CANBUS LOAD RESISTORS EXPLAINED

CANBUS LOAD RESISTORS EXPLAINED

What is hyper flash?

Have you ever encountered cars that have hyper flashing turn signals while on the road? Hyper flash is when the turn signal flashes way too rapidly and is not only unappealing, but may also attract the police because they think your bulb is out. Luckily, all you need to do is install load resistors to fix the issue. This guide will demonstrate how to install load resistors for LED turn signals to eliminate hyper flash, once and for all.
First of all, you will need 50W 6 OHM load resistors. Load resistors have no negative or positive side, so you don't have polarity issues to deal with. Tap the load resistor to the stock harness in parallel.
 

Single Filament

Single filament applications include 1156, 3156, 7440. There are only two wires involved (one positive/one negative), meaning that it's very straightforward. All you need to do is tap the load resistor wires in between these two wires. 

Double Filament

Double filament applications include 1157, 3157, and 7443. This is where it gets a little bit tricky. There are three wires: shared negative, positive for dim mode, and positive for brighter/blinker mode. The extra wire means that there is a bit more trial and error involved.
First, tap the load resistors between the most vivid colored wire, which is usually the wire that applies for the brighter/blinker mode, as well as the least vivid colored wire, which is generally the negative wire. This tutorial will demonstrate tapping the resistor between the red and black wires.
After you tap the wires, test the turn signal. If the hyper flash still persists, take the wires out and tap it to the other wire and try again. There is a slight chance that you will have to repeat this step for the third and last time.
 

Trial and Error

We will assign each wire with a letter for reference sake.
RED: A
GREEN: B
BLACK: C
Try to tap A and C. Test to see if it works.
If it doesn't, try B and C.
If it still doesn't work, try A and B.

What if the problem still exists?

If for some reason the hyper flash issue still persists after you've tried three times, then the problem is most likely an issue with the connection. Many people install load resistors with a T-tap, but we don't recommend this route.

Why? T-taps sometimes cannot perfectly cut through the wire, causing a loose connection or one that only works intermittently. What you should do instead is to directly merge the load resistor wires to the stock harness.
As a matter of fact, many professional stereo installations involve the installers merging the wires instead of using T-taps.
 

How do you merge the wires?

You will need a wire stripper to expose the copper wire by cutting open a small slit. If you don't have a wire stripper, you can still scrape through the plastic using a knife or a pair of scissors.
After you connect the wires, use electrical tape to cover it. The great thing about merging wires is that they work perfectly every time without any intermittent issues like you would experience with T-taps.
Remember to always mount the load resistor to metal using zip-ties, not double sided tape.
 

To Summarize

1. Merge the wire together instead of using T-taps to make sure you have the perfect connection.
2. Always try different combinations for double-filament bulbs. The most you will have to try is three times.
3. Mount the resistor to metal to prevent possible heat damage.
Now, your LED turn signals won't have any issues with hyper flash.