had water in it

CLass of 1

Yikes! Just cracked over time huh?

Nick

- V -

iTrader: (1)

Thats what I'm guessing. At first I thought it was the lens because it has microcracks in it but thats the more likely culprit. Gonna reinforce the structure with something then clean the inside. Polish and clearcoat the lens from the inside and outside, then hopefully it lasts for a while. Next time it gets busted I'll probably end up replacing them or something. IDK we'll see lol

Illyria

Some bulbs made by LASFIT (on amazon) have resistors built in already, to mitigate hyper flash. It's apparently(?) an American company (or at least made here?) and their LEDs are a bit pricier than other brands on amazon. I am planning to test them out on my 2006 Forester turn signals soon. The city/parking lights I got for the Forester are VERY nice and bright, almost enough to function as DRLs.

I haven't changed any bulbs in the SC400 to LEDs yet, because I saw several mentions of SCs giving a bulb error message even when simply changing the "city"/parking lights to LEDs. That is something I really would like to do, before I change any bulbs on the SC, I will probably see if LASFIT's canbus / hyperflash error-free claims prove to be true after testing their turn signal bulbs on the Forester.
This is just the link for the 7443 type bulb I hope to try soon: (for the Forester)

CLass of 1

The only warning message will be from the the brake lights. You can just disconnect the little ecu that sends the signal which is in the trunk, near the antenna. I cut the wire, because I was having a hard time de-pinning the connector. I’ve changed EVERY exterior LED bulb and have NO warning lights on my dash whatsoever and no hyper blink due to the relay I’ve previously mentioned.

This is in no way intended to be inflammatory, or aggressive, so please don’t take this wrong, but there should be no other solutions being discussed as it relates to LED turn signals other than the relay. Resistors, by design, generate heat to perform their function of adding resistance to the circuit to slow the flash down (very basic definition). That heat can be damaging to a number of components in your car. It’s just not worth it. If you want LED turn signals, just use the special relay and everything will work as it should, safely and without any heat added to the equation.

Nick