Winch bumper indicators...

[Barrbeast]

Right folks quick query.

ARB bumper gives you an extra set of indicators, to be honest you can see the normal ones fine even with the bullbar as they're quite wide but I decided to wire the bumper ones in anyway.

Immediately noticed that the current draw from the extra set of indicators was tripping the towbar tell tale light so I ordered a pair of LED bulbs to cure it. LED bulbs are now fitted and it has pretty much solved it although the tell-tale will still flash once when the indicators go on (it didn't do this before wiring in the other indicators)

Thought about replacing the rear indicator bulbs with another set of LED bulbs to stop the initial flash or even just disconnecting the winch bumper ones altogether and leaving them as reflectors (I fitted the LED bulbs to the main front indicators so they're not wasted) but my question is should I bother? I understand the tell tales in other vehicles do an initial flash anyway (off the top of my head I think some landies are like that).

Not tested it on the trailer at the farm yet but I'm assuming the tell tale should still work like it should ie. be constant when trailer lights connected and working, so should be fine for MOT?? :nenau

Opinions?

 

[Sweety]

You could wire up the body indecators as sidelights once de oranged & keep the bumper indecators think it would look nice & don't know if anyone else has done it:augie

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

With the LED bulbs, there are 2 types, ones with a load resistor, and ones without... The ones with, are often referred to as "Canbus compatible".

Basically, the load resistor makes the LED's draw the same current, as if they were a normal incandescent bulb, and are needed for things that are load sensitive, like indicator relays, and "bulb out" sensing circuits.

If you have the ones with out this resistor, and you put them in as extra indicator bulbs, they should make very little difference and work exactly as you want, but if you have the ones with the load resistor, then they will be the same as adding a normal bulb, and the extra load could either damage the relay, or make it flash incorrectly.

You were saying about putting the LED bulbs in, and then disconnecting the extra lights, but this would also depend on if they have the load resistor as they would act like there was a bulb out, if you put the ones with out the load resistor in on their own. Basically, you need to know which LED bulbs you have...

What I am confused about though, is the extra lights, should be wired in parallel to your front indicators, and should have no impact on the trailer side of things, as that is just monitoring the car indicators, and replicating them to the trailer socket, if there is a load on them, so if that is beeping/flashing when you connect the extra bulbs, I would say you may have done it wrong...

When I fitted the extra indicators on my car, I used a couple of relays to flash them as I did not want the extra load of another 4 x 5 watt bulbs to cause any issues, you could also use a trailer indicator relay to do the same thing, just remove the buzzer.

 

[Barrbeast]

With the LED bulbs, there are 2 types, ones with a load resistor, and ones without... The ones with, are often referred to as "Canbus compatible".

Basically, the load resistor makes the LED's draw the same current, as if they were a normal incandescent bulb, and are needed for things that are load sensitive, like indicator relays, and "bulb out" sensing circuits.

If you have the ones with out this resistor, and you put them in as extra indicator bulbs, they should make very little difference and work exactly as you want, but if you have the ones with the load resistor, then they will be the same as adding a normal bulb, and the extra load could either damage the relay, or make it flash incorrectly.

You were saying about putting the LED bulbs in, and then disconnecting the extra lights, but this would also depend on if they have the load resistor as they would act like there was a bulb out, if you put the ones with out the load resistor in on their own. Basically, you need to know which LED bulbs you have...

What I am confused about though, is the extra lights, should be wired in parallel to your front indicators, and should have no impact on the trailer side of things, as that is just monitoring the car indicators, and replicating them to the trailer socket, if there is a load on them, so if that is beeping/flashing when you connect the extra bulbs, I would say you may have done it wrong...

When I fitted the extra indicators on my car, I used a couple of relays to flash them as I did not want the extra load of another 4 x 5 watt bulbs to cause any issues, you could also use a trailer indicator relay to do the same thing, just remove the buzzer.

