My fiance has been having issues, with the rear turn signal bulbs burning out more frequently than I have ever seen before. They recently both went and I replaced them with the OEM style replacements, and upon turning hazards on neither worked. I'm starting to believe it's an electrical issue. Has anyone had this happen? Any ideas?
Rear Turn Signal Issues.
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Hi Shriley, Odds of electrical issue with the turn signals is rare. Some factors that would play in is the correct volt/watt, quality of the bulb, moisture in the lens housing and also if the glass was touched with skin during install. I would recommend getting some resistor-less plug and play LED turn signal bulbs and see if those fix the problem. I added some to mine a few months ago and work perfect ever since. They would have a better tolerance on voltage spikes and no filament to burn out due to excessive heat or moisture. Good luck.
Also you can check the wiring itself. The wiring in the trunk might have gotten damaged by a sharp trunk object. You can pull back the stiff black liner fabric to see the wiring underneath as it goes into the rear lights.
It could also just be slightly disconnected and making sparks. You can look to make sure the plastic connectors are snugly connected to each other, and then also check to make sure the ground wire is securely fastened - there is a nut that secures the ground line to a bolt inside the trunk, which could be loose too.
Oh, also, you can see if the problem is from the front or the back. Do all four turn signal bulbs burn out? Or is it just the two fronts, or the two backs, or the two on the left side or the two on the right side?
It could also just be slightly disconnected and making sparks. You can look to make sure the plastic connectors are snugly connected to each other, and then also check to make sure the ground wire is securely fastened - there is a nut that secures the ground line to a bolt inside the trunk, which could be loose too.
Oh, also, you can see if the problem is from the front or the back. Do all four turn signal bulbs burn out? Or is it just the two fronts, or the two backs, or the two on the left side or the two on the right side?
It's only the rears that seem to be an issue. It seems like one will go and then the other will go within a week of the first one burning out. I will have to check the wiring more closely. the exposed wires that I can see when changing the bulbs all seem to be in good shape. But I haven't examined more than that. Thanks for the tips.
Hello @Shriley welcome to the Optima Forums.
The LCM (Lighting Control Module) on the Optima can be very touchy.
If it does not like the type of LED bulbs being used, it can cut power to the sockets to prevent any issues.
We do carry one of the brightest 80 Watt CREE LED bulbs on the market for the rear turn signals.
They do require load resistors to be installed, as we have found that the resistor free ones will burn out if the LED bulbs are left on for an extended period of time.
If you are interested in taking a look at the ones we have to offer, please feel free to read some of the 20+ 5-Star Reviews we have on the site below.
80 Watt CREE 1156 LED Turn Signal Bulbs - K5 Optima Store (Available in either amber or red LEDs)
Let us know if you have any questions about these or any other product we carry on the site.
-David
K5 Optima Store
The LCM (Lighting Control Module) on the Optima can be very touchy.
If it does not like the type of LED bulbs being used, it can cut power to the sockets to prevent any issues.
We do carry one of the brightest 80 Watt CREE LED bulbs on the market for the rear turn signals.
They do require load resistors to be installed, as we have found that the resistor free ones will burn out if the LED bulbs are left on for an extended period of time.
If you are interested in taking a look at the ones we have to offer, please feel free to read some of the 20+ 5-Star Reviews we have on the site below.
80 Watt CREE 1156 LED Turn Signal Bulbs - K5 Optima Store (Available in either amber or red LEDs)
Let us know if you have any questions about these or any other product we carry on the site.
-David
K5 Optima Store
I appreciate all the help and suggestions, upon further inspection after climbing into the trunk for a few minutes, I discovered that one of the wires in the connector is loose. Depending on the way it is positioned, the intensity varies from not on, to dim, to full bright. So at least I have found the culprit.
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