LED resistor question

Hello all! I’m new to this forum and looking for a quick answer to my question. Im just now starting to put some work/slight modification into our 2008 sequoia. We’ve had it for a while and I figured it’s time to freshen it up. I have plenty of experience working on cars, and have had my fair share of lighting upgrades in several other vehicles. This however, is the first time I will be installing the resistors. What I have are 4 led’s, 2 switchback turn signals for the front, 2 amber for the back. I also have 4 50w6ohm resistors. My question is, do I need to install one resistor per led turn signal? Somebody asked this question but it never got answered and I don’t want to bump an old thread. Any help is appreciated!

 

Welcome to the Forum!

There's a 2ND gen sequioa thread here. Link.

I would imagine that as long as its on the circuit, and is the correct resistance that it wouldn't need one at every light.

I've asked this question before, and never got a response either.

 

You might get away with just two, one for each side. I'm not sure about that at all, but I say so because, when I replaced my front headlights, DRLs, and turn signals for 2018 Sequoia LED clusters, there was no hyperflash on the turn signals. But when I also replaced the bulbs in the back with LEDs, I got the hyperflash and had to install the resistors in the back. So all I'm using is one for each side.

 

So far it sounds like it’ll be trial and error. I was planning to do all 4, but if two work, then that’s a win!

 

Hey yall, I went ahead and installed my front switchback leds with the resistors. Only thing thats weird, is they are always orange with the truck running unless the headlights are switched on. I thought they would stay white at all times besides turn signals, regardless, its not a big deal just found it odd. Anyways, the resistors get burning hot! Only when the engine is running though. When the ignition is off and I have parking lights on, they are white, and resistors are cool. Is this going to be an issue? Considering the drls are ALWAYS on if the engine is running. I understand they are going to get hot, just wondering if it will be problematic with them always in orange mode with drls on.

 

Also here is a pic of where i mounted them. To the frame for max heat dissapation

 

Final update for this thread! Did a bunch of experimenting and found several answers and encountered several problems along the way.
Question #1. How many resistors do I need if installing 4 led turn signals?
Answer: One per each turn signal. I used 4 50w6ohm resistors
Question #2. My switchbacks stay orange when the engine is running and even when the parking lights are on. Only white with the headlights on, or with parking lights on and engine off.
Answer: This is due to the flasher relay that we have and the drl function.
What I did: I depinned the THIN GREY wire on the flasher relay connector. It is pin #5. Theres a youtube video that lays it out for even the newbiest people like me sometimes. What this did was removed the drl feature, and allowed my parking lights to now operate the white part of the switchback leds. This was a BIG PROBLEM because when the drl’s were still functional, the resistors were getting power and working hard. They were reaching temps over 300° within minutes. Obviously this would not work and would end in a fire on one drive. So the drl bypass solved my overheating resistors, and my improper color switchback.
Lmk if you have any other questions! It’s not a bad job after all, just takes some research and some thinking.

 

This is all I know about the 2013 Tundra 5.7L left to my wife and I by our son who passed away last year: only 4 resistors installed, 2 located by each tail for a total of 4. These are 50-Watt 6-Ohm gold-color resistors. Since there aren't any resistors at the front of the truck, I am assuming that one of the 2 resistor at the left side of the truck is used for the left turn signal, and the other for the left headlight. The other two resistors at the right side of the truck are, one for the right turn signal, and the other for the right headlight. The orange front lights or markers come on and stay on whenever the engine is running, but I don't know if these lights come on under bright sunlight. Now in the dark of night both the orange lights near the headlights and also the taillights come on and stay on whenever the engine is running.

Last year the left turn signal was hyper-blinking (blinking real fast), and I took care of the problem by replacing the left resistor set (the set comes with two resistors installed in a short harness). These resistor harnesses are readily available at Amazon and other automobile parts stores. These are the ones I ordered for my 2013 Tundra, but I only had to replace the driver's side:

$16 Zreneyfex 3157 4157 Load Resistor Fix Hyper Flash for Switchback LED Turn Signal Light 50W 6-Ohm (Pack of 2)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WD39L67?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

A final note about installation: while the back of the plugs in each harness is somewhat sealed, I sealed them further with hot temperature (red-color) RTV silicone (just their backs). Before installing then to the truck harness, I cleaned the plugs on the truck harness with electrical contact cleaner, and then after installing the resistors harness to the taillight, I sealed all around the plugs with with terminal grease to make sure water would not get inside the plugs. Just make sure that you don't get silicone nor terminal grease on the contacts inside the plugs.

I made sure that the resistors were positioned far away from any of the wires, since they do get hot. A friend of mine rigged the resistors at each side of his truck of a piece of aluminum, about 2" away from each other. He used self-tap stainless screws, one for each resistor, and then positioned the resistors so that the aluminum plate can't get close to the wires. I am sure that you can figure a way to keep the resistors away from the wires

What I plan to do when I have the time is to buy a turn signal flasher (probably costs around $150.00), then modify the original flasher and replace the resistors inside the flasher with 1.15 or so resistors like some folks are doing. This way I can remove the resistor sets from the back of the truck. If it doesn't work, then I can figure something else.

 

For future reference. They do sell switch backs and other leds with the resistors built in.
Mine work fine.