Wiring in Resistors for Turn Signals 2013 Edge Sport

[DBEDGE23]

Can anyone explain what wires to tap into on the front Turn Signals to get the resistors to work? And any tips for mounting the resistors in the engine compartment(including the mounting plates)?
Pictures of your mounted resistors would be helpful.
I'm going to be ordering the 3 ohm as I put amber LED bulbs in all 4 turn signals.
Here are the Amber LEDs I got from VLEDS: LED AMBER VLEDS - They are super bright but have hyper flash every once and awhile when using the turn signals but

if I turn on the hazards there is no hyper flash. Wish I could just change the turn signal relay or module instead of mounting the resistors.

 

Thanks for the help!

DBEDGE23

2013 White Edge Sport

[Feirstein]

No Relay involved, just a computer.

[DBEDGE23]

Can someone help out here? I have the 3ohm resistors because I have 4 LED turn signals.

I have tried all kinds of combinations of wiring in these resistors but still have hyper-flash.

 

DAWGS if you read this what wires did you use when you were doing your switchbacks and what side

if it makes a difference did you use out of the resistors?

 

Thanks,

Dave

[TheWizard]

You will probably need 6-ohm resistors but you can try the 3-ohm ones and see if they work. You want to connect the resistors from the turn signal power wire to ground for each side. On the front left that would be the blue/green power wire to the black/green ground wire. On the front right it would be yellow/purple power to black/gray ground.

 

You may find you also need to do the same thing at the back. If so, you want the gray/orange power to the black/gray ground on the left and the green/orange power to black/green ground on the right.

 

The "hyper flash" is designed as an indicator that you have one or more bulbs burned out. LED bulbs cause that condition because they have essentially no resistance compared to the filament of an ordinary incandescent bulb. The hazard signal circuit does not have a hyper flash mode - it will flash at the same speed regardless of how many bulbs are burned out. Adding resistors makes the turn signal circuit "see" the expected resistance so that it doesn't indicate burned out bulbs. Typical 3156 and 3157 bulbs have about 6-ohms resistance in their filament so your 3-ohm resistors may still cause hyper flashing even if properly installed.

[jmacd27]

You will probably need 6-ohm resistors but you can try the 3-ohm ones and see if they work. You want to connect the resistors from the turn signal power wire to ground for each side. On the front left that would be the blue/green power wire to the black/green ground wire. On the front right it would be yellow/purple power to black/gray ground.

 

You may find you also need to do the same thing at the back. If so, you want the gray/orange power to the black/gray ground on the left and the green/orange power to black/green ground on the right.

 

The "hyper flash" is designed as an indicator that you have one or more bulbs burned out. LED bulbs cause that condition because they have essentially no resistance compared to the filament of an ordinary incandescent bulb. The hazard signal circuit does not have a hyper flash mode - it will flash at the same speed regardless of how many bulbs are burned out. Adding resistors makes the turn signal circuit "see" the expected resistance so that it doesn't indicate burned out bulbs. Typical 3156 and 3157 bulbs have about 6-ohms resistance in their filament so your 3-ohm resistors may still cause hyper flashing even if properly installed.

Awesome explanation, I am eventually going to replace my turn signals with leds, this helps out a electrical newbie a lot. Can using the resistors be avoided by using the "CAN bus" bulbs that have a resistor built into the bulb?

 

Anyone have any suggestions for a supplier for good LEDs? I know of VLEDs and Superbrightleds, they seem to be the most mentioned for a quality bulb.

 

Thanks.

Edited April 8, 2013 by jmacd27

[TheWizard]

Yes, the CAN-Bus bulbs eliminate the need for separate resistors but they aren't as bright as some of the other LED bulbs available. I just replaced the front turn signal bulbs this weekend with the 45-LED tower 3157 bulbs from Superbrightleds. I had the same ones in my Mustang and was quite pleased but the different shape of the Edge reflector makes them quite disappointing. In fact, they aren't as bright as the original incandescent bulbs and they wash out in bright sunlight.

