Diode Dynamics Switchbacks and BCM / Tail Light Issues

[Grimmer]

Awesome thread - i have just installed the OPT-7 and the not working white light / parking light is driving me mad.

Already been in contact with OPT-7 but they could not help yet. Weird as their marketing is especially mentioning the switchback function. I'm still in contact with them and see what I or they can do. Always a bit more difficult for me as I am overseas...

If you are not getting the white when your lights are on (parking mode or headlights) then yours are defective and you should get them replaced.

OPT7 Arrows will only switchback from white to sequencing amber if the white lights are already on. This only happens if the vehicle lights are switched on. (See note immediately following the animated GIF on their product page.) This is due to the absence of any switched power in the turn signal / parking light wiring connectors. The only wires available at the front turn signal connector are turn signal, parking light, and ground.

I agree that the animated GIF on their product page is misleading. Especially since the only way to get the Arrow's white parking lights to come on (in a stock vehicle) is to turn on the parking light circuit, either by the light switch or FORScan, both of which will dim the gills. In their depiction, the illumination appears reasonably matched, but in person the Arrows are significantly brighter than the dimmed gills. Maybe they were using smoked lens Arrows and that helps to balance them with the dimmed gills ??? I have the clear lenses and they are pretty well matched to full intensity gills.

Unfortunately, the only way to achieve white Arrow DRL's and full intensity gills is by doing some custom wiring modifications. I must say that they look fantastic and it is well worth the extra effort. Too bad OPT7 doesn't offer that function out of the box, or as an added option...

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[RalfTech]

I'm looking at installing the @Diode Dynamics switchback turn signals in my '16 GT. However, I have come across a few threads and a few reviews about the switchbacks confusing the BCM and the tail light stops working. I haven't seen if there is a solution or update, or even a definitive cause for this issue.

There have also been mentions about DD updating their switchback product from time to time. Anyone know how recently this was and if they nailed down a cause and possibly addressed the issue?

I also wonder if the lack of resistance in the circuit is the problem, if so wouldn't installing the piggyback resistors solve it?

Some posters have indicated that the problem self corrected and others had the BCM replaced several times and still had troubles. Again, nothing definitive one way or the other.

If anyone has experienced this issue (with DD switchbacks or any other brand), please comment and please include:
the timeframe (or possibly the actual part # for comparison to the current one)
whether or not you were using resistors when it occurred
what you did to fix it
did the BCM self-correct (and anything you may have done to force a "self-correction"), or did it need replacement / servicing to fix it.

I Installed Diode Dynamics latest RGBWA tri bar DRL kit. Soldered all the wires. Everything worked perfect until I installed MP concepts reverse and brake light. Now the rear left taillight 3rd (last LED isn’t turning on). Turns on after I cycle the car on and off many times. Anyone has any idea what to do? Please help. The reverse light it amazing and works perfectly. However, it definitely messed up my taillights. I did the wiring correctly just like in the manual that came from AmericanMuscle.

Would an update of the BCMB module for $150 at Ford dealer help?

 

[Mr. Met]

I Installed Diode Dynamics latest RGBWA tri bar DRL kit. Soldered all the wires. Everything worked perfect until I installed MP concepts reverse and brake light. Now the rear left taillight 3rd (last LED isn’t turning on). Turns on after I cycle the car on and off many times. Anyone has any idea what to do? Please help. The reverse light it amazing and works perfectly. However, it definitely messed up my taillights. I did the wiring correctly just like in the manual that came from AmericanMuscle.

Would an update of the BCMB module for $150 at Ford dealer help?

I had a similar problem but it started when the car was stock and it only seemed to happen when it was cold out. It is an issue Ford knows about and may have nothing to do with what you installed. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/MC-10091147-5448.pdf

 

[RalfTech]

I had a similar problem but it started when the car was stock and it only seemed to happen when it was cold out. It is an issue Ford knows about and may have nothing to do with what you installed. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/MC-10091147-5448.pdf

That’s true. However, I don’t have $150 to spend on a BCMB module :(

Any ideas? I’m located in Illinois and I don’t think anyone has a VCM besides Ford dealers. I can pay max $50 for an update and I could even do it myself if a shop could hook me up with a VCM for 30 minutes.

 

[khsonic03]

The downside to that setup is that the front marker lights won't come on with the ignition off. So, not when you first shut off the car, not when you sit parked with the markers on. Although the gills will be on so the front of the car is not completely dark.

Seems that the OPT7 Arrows, while great looking, have a defective design and will require some flavor of compromise one way or the other. Although they did mention that it is more prevalent with the GT's.

@Grimmer - I just got the arrows and I am going through the same woes. Thanks for doing the research to figure this out.

A little confused on this operation though. I would think if you were using the +12v supply to the headlight, that is the same +12v that supplies power to the gills.

If this is not the case, couldn't you just tap into the same wire that supplies the gills with +12v, so any time they are on, the arrows are powered on too? This should basically be any time the car is running and any time the parking lights or courtesy lights are on, regardless of ignition on/off.

Also - do your Arrow white lights dim at night when your headlights come on, or are they still full brightness? I'd prefer they dim a bit at night so I'm not blinding people.

