Member Since: 29 Jul 2006
Location: Port Stephens
Posts: 21
D3 not compatable to LED trailer lights
Went to Sydney to pick up a new Goldstream Camper Trailer which has LED driving lights yesterday. As soon as the electrics were plugged into the vehicle the van turn indicaters started flashing in unison even though the ignition switch had not been turned on. I had towed our old Jayco camper down without problem. When the car turn indicater lever(L&R) was activated the van light was much brighter but the opposite side light was still flashing in time with the activated one. I phone the dealer's service Dept and was told that the D3 and RR sports were not compatable with LED lighting systems and I have to would have a "Pulse Shunt" fitted. These are made by a Electrical Engineer in Mittagong. Everything is explained on his web site, [www.labtronx.com.au]
I drove the the 200 K home with the indicters flashing!!
17th Oct 2007 8:30 am
DiscoStu
Member Since: 09 Apr 2006
Location: London
Posts: 11412
Swampy - we have access to a supplier of adaptor boxes to sort this problem out - email me at sarch@4x4intelligence.com.au if you want info.
cheers,
S
imonD3 - Buckingham Blue, SE, TDV6, 06 model; chipped; underbody armour; Mickey Thompson ATZ 275/65-18 AND MAXXIS Bighorn muddies; rear wheel carrier from 4x4intelligence.com; iPOD aux connection! GME 3200 UHF - aerial mounted on wheel carrier ; LR roof rails/cross bars; Autosafe cargo barrier, Safari Snorkel; Traxide - aux battery; ARB bull bar with Tigerz11 winch; Lightforce 240 XGT driving lights (mitchell bros tow hitch to come)
18th Oct 2007 4:00 am
DiscoveryDave
Member Since: 18 Oct 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 3
Flashing LED trailer lamps
Swampy, I have just fitted a module specifically designed to overcome the problem of flashing LED trailer lamps connected to the D3.
Works a treat. It is well built, portable with no installation required and inexpensive. E-mail to led.module@gmail.com for more info. Good luck.
For those who don't want to fork out the $300+ dollars for the commercial Pulse Shunt I have designed my own so my D3 can get on with our LED equipped caravan. You can build it yourself and will cost you around $25-30 with all the components available from DSE in Australia. It would be possible to make it up with a plug and socket and fit it in your caravan lead but thats up to you. It WILL stop the indicators pulsing and WILL fool the car into thinking it has a trailer connected. I ask no reward only that you don't start selling it, the concept is my property.
You will find the pictures and circuit in my gallery.2007 TDV6 SE Towing 22' Boroma Primo Grandinata, Mitchell Bros. Tow Hitch, Bolle Tint, TomTom GoLive 825 GPS.
8th Jan 2008 2:39 am
DiscoveryDave
Member Since: 18 Oct 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 3
Lawrie and D3 owners..PLEASE be VERY careful with the simplified LED circuit to overcome strobing LED trailer lights. There are several problems with this type of unit that may cause grief. The Shunt resistors are inadequate to dissapate the heat from the indicator circuits. A maximum of 40 watts needs to be dissapated when the vehicle has the hazard lights on. A unit in a plastic casing may prove to be a fire hazard. Secondly, there is no reverse polarity protection so that if an internal component fails in the unit, this will in turn overheat the unit or worse, short the vehicle indicator circuits and damage the vehicle CJB (Internal computer). This is a VERY costly exercise. Ideally, any module of this type should be electronically isolated so that it cannot interfere with the vehicle CJB. Lastly, check that the unit has ingress protection(weatherproof), has vibration restistance and will not overload if bulb lights are inadvertantly connected. It is definitely worthwile considering a commercial LED Module to ensure that all these criterion have been met. Cheers, discovery dave .
Dave let me address your remarks one at a time.
I agree that a perhaps a metal case and bigger resisters may be an option but as this one is the prototype will be monitoring the need for a second version with larger resistors and ventilation.
It is not actually necessary to dissipate 40W when the hazard lamps are on as the there is no more than 50% duty cycle so therefore the total power dissipated will be 20W average. I am acutely aware of this and would not use the hazard lamps for an extended period without monitoring.
Reverse polarity protection???? Its hardwired into the caravan wiring nothing is going to change the input polarity, as for a short circuit all the trailer circuits are separately fused in the LR so even a short circuit will just blow the fuse.
As for vibration resistance this is also to be monitored on this prototype.
The unit is waterproof and is sealed with the provided silicon gasket.2007 TDV6 SE Towing 22' Boroma Primo Grandinata, Mitchell Bros. Tow Hitch, Bolle Tint, TomTom GoLive 825 GPS.
18th Jan 2008 12:01 pm
RetiredBob
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: New South Wales
Posts: 183
Nice rig Lawrie. What type of van are you towing??Retired Bob
2005 Disco 3 HSE TDV6 (Dual Battery, Snorkel, Nudge Bar, Kaymar Spare Wheel Carriers, Long Ranger Aux Tank. LED Shunt, Centre Console Cooler, New Tail Shaft, New Gear Box, Rigged for towing) Towing Trakmaster Van as often as possible
Liking it so far but as yet haven't been far. Only problem is its higher than I expected and tows nose down with the LR hitch and can't convince anyone to sell me a raised tongue. 2007 TDV6 SE Towing 22' Boroma Primo Grandinata, Mitchell Bros. Tow Hitch, Bolle Tint, TomTom GoLive 825 GPS.
22nd Jan 2008 1:56 am
LeighW D3 Decade
Member Since: 31 Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, AUS
Posts: 920
Sorry to hijack the thread but for lawrie50's benefit, I had my A frame customised by putting the plate that my hitch is attached to on the underside of the A frame. This was just about perfect for towing the Bushtracker caravan.
And I haven't had any trouble with LEDs because I read on this site about the difficulties with the D3's electronics. Many new vans are coming onto the market with LED lights so the problem will only get worse unless there is a cheap and simple way to modify the wiring (and your device is working toward that, I gather).
I did read about an LED lamp with a shunt (or was it a resistor) that 'tricked' the circuit into thinking there was a heavier load - which is what the problem really is - LEDs do not draw sufficient current for the CANBUS to detect them as lamps correctly.
HTH, LeighLeighW
The old girl is on her third engine...
* first ran a bearing (design failure in original engine)
* second had a failure of the water outlet on top of the engine (pls check yours)
Nice pic Leigh, the bushtracker looks good. You say just about perfect so I guess it is not quite level. How much lower at the front would you say that the van is??
The Boroma already has the hitch below the A frame so this is not an option. We are moving on tomorrow so I will get a chance to do some measurements on the flat somewhere. From what I observed on our first run we are about 2 inches low at the front.
Having a simple shunt (resistor or even a 20W lamp) in the circuit with the LEDs doesn't cure the pulsing. It does convince the LR that it has a trailer so the reverse sensors are muted but the LEDs still flicker. I tried the lamp/shunt trick first off and as it didn't work had to make up the circuit. I think those that have used the lamp/shunt are probably not looking carefully at the LEDs or they just got lucky. Having the LR registering the existence of a trailer may fool some people into thinking that the problem is cured but just wait until evening and then you will see the flashing.2007 TDV6 SE Towing 22' Boroma Primo Grandinata, Mitchell Bros. Tow Hitch, Bolle Tint, TomTom GoLive 825 GPS.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
; LR roof rails/cross bars; Autosafe cargo barrier, Safari Snorkel; Traxide - aux battery; ARB bull bar with Tigerz11 winch; Lightforce 240 XGT driving lights (mitchell bros tow hitch to come) 