 

I have ordered the 27-watt Eagle Eye SMT tower bulbs from autolumination.com and should have them by the weekend. A 27-watt LED bulb should be blinding bright in most housings but we'll see what they look like in the Edge. I have the same design 14-watt bulbs in my Mustang now as DRL and turn signals and you can see them from a mile away. Beware of V-LED bulbs as they are very heat sensitive (e.g. they cannot be used for daytime running lights - I tried and they all failed within a couple of months). I've never had a problem with either the superbrightled or autolumination bulbs.

 

I haven't tried my 3156 bulbs in the rear yet. They're also the 45-LED tower bulbs but the rear reflector is a different design so they may work better than the front.

[DBEDGE23]

Awesome. Thanks so much for the explanation. I'm surprised that these internet stores don't have a explanation of this. This helps out so much.

I will post once I have everything corrected. The VLEDS I have listed in this post are awesome and I hope I can get everything ironed out.

 

Wizard, any tips on where to mount the resistors in the rear?? They do get a little warm.

 

Thanks,

DBEDGE23

[TheWizard]

I haven't gotten to the rear lights yet - I'll probably do them this weekend - so I'm not sure about mounting the resistors. But you're right, they need to be located so that the heat they generate won't cause problems. They don't need a lot of air space but they should not be in contact with other wires or plastic panels. The front is easy because there's lots of space (and lots of air flow) but the back is more confining. I'll let you know after I install them this weekend.

[DBEDGE23]

Ok guys here is something to think about. I ordered the LED Switchbacks from VLEDS the 5K WHITE AMBER DUAL COLOR TYPE 2 CHANGING SWITCHBACK 92 TURN SIGNAL BULBS 3157 3157NA 3357 3457 4157 4057 | 1 PAIR

I put 4 of these for the turn signals(Front and Back) without resistors and the Amber part of the LEDs work fine. Now I don't have the switchback working but I don't really want it. Now I could put a couple 6ohm resistors in the front to get the white but for now all amber lights work fine. I have had the 92 M-SMT LEDs before in Ford vehicles and had no hyper flash. So knowing that I decided to give it a try. Everything works perfect! Plug and Play - No hyper flash and no resistors needed to have the ambers work.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Dave

Edited April 11, 2013 by DBEDGE23

[candurin]

Why get switchbacks if you don't care about the white lights?

 

You could have just purchased the amber only lights.

[TheWizard]

Well I learned a couple of things this weekend that you might find interesting.

 

First, the rear turn signals don't use 3156 single filament bulbs as you would expect. For some reason Ford put 3157 dual filament bulbs back there despite the fact that the dim filament never gets used.

 

Second, the reflectors on the turn signals (both front and back) are oddly shaped and don't work well with many LED bulb designs. I have been doing this kind of replacement for several years now so I have quite a collection of different types of 3157 LED bulbs lying around. The 27-watt bulbs I ordered work fairly well in the front but look terrible in the back. They're very bright but have limited difference in brightness between dim and bright so they are hard to distinguish when using the signals with the headlights on. For the back, I found that a pair of older 92 SMT 3157 tower bulbs from V-LEDs outperformed anything else I could find. Technically, they don't have the power of many newer bulbs with fewer but more powerful LEDs but the sheer number of LEDs on the tower makes them fill out the reflector much more effectively and they look much brighter for that reason. Unfortunately, V-LEDs only makes them in the CK version now so I had to look elsewhere for front bulbs. I found some 120 SMT tower bulbs at autolumination.com that should do the job nicely... I'll know when they arrive in a few days.

 

Finally, I found a convenient way to handle the resistors for the back. The front bulbs were no problem because there is plenty of space to install resistors allowing space for the heat they produce. The space behind the tail lights is quite cramped so I was concerned that the resistors could possibly melt some plastic or the insulation on adjacent wires. Consulting the wiring schematic, I discovered that the tail light wires all run from the BCM behind the left kick panel. I pulled the panel, found the correct color wires in the harness next to the driver's "dead" pedal, double checked them with a meter, and was able to install the resistors for both sides there with plenty of airspace around them. The colors you need are gray with orange for the left rear signal and green with orange for the right rear signal. The orange tracers are straight on both wires - there are a couple of wires the same colors but with spiral tracers. The wires are both about 18 gauge... there's also a larger 12 gauge green with orange in the harness that isn't the one you want.

