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Anyone changed the front and rear turn signal to LED?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by NguyenCB7, Mar 12, 2016.

  1. NguyenCB7

    NguyenCB7 Member

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    Has anyone changed the front and rear turn signal to LED and if so did you need the resistor or can-bus to keep it from the quick blink?
     
    #1 NguyenCB7, Mar 12, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2016
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  2. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    The Prius Chat Shop has an LED Can-bus for turn signals and back-up lights.

    Every light on the '16 Prius is LED, except the turn signals. Even the license plate lights are LED.
    WHY NOT THE TURN SIGNALS?!
     
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  3. NguyenCB7

    NguyenCB7 Member

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    You think we need a can us bulb or can we just get a regular led blub?
     
  4. ucla107

    ucla107 Member

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    Wait, is the backup light LED too? I haven't checked yet lol.. have only had the new car for 12 hours
     
  5. ucla107

    ucla107 Member

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  6. Scuderia Priusi

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    I bought these from the PriusChat Shop, and installed them in my 2016 Gen4/4 yesterday...

    1. Although they are listed as CAN-bus and specifically say "No Hyperblinking", they DO hyperblink. :( :cry: :mad: This was annoying to find out on my way to work (I'd tested them using the emergency flasher and they worked perfectly for that.). Not sure I want to go the LED Flasher relay swap route, but may have to. This is very disappointing and super-annoying, considering their price and the claim of "no hyperblinking'. On the plus side, these are very bright, have excellent color and dispersion, and are well-crafted.

    2. While I was in there, I checked and can confirm the stock reverse lights are also incandescent bulbs. I will probably be replacing those with LEDs, too.

    As to the hyperblinking issue: It is weird, it's actually had a couple of different behaviors

    • When I first tried the turn signals, they were hyperblinking (fast flashing), so then I shut the car down and restarted it.

    • After a restart, this time they didn't hyperflash - they flash rate was 'normal', so I drove off to work. Alas, after a few miles I noticed that both L & R signals were flashing when I was only selecting a left turn or a right turn. I also noticed the inside backlighting in the overhead map and moonroof control buttons were counter-dimming in time with the flasher. Traffic was light and I was nearly to work so arrived at work, parked in the garage and shut the car down again.

    • Before I left the garage I restarted the car, and this time around the turn signals were on and staying on with the headlights. They no longer flashed when the turn signal was engaged. So I shut the car down and came in to post this.

    It's possible one of the bulbs may have jarred loose or come unplugged, but I was super-deliberate and took great care when installing them to be sure the bulbs were fully-seated and functional. So now I don't know.

    BTW, the black plastic cover that conceals the two bolts holding the rear turn signal/backup light housing to the body, uses an array of tabs with clip-ends to hold it in place. This doesn't look like durable design; these won't survive repeated removal and install without extreme care.

    This brings me to mention that I noticed there are also dirt traps in this area. Pro Tip: don't park the liftback under a pine tree or other tree that drops lots of crap, it will clog things up if the needles/leaves get into the channel around the rear hatch, restricting drainage and potentially cause early rust and corrosion (a common Toyota foible). So if you take this cover off to clean out crap that accumulates in the corner, you'll eventually bugger the clip tabs on the cover and it won't clip back into place fully/properly. Fair warning.

    Meanwhile I'm stuck with a weird working turn signal situation, using the 'no hyperblinking' CAN-bus LED bulbs, as sold by our PriusChat specifically for the 2016 Prius liftback, they were expensive and don't work right! Arrgh! :mad:
     
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  7. Scuderia Priusi

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    Alright, mea culpa.

    I blew it and didn't read the product description a little more closely, on the PriusChat Shop for this item.

    It says at the end of the second paragraph:

    "Will NOT WORK on 7443 and 7444."

    Our US-spec Prii come with 7444NA bulbs. So, yeah. They work, but don't work correctly.

    So now I need to decide if I'm going to return these, or get a LED Flasher relay and install that (in the dash? OMG that's surgery I'm not keen on taking on, or having anyone do, unless absolutely necessary). :sick:
     
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  8. Jim in NC

    Jim in NC Active Member

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    Scuderia I did exactly the same thing. Unfortunately the Priuschat Shop should have a more obvious warning about these lights.

    I also got similar weird behavior when I installed them in the front turn signals.

    NOTE: If you have them in now, REMOVE THEM IMMEDIATELY! I noticed a burning plastic smell and took mine out right away. You don't want to damage your headlamp housing or electronics!

    I'm going to give it another go this weekend and install them in the Rear Turn Signal lamp sockets and for the Backup Lamps.
    There may be a different LED bulb that will work for the Front Turn Signal lamps.
     
  9. randomwalk101

    randomwalk101 DYI'er

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    In techstream I saw an option to speed up or slow down flashing rate
     
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  10. Vman455

    Vman455 Senior Member

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    Do I understand correctly that, in order to change the rear bulbs, the entire taillight must be removed? When I looked over the 2016 Prius at the Chicago Auto Show I didn't see any access panel inside; this seems like a misstep on Toyota's part.
     
  11. Scuderia Priusi

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    Yes, that's the documented method per page 639 of the Owner's manual, sec. 7-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance. I can attest that is how you get in to change the rear signal and reverse bulbs. Some notes:

    After removing the two bolts the first time I went in there, I found the assembly wouldn't budge without employing a soft-coated pry-bar (I used an old blunt-edged slot screwdriver inside a microfiber cloth) to coax it to move.
    I came at it vertically from above, gently wedging the screwdriver blade down in behind the flange while using my off-hand to grasp the lens and pull straight back. When it eventually gave it really popped, so be ready and don't just let it jerk back and strain the wiring. I noticed that Toyota is using a few dabs of yellowish, tacky schmutz to help keep things stable and rattle-free (I'm OK with that); I recommend washing the car beforehand, and go in clean so you can better grip the lighting assembly and to help preserve that stuff.

    But first, part of the challenge is cleanly removing the black plastic cover over the two bolts and flange. I took some pictures, but they didn't come out worth a crap. Here is the best one of the batch. This is the right-side cover, viewed from the bottom underneath:
    WP_20160527_11_19_06_Pro.jpg
    I told you it wasn't a very good shot...anyway, I used the same blunted screwdriver/cloth to get that loose, but until you get to handle and inspect the cover yourself, it's a rather blind-groping PITA the first time through.

    What worked for me, was coming in from the top-outer edge, first freeing the top outer clips (the ones in the upper-left in this picture).
    Then while holding that bit away from the light assembly, I then came in from the top, flat along the drainage channel (top-right in this picture), probing until I found the top of the horizontal upper main clip (there is an upper and lower one) and then pushing down on it to release it while also gently prying back to the rear with the screwdriver.
    I then did the same while coming in from the bottom of the drain channel, locating the lower main clip and pushing up to disengage the clip while prying back towards the rear of the car.

    I had to go back and forth several times, since I'd release one clip, only to have it spring back and re-latch while trying to release the other clip. A shim or a third hand could be of useful assistance for this, if it doesn't get in the way. Meanwhile it'll take some patience during rinse/repeat while saying the mantra, "it will come free eventually..." :unsure: :whistle:

    Re-installing the plastic cover needs patience too, and again good lighting helps. Really take some extra care to line up the two horizontal main clips before pressing into place.

    I've swapped back my amber incandescent turn signal bulbs. Not sure about using the clear LED bulbs for the reverse lights now...
     
    #11 Scuderia Priusi, May 28, 2016
    Last edited: May 28, 2016
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  12. gammarco

    gammarco New Member

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    Hello from Italy, do you think it's possible to adjust turn signal led hyper flash through techstream?