Hi Lazy-Ferret, yeh was aware of the difference in LED bulbs (resistor/no resistor) and purposefully went for ones without - good point obout needing them if I disconnect the bumper indicators...

Bumper indicators were wired into the front indicator positive wires (unless nissan have mixed up the red/black colouring) using piggyback connectors and then earthed to the winch earth to save chopping another cable - I'm wondering if putting a piggyback into the indicator negative and completing the circuit that way would make a difference :nenau

From what I can tell on the net, the ARB indicator/trailer tell tale issue is quite common. But since the tell tale definitely only gives an initial flash (with no trailer connected) I wonder if it is worth bothering about?

 

[Barrbeast]

Well I went out at lunchtime and fitted a piggyback into the front -ve wires and connected the bumper indicators into them so they are definitely in parallel now (as far as I know they were before anyway) and it hasn't made any difference - I still get an initial flash from the tell tale with no trailer connected.

Having checked the net though this definitely is not an MOT problem as it is a feature on other makes so you know the trailer tell tale works.

So inadvertently I have upgraded my indicator trailer tell tale circuit... (try saying that five times fast) :thumb2

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

If you had clipped into the wrong side, it would not have worked, as it would have been ground to ground... No volts..

Without knowing how the towbar wiring is done, and of course not having your car to play with... I cam only guess at what it is doing.

Personally, I like lights, the more the better, but as I found out, even with lots of lights, people still hit you, but it makes their excuses harder...:lol

 

[Barrbeast]

If you had clipped into the wrong side, it would not have worked, as it would have been ground to ground... No volts.

Yeh... realised that after I clicked "submit"... hopped no one would notice :doh

While I was at it I checked that the blown bulb "fast flash" would activate if I disconnected one of the bumper lights and sure enough - it does!

I'll be keeping the bumper lights - like you I also subscribe to the more lights = better!

 

[rustic]

With two normal 21 watt bulbs in the indcator circuit, and maybe a side repeater, sometimes trailer beepers or indicators do flash once, this is due to the initial cold resistance of bulbs, they have a high in rush current until the filiaments are warm, and then their resistance increases, taking less current.

The simplest way to drive extra lights from the same circuit will be to add a simple relay, with a high coil resistance. use the Common, and N/O contacts.

Alternatively, you could go semiconductors, using a suitable darlington NPN transistor, with a resitor on the base, and the emitter going to ground, and the collector going to the return of the new bulb, where the other terminal on the bulb is at 12 volts. Simples...
Clearly fuse any + 12 volt feed, just in case.


Rustic

 

[Barrbeast]

With two normal 21 watt bulbs in the indcator circuit, and maybe a side repeater, sometimes trailer beepers or indicators do flash once, this is due to the initial cold resistance of bulbs, they have a high in rush current until the filiaments are warm, and then their resistance increases, taking less current.

The simplest way to drive extra lights from the same circuit will be to add a simple relay, with a high coil resistance. use the Common, and N/O contacts.

Alternatively, you could go semiconductors, using a suitable darlington NPN transistor, with a resitor on the base, and the emitter going to ground, and the collector going to the return of the new bulb, where the other terminal on the bulb is at 12 volts. Simples...
Clearly fuse any + 12 volt feed, just in case.


Rustic

Really interesting post, the bumper is around 10+ years old so guess it must be something to do with the age of the bulbs in the indicators. The LEDs seem to have done the job so I won't be tinkering anymore but cheers for the help :thumb2

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

if goe for side light approach shouldnt need to de orange them as series 2 disco had
amber front sides in uk, perhaps ready for us market

alternatively keep existing as indicators and set up bumper's as day light running.

 

[Sweety]

if goe for side light approach shouldnt need to de orange them as series 2 disco had
amber front sides in uk, perhaps ready for us market
QUOTE]

Yes I think it might have been for the US market as it saved LR from having to make different lights:augie The pre face lift disco 2's the indicator is split into 2 different sections very upper part is for the amber side light & the rest is for the indicator & it was one thing I did like about mine