 

Unlike DBEDGE23, I was unable to avoid the hyper-flash without the resistors even though I was using the same 92 M-SMT bulbs in the back. I suspect that it might be due to minor differences in the sensitivity of the body control module and possibly the resistance of the individual bulbs. In any case, it wasn't difficult to install resistors and I'm happy with the results.

[DBEDGE23]

Why get switchbacks if you don't care about the white lights?

 

You could have just purchased the amber only lights.

Unfortunately, V-LEDs only makes them in the CK version.

[DBEDGE23]

Well I learned a couple of things this weekend that you might find interesting.

 

First, the rear turn signals don't use 3156 single filament bulbs as you would expect. For some reason Ford put 3157 dual filament bulbs back there despite the fact that the dim filament never gets used.

 

Second, the reflectors on the turn signals (both front and back) are oddly shaped and don't work well with many LED bulb designs. I have been doing this kind of replacement for several years now so I have quite a collection of different types of 3157 LED bulbs lying around. The 27-watt bulbs I ordered work fairly well in the front but look terrible in the back. They're very bright but have limited difference in brightness between dim and bright so they are hard to distinguish when using the signals with the headlights on. For the back, I found that a pair of older 92 SMT 3157 tower bulbs from V-LEDs outperformed anything else I could find. Technically, they don't have the power of many newer bulbs with fewer but more powerful LEDs but the sheer number of LEDs on the tower makes them fill out the reflector much more effectively and they look much brighter for that reason. Unfortunately, V-LEDs only makes them in the CK version now so I had to look elsewhere for front bulbs. I found some 120 SMT tower bulbs at autolumination.com that should do the job nicely... I'll know when they arrive in a few days.

 

Finally, I found a convenient way to handle the resistors for the back. The front bulbs were no problem because there is plenty of space to install resistors allowing space for the heat they produce. The space behind the tail lights is quite cramped so I was concerned that the resistors could possibly melt some plastic or the insulation on adjacent wires. Consulting the wiring schematic, I discovered that the tail light wires all run from the BCM behind the left kick panel. I pulled the panel, found the correct color wires in the harness next to the driver's "dead" pedal, double checked them with a meter, and was able to install the resistors for both sides there with plenty of airspace around them. The colors you need are gray with orange for the left rear signal and green with orange for the right rear signal. The orange tracers are straight on both wires - there are a couple of wires the same colors but with spiral tracers. The wires are both about 18 gauge... there's also a larger 12 gauge green with orange in the harness that isn't the one you want.

 

Unlike DBEDGE23, I was unable to avoid the hyper-flash without the resistors even though I was using the same 92 M-SMT bulbs in the back. I suspect that it might be due to minor differences in the sensitivity of the body control module and possibly the resistance of the individual bulbs. In any case, it wasn't difficult to install resistors and I'm happy with the results.

Wizard, thanks for the update. yeah the 92 M-SMT have worked really well in the Fords and Lincolns I have owned. Everything has been working fine with the 92 switchbacks and the amber part of the bulb is plenty bright enough.

 

Thanks!!!

[Ron Bemberry]

hello there and I can help u with ur issuse sorry fellows but scrap the complete ideal make it easier and cheaper for u guys... now u cant get around the cpu but the cpu is dummer then u think simply just trick the cpu behind the head light on the signal lines just add an adapter to the line for the bulb and just put in the l.e.d in the housing

[TheWizard]

You should save your money to buy a keyboard with punctuation keys and capital letters.

 

I, for one, have no idea what you were trying to tell us... perhaps you could explain further.

