Howdy, names Kyle and I'm new to this forum search thing and I could not seem to find any assistance or other posts/threads about LED conversion issues, specifically involving my year and model which is a 92 F150 with a 96 300 engine with computer swapped over aswell. I recently tried to install LEDs all the way around.

The lights did work properly...until I turn the key on and then the brake lights came on and my blinkers did nothing, when I turned hazard switch on that seemed to operate just fine, but when I turn it off (key still on) the brake lights come back on and the front markers dim slightly.

Battery connections are fine and I can't seem to find any bad grounds. Does anyone know what might be the issue?.
To clarify I still haven't swapped the headlights to LED yet and the upper marker lights next to the headlights have no bulb in them yet (because they were really dim) and the reverse lights have never worked so I didn't put bulbs in those either. Hopefully this makes sense... somewhat
Thank you,
Kyle Locker

 

When you said " I can't seem to find any bad grounds." did you just look at them or did you take each one apart, clean down to shinny metal and the wire side and put it back together with a little dielectric grease? If not do so and report back.

You may want to add more grounds while at it. Battery to motor> motor to frame> motor to cab / fire wall.
May want add one from frame to the bed so it is grounded.
You can NEVER have enough grounds.
Dave ----

 

Are the bulbs in backwards? I had to double check last time I put my bulbs in. The little metal tabs are offset on one side. It's definitely possible to accidentally put them in wrong.

Have you changed the flasher relay out for an led compatible one?

 

Did all the lights work before the conversion?
What wiring changes have you made to install the LED bulbs?

 

May not be your only issue, but if you have an E4OD trans, using LED's for brake/turn bulbs prevent converter lock-up. Something to do with a slight current always present thru brake light switch. Don't remember details exactly.
I discovered this by accident - was at a heavy truck parts supplier (Vander Haags KC, MO - awesome company and customer service by the way) to pick up a set of Eaton DS404 rears for my Pete (went from 3.70 to 2.64). Anyway, got backed into by another customer in a dump truck. All it really did was break my PS taillight assy. Told him not to worry about it, guy was for sure pleased about that. Picked up some used taillight assys from a local salvage that happened to have some fairly pricey LED's as bulbs.
Discovered the non-lockup. Read somewhere there was a workaround using a resistor but just went back to bulbs. This was on a 92 F250 4x4 460.

 

leave your tail lamp bulbs a 3157 or whatever they are as incandescent until your ready to wire in resistors

Does your truck have a CHMSL? I dont know if 91 or 92 was the year for the roll out

You can do your lights LED in reverse, up front, just need a timed turn signal can and not a resistance type.

the ones that are timed will always flash the bulbs at the same rate even with a trailer full of lights plugged in for example. thats needed for the low resistance caused by the fronts being LED or at least is good idea

 

correct. no idea about the 4r70w but I would just use incandescents until someone is ready to do the wiring modification which I am not sure if its simple or not because of the 3 function over (2?) wires of the f series rear light.

 

If you reinstall conventional bulbs does everything work normally?

What bulbs are you using? Sometimes the cheaply made ones will stay dimly lit when the vehicle is off due to voltage bleed off I think it what it is called.

Also while some LED tail light bulbs are a huge improvement, some of these LED tail light bulbs don't actually work as well as the stock bulbs since the don't reflect light the same way and/or shine out of the lamp the same way. They should also be red color LEDs behind the red lens.

What transmission does your truck have? If it is an automatic with electronically controlled lock up and overdrive, you really need to install resistors in the tail lights on the brake/signal circuit for the truck to operate normally. I did this and switched out the standard turn signal flasher for an electronic one and have no issues.

If you are considering going to LED for the headlights, there are none that work correctly in a halogen reflector lamp assembly. The optics are designed for the very small halogen filament and just can not focus the LED for a proper beam pattern. This also results in excessive glare for oncoming traffic. Also, even if they say so, there are not any on the market that are actually DOT approved or meet NHSTA standards etc. I can't understand why so many of these junk bulbs are on the market.

The best solution for headlights for these trucks is fresh Ford or TYC lamps with Philips Xtreme, GE Nighthawk, Vosla, or even just Sylvania Xtravision (not Silverstar) all of which are clear non blue coated "increased whiteness" gimmick bulbs. And then installing a relay kit so the bulbs receive full voltage for max brightness. This also saves the headlight switch from having to carry the load of the lights.

The only really good option for upgrading the headlights other than this is to get Tony Rojo projector lights. If he still offers them with HID that is better than LED and has a better color temperature than the cold bluish color. He is on OBS Revolution on Facebook. I believe this is his website. They are expensive but are the right way to do a retrofit. There are also some guys that have made their own.

http://www.bajahidretrofits.com/store/

 

?? You mean I may have to shoot my truck when I get home? what a sad, sad, day, its just getting over my sister-n-law, driving it for 3 days, this is not going to go over well with Torq'ta.

 

I have led projectors from Tony. Very nice, but as mentioned, very expensive. It was literally night and day difference as far as light output and visibility. Leds are better then hids when comparing apples to apples, i.e. same bulb and housing type.

Tony also makes a really slick led talilight setup. Might be worth asking him if he had or is willing to do anything to fix your auto trans lockup issue.

Here's my before (bottom) and after (top) pic. My before was Hella headlight bulbs wired with a relay kit. After is the led projector setup from Tony.