Converting front parking/turn signals to LED's

ricksmz5

Contributor
:
2010 Mazda5
So, I got bored the other night and was surfing EBay- never a good thing, lol. I ordered some LED "switchback" bulbs- they flash amber, and then change to white parking lights. From what I've read, the ECU controls the turn signals, and will not recognize the LED's- they will "hyperflash" because their current draw/resistance is so much lower than the incandescent bulbs being replaced. The solution provided by the seller is to install 6 ohm resistors between the turn signal hot wire and the ground. Other than this bulb fixture being a total b**** to get at, which wires am I installing the resistor on? I suppose the better question would be- anyone have the wiring diagram for a 2010 Mazda 5 Grand Touring?
 
Less current draw, from a burned out bulb or LED bulb, will cause it to flash faster. On my VW's, it was just a simple relay that I replaced with a fixed-interval one to get around this. I just learned that the BCM (body control module) controls the flashers on these Mazdas. So, like you said, a load resistor at each bulb is probably the only solution. This completely negates the energy savings of switching to LED's, but that's not much of a concern for turn signals.

Turn on your hazards, unplug a bulb harness and with the black probe of a multimeter touching ground (shiny metal on the body or engine bay), touch the red one to each contact until you touch one that's changing voltage in relation to the flashing of the other hazard lights. That's the turn lead that needs a resistor.

I'm new to the Mazda world (and all other Japanese makes) so someone correct me if this is flawed.
 
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