jersey280 Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Hey guys, Just replaced all of my bulbs with LED bulbs in my 78 280z. All work fine except my rear hazards. My front LED turn signal bulbs blink fine for turn or hazard mode. As soon as I remove and replace both original halogen rear bulbs, they turn solid and no longer flash. I can replace one rear with an LED and another with a halogen and they blink. It appears the old style rear bulbs are causing something to happen that the new LED's are not. Any idea what is going on? Appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtikyle Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Probably not enough resistance in the LED bulbs. You could add a resistor, or, you could search for LED bulbs with built in resistors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZHoob2004 Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Old style flasher units use a bimetal element that heats up to provide the flashing. Your new LED bulbs don't pull a fraction of the current that the incandescents do, so they don't cause this heating in the flasher. To make this work, you'll need a modern electronic flasher unit (they flash based on a built in digitial timer instead of heating metal) so they always flash at the same rate no matter the load the bulbs provide. I don't have the diagrams in front of me, but you may need two flashers (one for the turn signal circuit, one for the hazards) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 JUst go to the parts store and buy an electronic flash unit. It looks like the stock flash unit except it has a ground wire . Thats it. There are also electronic flashers that have an adjustable flash rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmoralesbello Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 In the '78 280Z you need to replace 2 OEM flashers with 2 electronic flashers. One for the emergency flashers and a separate one for the turn signals. The first is found high on the drivers side kick plate above the ECU, the second is above the steering column. They are available in the exact configuration as your originals so you don't have to do any additional ground wiring and they will be totally plug 'n play. I purchased mine at Superbrightleds.com. Sorry but I don't have the part numbers at this time but you can pull your originals and they will cross reference the numbers for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Ran into this myself. Anyone find one that works pretty easily? It seems it is a hit or miss with parts store guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 I've been using these for a few months, on both my hazards and turn signals. No issues so far. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00139OH24/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Question for those that are running the timer based setup. Do you have problems with the running lights/headlights on? I accidentally only ordered one of these so I figured I would install it under the steering column. The flashers work great now with no other lights on. When I turn on the running lights though, one side just grows a bit brighter and stays on. Am I missing something here? Or do I need to replace the second one on the passenger side before it will work with the running lights on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D9inger Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 I added load resistors and they work fine. https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/flashers-load-resistors/led-light-load-resistor-kit-led-turn-signal-hyper-flash-warning-fix/190/831/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parsethis Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Superbrightleds also sells plug-in flasher units that will do the job: CF12ANL-01: 2 Pin Black American Flasher Note that this particular model does not produce a clicking sound so you will not have an auditory reminder when your blinkers or hazards are on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Convert to electronic flasher, or add resistors, as stated above. Easy-peasy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D9inger Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 (edited) LED on the left. It looks more yellow in the picture than it actually is. It's a amber LED bulb and looks great. Edited October 20, 2017 by D9inger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I got the second electronic flasher in. Turn signals work fine when the running lights are off, but with them on they seem to only get brighter and stay on. Anyone having the same issue? I can tell the bulbs get brighter when I flick the turn signal, but they just stay on and don't flash. I'm thinking of cutting the connection to the bulb for the running light so they are only a turn flasher instead of a running light/turn signal combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D9inger Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I had to put load resistors on all four lights and am using OEM flasher relays. I tried load resistors on just the rear and it wouldn't work. Order 4 of them, put them in parallel with the bulbs like the instructions say and it should work. Just for kicks put the old bulbs back in and see if it works. If it does, you just need to add the load resistors. If it doesn't you have another (wiring) issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 (edited) I had to put load resistors on all four lights and am using OEM flasher relays. I tried load resistors on just the rear and it wouldn't work. Order 4 of them, put them in parallel with the bulbs like the instructions say and it should work. Just for kicks put the old bulbs back in and see if it works. If it does, you just need to add the load resistors. If it doesn't you have another (wiring) issue. I guess I will explore that option. I'm pretty sure it all worked with the old bulbs and old flasher. I was excited for the new flasher as they don't take nearly as long to flash. In the instructions it says two load resistors per bulb, given 4 bulbs, does that mean 8 load resistors required? Edited November 1, 2017 by seattlejester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D9inger Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 I just used one each from super bright LEDs (total of 4) I’ll take some pictures this weekend and post them. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 If you don't mind. The picture I found online says to use two per bulb for 1157 bulbs which the indicators are, but if it works with just one that would be a savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted November 5, 2017 Share Posted November 5, 2017 I replaced both of my flasher units with the superbrightled ones (which swap right in!) but I recall having issues with them still not flashing unless one on each side was incandescent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 ^That ended up being my temporary fix. I just swapped out my rear ones to incandescencet, I imagine throwing in load resistors on the actual flashing circuit would be the same, but for the time being swapping just the rear turn signals back gave me back turn signals with headlights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Seattlejester, which electronic flashers were you using, just out of curiosity? I have not observed the specific issues you were experiencing, so I'm wondering if the choice of flasher was causing the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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