 

[Grimmer]

To my knowledge there is no single +12V line that turns the gills on. They have 2 modes: bright and dim. There are two separate +12V lines that determine which mode. Bright is fed by the ignition on +12V and the dim is fed by the +12V from the parking circuit. These are the circuits that we are tapping into, we just take one of them from the headlamp connector and the other from the marker/turn signal connector. If you want the Arrows to be on all the time that the ignition is on you need the +12V ignition. If you want the Arrows to come on the few times that the parking lights are on without the engine you will also need the parking circuit. Splicing them together to feed the same arrow light circuit requires that they are isolated from each other. The cheapest and easiest way to isolate them is to use diodes.

If you are OK with ALL the parking lights being on when the engine is running you can use FORScan to set the parking circuit as part of the DRL function. Not cheapest (unless you already have the FORScan hardware), but easiest. Also note that the DRL function turns off when an auto is not in gear or a manual has the hand brake set.

The Arrows are not designed to run dim white. They have two modes: parking light (white) and turn signal (sequencing amber). They do not put out enough light to blind anyone. They are just a fraction of the intensity of the headlamps.

 

[khsonic03]

Gotcha. Was mainly just confused around the power source for the gills, but that makes sense. I would have thought one wire for the gills that uses PWM for dimming and thus would have been able to dim the Arrows too.

I'll be doing this mod shortly; will have to use Forscan in the interim. Also will probably disable the fog light from turning off when the turn signal is on while I'm at it.

 

[Grimmer]

I believe that there is likely some PWM going on internally to the headlamp fixture between the LED driver and the actual LED bars. When I try to photograph the dim gills they are part on and part off from the shutter speed "catching them in the act"... But from what I've seen on the wiring diagram and playing with them (I have not hooked them up to any kind of oscilloscope or other diagnostic tool besides a digital multi meter), it appears that is all internal using the separate external 12V sources to decide what to do internally.

I have wondered if there is some PWM or other high frequency noise/interference getting onto the turn signal feed (perhaps from the rear sequencer or battery charge management system) that is the root cause of the problem with the Arrows in the first place. OPT7 did send me a resistor pack which didn't help, but it did feel like more than just a resistor in there. Perhaps a capacitor to filter it or something. If not, maybe one would help... Whatever it is, it only messes things up when the engine is running and the parking lights are off. So if that is the case, it would appear that the parking light voltage drowns out any interference or at least the off portions of the PWM...

 

[ahl395]

Ordered everything to tackle this when I reinstall my OPT7s, I will update how it goes!

 

[khsonic03]

Sorry if I missed it, but has anyone tried the Forscan change (line 26) changing 726-50-01 to the "10" setting to enable a dedicated DRL circuit on pins 36 and 40? Wouldn't that solve our issues if we connected those pins to the Arrow's green lead (as long as it's in gear)?

 

[Grimmer]

Sorry if I missed it, but has anyone tried the Forscan change (line 26) changing 726-50-01 to the "10" setting to enable a dedicated DRL circuit on pins 36 and 40? Wouldn't that solve our issues if we connected those pins to the Arrow's green lead (as long as it's in gear)?

Sort of... The wiring diagram indicates what color the wires are supposed to be and what harness they are in, but since the US cars don't use the dedicated DRL circuit the diagram never mentions them again and nobody has tracked down where those wires go. I haven't personally even confirmed that the wires are present in the BCM connector or if they are just empty pins on US cars.

If the wires are there and we try to tap into them, we will also probably need to add relays since we don't know what type of load they are capable of handling as built. With the parking circuit we are removing a pair of indandecent bulbs and replacing with a pair of LED bulbs, so the load should be reduced.

If we remove the Arrow's green lead from the connector and attach it to the DRL lead they will function as DRL's yes. But they will cease to function as marker lights so you would get a similar result (but not quite the same) as removing the green lead and connecting it to switched power. When you lock or unlock the car or turn on the parking lights without the engine, you won't get white markers (unless the DRL's are programmed to activate under those circumstances too, which I doubt).

If you can live without those few marker functions when the engine is off then I would suggest just removing the green lead from the connector and connecting it directly to switched power instead of the dedicated DRL circuit. There are fewer unknowns and you will still have functioning turn signals if the engine is running and the auto is not in gear or the manual has the hand brake set (which will turn off the DRL circuit). Using the DRL circuit could give you IPC control, but if they are malfunctioning when the engine is running you'll never want to turn them off anyway.

 

[khsonic03]

Good info. Thanks. Will probably just do it the same way you did then.

 

[khsonic03]

@Grimmer what diodes did you use?

edit: Nevermind, I see in your diagram that you used a 1N5405

 

[300mag]

if it helps I used 1N5404, they have been great for past few months. I picked them up on ebay.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/323653134357

 

[randotheking]

2016 GTPP
Just installed Arrows from Amazon, they do not sequence properly unless my headlights are on. When the headlights are off they act erratic...this is dangerous. Opt7 customer service told me to request a new pair from Amazon because it's faster...

I'm not happy with this response. How can both signals be defective? I told them it took me 2 hours to install and I don't want to do it all over again for the same problem. Here are videos
https://photos.app.goo.gl/XwD2gxW2R4E7MVUY8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3Qhp6ncoDS3ihUdy5

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