Headlight Burning

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JPVortex

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Hello, I'm having this issue with my 05 tahoe. I've had LED headlights in for months now and decided to throw halogens back in for now to get rid of the fast turn signal relay click because I'm too lazy to put resistors or an LED relay.

Every bulb I put in the drivers side gets hot and burns within minutes. Passenger is fine. It starts smoking and smells like electrical. I'm guessing theres a break in the wire somewhere. How difficult is it to replace the harness for the wiring of the headlight?
 

Sam Harris

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It sounds to me like you’re referring to the DRL, or turn signals, rather than a headlight. The NBS are commonly known to melt the DRL sockets with standard incandescent / halogen bulbs. But you mentioned hyper flash, which would only apply to turn signals. I’m confused.
I replaced all exterior bulbs with 100% LEDs and couldn’t be happier. I did use the correct LED flasher relay to provide the needed voltage, avoiding hyper flash. It’s a few bucks, but more than worth it. I’d have paid double if necessary.
Novita LM487 Flasher https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KS6GIG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

With that said, if you are indeed referring to a headlight, I agree there seems to be something fishy happening with the wiring. Is the harness stock? Anything added / tapped into the harness? Do you have additional lights, or accessories up front? Id expect it to be a fairly straightforward process to track down a wiring issue from the headlight harness, though I haven’t done it myself. I’d just unplug it, and start moving backwards to check everything on the way to the main harness.

Also, what wattage are you using for the light? Some of the currently marketed bulbs may sound appealing, due to more wattage / output, but the housing / wiring may not be designed for it.
 
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JPVortex

JPVortex

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It sounds to me like you’re referring to the DRL, or turn signals, rather than a headlight. The NBS are commonly known to melt the DRL sockets with standard incandescent / halogen bulbs. But you mentioned hyper flash, which would only apply to turn signals. I’m confused.
I replaced all exterior bulbs with 100% LEDs and couldn’t be happier. I did use the correct LED flasher relay to provide the needed voltage, avoiding hyper flash. It’s a few bucks, but more than worth it. I’d have paid double if necessary.
Novita LM487 Flasher https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KS6GIG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

With that said, if you are indeed referring to a headlight, I agree there seems to be something fishy happening with the wiring. Is the harness stock? Anything added / tapped into the harness? Do you have additional lights, or accessories up front? Id expect it to be a fairly straightforward process to track down a wiring issue from the headlight harness, though I haven’t done it myself. I’d just unplug it, and start moving backwards to check everything on the way to the main harness.
Definitely the main headlight, not the DRL. There was some electrical tape right by the connector for the light on the harness. I may start trying to track stuff down and I'll also try using a brand new bulb instead of the old ones.
 

Joseph Garcia

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You did remove the transformer module that comes with the LED headlight, correct?
 
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JPVortex

JPVortex

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I believe that the LED lights have less resistance than a halogen, I think they would cause a fast turn signal
 

Fless

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I believe that the LED lights have less resistance than a halogen, I think they would cause a fast turn signal

Yes, if you use them in the turn signals.

But you specifically said you were changing the HEADLIGHTS, which have NOTHING to do with how the turn signals flash. Or learn me sumpin new.
 
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JPVortex

JPVortex

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I believe that the LED lights have less resistance than a halogen, I think the
Yes, if you use them in the turn signals.

But you specifically said you were changing the HEADLIGHTS, which have NOTHING to do with how the turn signals flash. Or learn me sumpin new.
That's true, it's weird. It was flashing normally until the headlights were installed though.
 

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