LED indicator bulbs... fast flash? Need different flasher?

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by curtis73, Mar 31, 2025 at 5:28 PM.

  1. curtis73

    curtis73 New Member

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    Searched, but didn't find the specific answer. Just got my 2012 C a few weeks ago, and one of the things I like to do on my cars is upgrade all of the turn signals, brake lights, and interior lights to LEDs. I like that they're brighter and tend to last longer. Curious if I'll need a new flasher?

    I found that some C's came with LEDs, but mine didn't... or someone replaced them with incandescent somewhere along the way.
     
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    For indicators, you typically need a load resistor if you don't want the indicators to flash faster.

    Otherwise, for taillights/brake lights, a straight swap is fine. Ditto interior lights.

    The Prius c has a mix of incandescent and LED lights. I can't remember if the brake lights or taillights are LEDs from the factory (I think it's the brake lights... the 4 dots in the circle). In that case, you can swap out the taillights, licence plate lights, parking lights and indicators.
     
  3. curtis73

    curtis73 New Member

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    Good to know. I was following my Prius (my friend was driving it) last night and noticed that the brake lights were LED but the running and turn lamps were incandescent.

    Dumb question (because my next-newest vehicle is a 1996 Chevy)... is the load resistor what they call the "can-bus" lamps?
     
  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Err, that I'm not sure. Maybe someone else here might have an answer to that. I've swapped out my interior lights to LEDs and my taillights (on the Gen 2) before but never the indicators.
     
  5. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Senior Member

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    I put load resistors in the tail light circuits on my Gen 3 when I installed LED bulbs. I found out I didn't need them when I swapped the incandescents back in. No change in how they performed, despite the higher current draw. The blinker rate must not be dependent on current draw.