nycgordonf
New member
So I've finally upgraded the rear blinkers/brake lights on my 2021 F3-S to LED. Simple swap. Frankly, I'm surprised Can-Am still uses incandescent bulbs, given the availability (and relative affordability) of LEDs. But, being as it is, I'm sure there's a reason for it.
Needless to say, the rear turn/brake lights are NOTICEABLY brighter.
I had initially purchased a set from SuperBrightLEDs, but their product offerings (and customer support) must've gone down the drain in recent history. The set I received didn't exactly work with the turn function, only brake. Needless to say, I went with these from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY4T4BU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
One of those, weird-name, foreign-made wacky things, but they work, they're cheap, and if they break, they're easy to replace.
In my previous post I went on and on about the importance of using high-quality headlight LED units - which I did. Top of the line Philips with massive heat sinks that set me back over $100.
HOWEVER - and this is where I draw the line - there is a stark difference between headlights, and tail lights. Headlights draw much more current. So a cheap unit is more likely to malfunction, melt your wires, trip a fuse, or flat-out start an electrical fire.
Tali lights serve solely to allow you to be seen. While important, they come in pairs, so a failure won't leave you scratching your head on the side of the road at 11pm wondering if you can manage to get home using your phone's flashlight function as the sole means of illuminating the deer-infested road that lays before you.
Now, before I ramble on (as I have) - the (expected) side effect of replacing incandescent 1157 dual-filament capsules, which top out at 28 Watts with the blinker/brake with LEDs is the hyperflash phenomenon.
While some of you may (or may not) be familiar with this unusual occurrence of strobe-like effect haunting your blinkers, the explanation is quite simple.
The wise engineers in automotive companies design a circuit with a certain load in mind. With our F3s, that means front LED blinker (OEM), + rear incandescent = X number of amps being drawn. Once that amperage drops, that tells the very wise computer sitting underneath our plastic sheeting that something is off.
The hyperblink function is meant to alert us to it. The only way to get around is to install load resistors. Copper boxes that put unnecessary load on the circuit into tricking it that the LED you've just installed (3watts) that replaces your incandescent bulb (28 watts) are one and the same. The obvious drawback to this is = you're sitting in traffic on a hot summer day, and underneath your passenger seat, there are two resistors drawing 100 watts on 12 volts doing nothing other than generating massive heat in order to fool your computer.
Silly it is, to say the least. That's because the only way to defeat the hyperblink function is to use a 50 watt resistors on a circuit rated for 28 watts.
Now, I've come across many threads that seek to remedy this very issue. They instruct to turn the engine on, press and hold the hazard lights button for 30+ seconds. Then, release it, turn off the hazard blinker, followed by pressing a turn signal button, and after a single blink, turn the engine off.
I have found numerous versions of this archaic ritual of button pressing, but to no avail. My 2021 continues to fire off its blinkers, alerting me to a potentially impending seizure that's just around the corner if I don't stop starting at it.
So in conclusion of my verbose post, I ask any and every one who might be familiar with the issue. Is there a way to reprogram - reset the hyperflash function on a 2021 F3 model without using load resistors?
Now, I could've just asked that, but then, where would I unload my baggage of frustration?
I look forward to any and all replies gentlemen. Safe riding!
Needless to say, the rear turn/brake lights are NOTICEABLY brighter.
I had initially purchased a set from SuperBrightLEDs, but their product offerings (and customer support) must've gone down the drain in recent history. The set I received didn't exactly work with the turn function, only brake. Needless to say, I went with these from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY4T4BU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
One of those, weird-name, foreign-made wacky things, but they work, they're cheap, and if they break, they're easy to replace.
In my previous post I went on and on about the importance of using high-quality headlight LED units - which I did. Top of the line Philips with massive heat sinks that set me back over $100.
HOWEVER - and this is where I draw the line - there is a stark difference between headlights, and tail lights. Headlights draw much more current. So a cheap unit is more likely to malfunction, melt your wires, trip a fuse, or flat-out start an electrical fire.
Tali lights serve solely to allow you to be seen. While important, they come in pairs, so a failure won't leave you scratching your head on the side of the road at 11pm wondering if you can manage to get home using your phone's flashlight function as the sole means of illuminating the deer-infested road that lays before you.
Now, before I ramble on (as I have) - the (expected) side effect of replacing incandescent 1157 dual-filament capsules, which top out at 28 Watts with the blinker/brake with LEDs is the hyperflash phenomenon.
While some of you may (or may not) be familiar with this unusual occurrence of strobe-like effect haunting your blinkers, the explanation is quite simple.
The wise engineers in automotive companies design a circuit with a certain load in mind. With our F3s, that means front LED blinker (OEM), + rear incandescent = X number of amps being drawn. Once that amperage drops, that tells the very wise computer sitting underneath our plastic sheeting that something is off.
The hyperblink function is meant to alert us to it. The only way to get around is to install load resistors. Copper boxes that put unnecessary load on the circuit into tricking it that the LED you've just installed (3watts) that replaces your incandescent bulb (28 watts) are one and the same. The obvious drawback to this is = you're sitting in traffic on a hot summer day, and underneath your passenger seat, there are two resistors drawing 100 watts on 12 volts doing nothing other than generating massive heat in order to fool your computer.
Silly it is, to say the least. That's because the only way to defeat the hyperblink function is to use a 50 watt resistors on a circuit rated for 28 watts.
Now, I've come across many threads that seek to remedy this very issue. They instruct to turn the engine on, press and hold the hazard lights button for 30+ seconds. Then, release it, turn off the hazard blinker, followed by pressing a turn signal button, and after a single blink, turn the engine off.
I have found numerous versions of this archaic ritual of button pressing, but to no avail. My 2021 continues to fire off its blinkers, alerting me to a potentially impending seizure that's just around the corner if I don't stop starting at it.
So in conclusion of my verbose post, I ask any and every one who might be familiar with the issue. Is there a way to reprogram - reset the hyperflash function on a 2021 F3 model without using load resistors?
Now, I could've just asked that, but then, where would I unload my baggage of frustration?
I look forward to any and all replies gentlemen. Safe riding!
