HELP! I was so excited after installing the Bargman Series #84 L.E.D. taillight upgrade kit for my '93 E-350 based Class C RV. They are super bright and visible compare to the original incandescent bulbs they replaced. The plug and play simplicity of them is nice too.

After the installation, strange things started happening.

1. First, the flasher was going about 3 times the normal speed when signaling.
2. Second, only when the ignition was on, the center two L.E.D. bulbs on the taillights stayed on ... sort of like daytime running lights.
3. Third, when driving, the "Rear ABS" dash light came on and stayed on.
4. Finally, the cruise control wouldn't work (undoubtedly related to the "Rear ABS" brake light coming on).

I took the new L.E.D. replacement modules off and put back the original bulbs etc. Everything worked fine again (flasher was normal speed, no "daytime light', no "Rear ABS" idiot light and the cruise worked just fine). Obviously Bargman's replacement products were doing something screwy with my unit.

In talking with the owner of a local company which designs and builds 12v systems for the trucking industry, he explained the problem as being ... the LED's don't draw as much power as the original incandescent and therefore causes some problems with certain units ... and Ford's apparently are the worst. He basically said it was a design flaw in the Bargman units and these type of problems should be well known or at least anticipated by them.

When I called Bargman's tech support line (877-473-8956), they said the "daytime running light" effect was a wiring problem with my rig (I never had problems before installing their units) and the triggering of the "Rear abs" idiot light and rapid signal flashing would be solved by purchasing and installing a "load equalizer" but they could not provide any further information i.e. a brand etc.

Now I'm really out of my depth and super bummed out.

Has anyone else experienced this problem and what did you do about it? Any insights and suggestions greatly appreciated. I really love the L.E.D. upgrade but the additional problems it's causing are unacceptable.

Thanks in advance. -- bugjr --

 

first start by getting an electronic turn signal flasher
make certain that it does NOT have the dead lamp
indicator that causes it to flash real fast
if you turn signal flasher has 3 prongs on it as my 96 van
you will have to go to a 2 prong unit, cant remember the #
right now
I put the replacement 3157 style led bulbs from AAP
and then the flasher to get it slowed down
the problem with RABS I dont know about unlees the differant flasher
without the extra ground my influence it

 

Well, the first guy had it right. It's a load problem and it's Bargman's fault for not taking this into account. They are just going the generic route for cost containment. If they're not willing to help you make them work, you're probably going to have to return them.

I studied retrofitting LED's for taillights years ago when bright LED's were introduced. I worked with an electrical engineer and because of the exact problem you have encountered, I dropped the whole thing. The loading required between not only different auto companies, but different model vehicles makes retrofitting LED's a big problem.

 

Here's your solution. It's just a load resistor. I would use it rather than a flasher, since it will probably fix the other problems too. I did a search and came up with this, you might find another place you would rather buy from. Look at the bottom of the page.

http://discountleds.com/equalizers.htm