[Ron Bemberry]

lol am truly sorry was getting on a friend about that and i said wheneva im online i dont use them but need to start and i will try it just for u sir...

[melgriffith]

Has anyone tried wiring the switchback to run as DRL for the white LEDs? any help is appreciated.

[TheWizard]

Has anyone tried wiring the switchback to run as DRL for the white LEDs? any help is appreciated.

 

If you have had your dealer set up the front turn signals as DRLs, you can make them white but doing so creates unwanted side effects. Cutting the parking light and turn signal wires near the sockets on each side and cross-connecting the wires will give you white DRLs and amber running lights. But it will also give you white turn signals (because DRLs and and turn signals use the same circuit) which violates vehicle codes and could get you ticketed.

 

If you have not had the dealer turn on the turn signals as DRLs, you could cut the parking light wires (yellow with blue) on each side and connect them to an ignition switched power source. That would make the white LEDs turn on whenever the ignition is on (basically what DRLs do) and still leave you with amber turn signals. However, you would give up the courtesy light function of those lights (the bumper lights would still work normally).

[Nathan Novak]

I'm still a bit unclear on can-bus and whether you do or do not need resistors with those bulbs. And if not why not (I'm interested in how that works, not just that it does). :-)

 

If I do go with resistors, where specifically are folks mounting those up front under the hood? Also, what's the attachment mechanism (I'm not thrilled about having to drill through metal)? I'd love to see a picture.

 

Thanks for your help!

N2

[TheWizard]

There are many differences between standard incandescent bulbs and LEDs but the one that affects turn signals is the fact that LEDs draw very little current and produce almost no resistance.

 

Up until the late 90s, most cars used a thermal turn signal flasher. It worked much like a thermostat - current would flow through a bi-metal arm until it warmed up enough to bend, breaking the circuit so that it could cool and move back to make contact again. The opening and closing of the contacts made the signal lamps flash off and on. If you replaced the standard bulbs with LEDs, there would not be enough current flow to heat the bi-metal arm so the turn signals would go on but not flash. This was intended as a bulb out indicator for the driver.

 

As electronics got more sophisticated, car makers got rid of the old thermal flashers in favor of electronic flashers and even entire electronic control modules (my Mustang has a complex module to synchronize the three rear sequential signal lamps with the single lamps up front). They still wanted a bulb out indication for drivers so they added circuitry to determine when too little current was flowing and then they had the module flash the turn signal about twice as fast as normal (hyper-flash). The problem is that not only does a burned out bulb cause reduced current but so does an LED replacement.

 

Then along came CAN bus - a network not unlike Ethernet for allowing the various computers and electronic modules in modern cars to talk to each other without requiring a central "server" to coordinate the communication (i.e. peer-to-peer networking). Some European manufacturers got fancy with their CAN bus network circuit so that it monitors the current flow through lighting circuits (not just turn signals) and triggers a "bulb out" warning light on the dash when the current flow is not within normal limits. Some domestic models also monitor the lamps using a CAN bus circuit but most of them still use the hyper-flash indicator for burned out bulbs.

 

The common factor is the low current flow. There are two ways you can increase the current flow with LED replacement bulbs. One is to use some of the newer very high power LEDs that draw enough current to be within the limits of the detection circuitry. The other is to add resistance to the circuit to simulate the resistance of the filament in an incandescent bulb. That resistance is about 6 ohms for a standard 32 candlepower bulb like an 1157 or 3157.

 

Installing resistors is much easier than many people think. Basically, you want to add the resistance in parallel across the power and ground of the bulb. This is commonly done by splicing one end of the resistor to the power wire and the other to the ground wire of each bulb you replace. You can also connect one end to the power wire and the other to chassis ground if it is more convenient. I found a company that makes a dual load resistor module that simplifies things because you can do both sides with one module. It has three wires - one for each side power and one for common ground - and is built into a weatherproof heat sink housing (resistors produce lots of heat). In fact, I used one behind the left kick panel for my rear turn signals because there wasn't enough space at the back lamps and I could connect both sides with one module.

