June 14th, 2022 – By: Super Bright LEDs, Inc.
So you’ve just upgraded your turn signal lights to LED bulbs, and they are blinking much faster than your stock incandescent bulbs did. What is going on?
What you are likely experiencing is what’s known as hyper-flashing, which is where your turn signal lights blink rapidly. This is a very common issue when upgrading your turn signal bulbs to LED, and lucky for you, it’s an easy fix!
Why Am I Experiencing Hyper-Flashing?
Before we walk you through how to fix hyper-flashing, you may want to know why it’s happening in the first place. It may surprise you to hear that hyper-flashing is actually a deliberate function of your vehicle’s turn signal circuit, which lets you know when a bulb has burned out. This works for incandescent bulbs, which use electrical resistance to create light. When the bulbs burn out, your vehicle can tell that the resistance is low, and it will start to hyper-flash.
When you install LED bulbs, which draw significantly less power than incandescent bulbs, this causes a drop in the circuit’s resistance. Your vehicle will interpret this as a burned-out bulb and begin to hyper-flash.
How Can I Fix Hyper-Flashing?
1. Replace Your Flasher Relay with an LED Flasher Relay
The easiest method to fix hyper-flashing is by replacing your flasher relay with an LED flasher relay. In many cases, these flasher units are little circular or square boxes with metal prongs sticking out one side that simply plug into where your stock flasher went.
Our LED flashers function with both LED and incandescent bulbs, so even if you have LED turn signals in the back and incandescent bulbs still in the front, you can use our LED flasher relays with no problems. Before you order, compare the pin diagram of the stock flasher with the pin diagram of our flashers on our website.
The only drawback to this method is that it only works for vehicles with a flasher relay. Many newer vehicles do not use a flasher relay and instead use the vehicle’s ECU (electronic control unit) to control the turn signal lights. If your car does not have a flasher relay, we recommend using a load resistor as discussed next.
2. Install a Load Resistor Kit
If you have a newer vehicle and/or if your car does not have a replaceable flasher relay, you will need to use a load resistor. Unlike plug-and-play LED flasher relays, load resistor kits require some wiring to install. Through the use of a load resistor kit, LED bulb blinking can be slowed down to a normal rate. These resistors are to be installed in parallel (tied to positive and negative) for each LED bulb. A detailed printable installation guide can be downloaded here: How to Install an LED Load Resistor
Hyper-flashing is definitely frustrating – especially when you just installed new lights and want them to work properly. Rest assured, one of these methods will help you get your lights fixed, so you can enjoy your new LED lights.
If you would like additional assistance, our product specialists at Super Bright LEDs would be more than happy to help. Feel free to give our team a call toll-free at 866-590-3533. We are available from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM CDT Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM CDT on Fridays.
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