 

Sorry for the lengthy post (but you asked for an explanation)

Edited October 7, 2013 by TheWizard

[sajid.ali]

 

If you have had your dealer set up the front turn signals as DRLs, you can make them white but doing so creates unwanted side effects. Cutting the parking light and turn signal wires near the sockets on each side and cross-connecting the wires will give you white DRLs and amber running lights. But it will also give you white turn signals (because DRLs and and turn signals use the same circuit) which violates vehicle codes and could get you ticketed.

 

If you have not had the dealer turn on the turn signals as DRLs, you could cut the parking light wires (yellow with blue) on each side and connect them to an ignition switched power source. That would make the white LEDs turn on whenever the ignition is on (basically what DRLs do) and still leave you with amber turn signals. However, you would give up the courtesy light function of those lights (the bumper lights would still work normally).

 

DRL become on only when u shift the gear from P to any other position (R, N or D) at position "P" it will never on even ignition is on

[inthefuture1955]

I needed to use Phillips 6-ohm resistors (Phillips are commercial grade) to use with my CANbus. Yes, even though they were CANbus, I was still having a problem with hyper-flash, probably because the bulbs were "switchback" Amber/White and the bleed-back through the white, since the white are off when the amber are on. This is different for non-switchback LED's in that then parking element remain on when the turn signal is on. When I had instilled the Amber only CANbus in the rear I did not have (and still don't) this problem.

 

I have a 2013 Edge and I've replaced all of my bulbs with LED's, except the headlights.

 

So, if you are using switchback type, even if they are CANbus, you'll almost certainly need a resistor on each.

 

Also, the Phillips run very cool, they are more expensive, but worth the higher price. (@30 a pair) I used thermal ADHESIVE to anchor them in place as there was no way to get into where I had to place them to screw them in place. Make sure you anchor to a metal surface.

 

The wiring color code listed earlier helped a lot. Thank you for that information.

 

Hope this helps others making the conversion. Start in the back with CANbus and you should be fine with standard bulbs up front. You may need do some testing for the front LED's.

 

So, good luck.

Edited September 18, 2016 by inthefuture1955

[omar302]

The 2011-2015 MKX has rear LED lights, when I connect FORScan I find options under the body control module for front & rear bulb outage. The fronts are enabled & the rears are disabled. I believe that disabling the fronts also will make LED signals flash normally without the need for resistors. Since the option is available for the MKX, I would expect the same to be for the Edge.

[inthefuture1955]

I don't know what the MKZ uses for bulbs, but the Edge uses standard type 3157 bulbs. Spending $30 for a pair of resistors is a lot easier than re-programing the ODB to not hyper-flash. AND you don't have to go around cutting in to the factory wiring, an anethma in my view.

 

The resistors impose no more, and maybe less, load on the turn signal circuit then trailer lights do. The system only goes into to hyper-flash when the load is too low when a light is out. Anyone who has towed a trailer will tell you that if the trailer is connected, you'll not get hyper-flash when a turn signal bulb is out as the trailer offsets the missing load from that bulb.

 

I don't plan to remove the LED's from the Edge when I trade up to an Explorer next year, so there was no reason not to install the resistors.

 

It took me less than an hour to install and test the resistors and the switchbacks. The output of the white DRL LED's is brutal if you look directly into the light from less 10 feet away, even in full sunshine. My bulbs are 5,000 degrees Kelvin (color index [sharp white, but little UV-A]) which contributes to the intensity of the output. All of the chips are phosphor backed made by CREE. I can't recall what the Lumen output is as I write this.

 

Just make sure when you put the LED's into the sockets they firmly seat. The first pair I bought were ID'd as 3157's but they easily popped right back out. If they fall into the lamp housing, getting them uot *will* be quite challenging. The second pair I tried fit as tightly as the original bulbs.

 

The resistors will be the quickest and easiest route to make the conversion. You may not need resistors with standard CANbus (amber only) LED'S. I don't know since I had decided on the DRL switchbacks (white/amber) when I decided to upgrade to LED's.

 

With the resistors in place they worked correctly -> white on for DRL; white off, amber flashing normally during turn and white snapping back on 5 seconds after amber off.

 

Buy the bulbs first and test for fit and hyper-flash before buying the resistors. If you need resistors, go with the Phillips, they're worth the money. And the DRL switchbacks are the route to go because of the increased visibility it gives your Edge.

 

Good luck.

Edited September 18, 2016 by inthefuture1955

[Nick Halstead]

The quickest and best way is to disable them like omar said, no need to tap into any wires and takes hardly any time. Forscan is an amazing program!

I needed to use Phillips 6-ohm resistors (Phillips are commercial grade) to use with my CANbus. Yes, even though they were CANbus, I was still having a problem with hyper-flash, probably because the bulbs were "switchback" Amber/White and the bleed-back through the white, since the white are off when the amber are on. This is different for non-switchback LED's in that then parking element remain on when the turn signal is on. When I had instilled the Amber only CANbus in the rear I did not have (and still don't) this problem.

I have a 2013 Edge and I've replaced all of my bulbs with LED's, except the headlights.

So, if you are using switchback type, even if they are CANbus, you'll almost certainly need a resistor on each.

Also, the Phillips run very cool, they are more expensive, but worth the higher price. (@30 a pair) I used thermal ADHESIVE to anchor them in place as there was no way to get into where I had to place them to screw them in place. Make sure you anchor to a metal surface.

The wiring color code listed earlier helped a lot. Thank you for that information.

Hope this helps others making the conversion. Start in the back with CANbus and you should be fine with standard bulbs up front. You may need do some testing for the front LED's.

So, good luck.

 

 

The 2011-2015 MKX has rear LED lights, when I connect FORScan I find options under the body control module for front & rear bulb outage. The fronts are enabled & the rears are disabled. I believe that disabling the fronts also will make LED signals flash normally without the need for resistors. Since the option is available for the MKX, I would expect the same to be for the Edge.

 

 

I don't know what the MKZ uses for bulbs, but the Edge uses standard type 3157 bulbs. Spending $30 for a pair of resistors is a lot easier than re-programing the ODB to not hyper-flash. AND you don't have to go around cutting in to the factory wiring, an anethma in my view.

The resistors impose no more, and maybe less, load on the turn signal circuit then trailer lights do. The system only goes into to hyper-flash when the load is too low when a light is out. Anyone who has towed a trailer will tell you that if the trailer is connected, you'll not get hyper-flash when a turn signal bulb is out as the trailer offsets the missing load from that bulb.

I don't plan to remove the LED's from the Edge when I trade up to an Explorer next year, so there was no reason not to install the resistors.

It took me less than an hour to install and test the resistors and the switchbacks. The output of the white DRL LED's is brutal if you look directly into the light from less 10 feet away, even in full sunshine. My bulbs are 5,000 degrees Kelvin (color index [sharp white, but little UV-A]) which contributes to the intensity of the output. All of the chips are phosphor backed made by CREE. I can't recall what the Lumen output is as I write this.

Just make sure when you put the LED's into the sockets they firmly seat. The first pair I bought were ID'd as 3157's but they easily popped right back out. If they fall into the lamp housing, getting them uot *will* be quite challenging. The second pair I tried fit as tightly as the original bulbs.

The resistors will be the quickest and easiest route to make the conversion. You may not need resistors with standard CANbus (amber only) LED'S. I don't know since I had decided on the DRL switchbacks (white/amber) when I decided to upgrade to LED's.

With the resistors in place they worked correctly -> white on for DRL; white off, amber flashing normally during turn and white snapping back on 5 seconds after amber off.

Buy the bulbs first and test for fit and hyper-flash before buying the resistors. If you need resistors, go with the Phillips, they're worth the money. And the DRL switchbacks are the route to go because of the increased visibility it gives your Edge.

Good luck.

 

Edited September 18, 2016 by Nick Halstead