Technostalgia taillights flashing randomly when car is off and locked. What the hell. - Page 5 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

TCAT · 12-02-2012, 07:54 PM

I actually agree. I love the look, but I'm not willing to play games with these lights just to find later on that my battery is dead once again. I'm happy we didn't find anything unusual and at the same time, I'm at a loss for words because I still don't know what exactly caused 2 dead batteries in two and a half months. Battery number 1 was the stck battery I had for about 1.25 years. The second battery was a diehard that I had for 2.5 months. The first battery I used at shows with LED's, and that one I felt fine dying because of that reason. The second one however, I didn't use LED's at all at any shows that I can even think of. So, could the diehard battery been bad from the factory? It is possible, but unlikely. Then again, who knows.

christianmotox · 12-11-2012, 01:33 PM

Glad to hear its not the lights. i still haven't had a chance to test my system.

TCAT · 12-11-2012, 01:58 PM

Thanks me too

. Now Technostalgia just has to get their act together and stop putting LED's in their taillights that burn out, LOL.

Through researching online, there is a rather sizable amount if individuals who have experienced dead batteries in as little as 1-2 months on either this vehicle type or other new vehicles. What's weird is that there should be minimal battery drain as the cars sits. We tested my cars drain with the inhibition off but all electrical components in standby as it would when sitting there normally. It showed minimal battery drain and completely normal readings. With the draw it was showing, it would take 6-12 months to kill the battery. So, I have no idea why the batteries have been dying so quickly when nothing is drawing lots of power, and no accessories have been accidentally left on. It's a mystery to me why I would have 2 dead batteries two months apart, especially when the car checked out A-okay.

So, the eliminate the possibility of this occurring again, I purchased a battery charger/tender, specifically the CTEK US3300. This is a fantastic charger, and is the recommended unit by many car manufacturers for their vehicles such as GM, Porsche, etc. I'll feel much more comfortable now with the CTEK attached to my car when I'm not driving it. With the unit constantly conditioning and analyzing the battery, each battery should live a longgggggg, healthy life. I found the CTEK online at Amazon for $55, which is great considering many online vendors were asking $70-80 for it.

christianmotox · 12-11-2012, 02:05 PM

I wish i could use one of those, but i live in a condo and my car sits outside.
Right now my battery is charging, because yesterday when i got back from work i saw my taillights flashing randomly. the battery was at 7 volts when i started charging again.

Maybe one of those deep cycle Optima batteries would be better.

TCAT · 12-11-2012, 02:25 PM

Damn man, I'm sorry to hear that. This is definitely not good, and even though my car and the taillights tested out fine for the most part, I still blame them since they were the last thing installed on my car and I've had 2 dead batteries in 2.5 months. That's a little too crazy to be a coincidence. I'm not sure what to think about it, LOL. I teallyyyyyy hope you find a solution. That's crazy to have to deal with that all the time. There are too many people dealing with the same issue now.

One of those deep cycle batteries may help, but unfortunately I don't have any first had experience with them to offer any educated opinion on it.

Since both of our taillights flash before the battery is about to die, I wonder if that's a function built in to the taillights to tell us the battery now has low voltage. We need Todd to chime in here, or we'll give him a call.

Mistah SS · 12-12-2012, 12:25 AM

I've been thinking about the sequential lights and had some thoughts that may seem random but maybe will trigger other ideas and responses about why they may not be working properly. I'm not an expert on the sequentials but have read a little on them as I have been interested in buying some. Also, I haven't checked into the camaro electrical system in depth, so some things are speculation.

I've been around some devices that I replaced with newer, more efficient (lower current draw) units. These units were connected to boards with triac controls and some would energize but never de-energize. When connected to relay controls there was never an issue. I had to add resistors to the triac units so they would detect a load connected.

LED's work the same way in some situations such as replacing incandescent bulbs with LED's for blinkers or DRL's. The device controlling the blinking/illuminating effect doesn't "see" a load and thinks that a bulb is missing, which could explain (if I remember right) an earlier post about getting a message displayed that a bulb is out. Others have had to add resistors so the system sees a load.

For lights to work, they need a positive and negative which seems to me that there has to be a closure of the circuit at some point to energize the lights. If there was something in the taillights causing this closure, wouldn't they be on or flashing all the time? I have an LED flashlight with a strobe mode that acts really weird when it gets hot and if I leave it on, it stops blinking. When it cools, it works fine.

As for the sequentials flashing in show mode, I understand it requires a wire to be grounded. I would assume anyone using this installs a switch or pushbutton to ground. This also leads me to believe there is +12VDC to the taillights at all times or merely connecting a ground wouldn't do anything, so the signal triggering the lights is negative when the brake pedal is pressed or lights are turned on.

Is the camaro's body control module (BCM) electronic or electrical? I can't say yet, but I'm curious to find out when I get time. Could there be something in the BCM that doesn't like the "feedback" or load imbalance that the sequentials are sending to it (or not sending when it should)? Can different camaro models have different BCM's? Maybe this is why some have issues and some don't.

TCAT · 12-12-2012, 12:36 AM

Thanks for the input. That was fantastic, and gives great good for thought. I'll start asking some electricians, and I hope others chime in with details as well. Thanks!

MGD · 12-12-2012, 12:53 AM

Quote:

As for the sequentials flashing in show mode, I understand it requires a wire to be grounded. I would assume anyone using this installs a switch or pushbutton to ground. This also leads me to believe there is +12VDC to the taillights at all times or merely connecting a ground wouldn't do anything, so the signal triggering the lights is negative when the brake pedal is pressed or lights are turned on.

The lights have to be connected to constant 12V as the have a electronic circuit build in. There are two DIP switches in each light to select normal mode or advanced mode, one for rapid brake stobe and one for sequential turn signal. The integrated PIC, (Programmable Integrated Circuit) is a small computer chip with custom software programmed. In order for it to work properly, it needs constand 12V, ground to circuit is supplied by the regular light connectors. When you apply the brakes, it gets a high signal to one of its inputs and performes a programmed function and tells a LED driver to switch LED's on or off. Now, why it would randomly flash is beyond me. Maybe there is a function programmed in to flash at low battery voltage, I don't know, that is for the manufacturer to answer. I have my lights installed in July and have not seen one problem with them.
Sorry guys you have such bad luck with them.

Mistah SS · 12-13-2012, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MGD

The lights have to be connected to constant 12V as the have a electronic circuit build in. There are two DIP switches in each light to select normal mode or advanced mode, one for rapid brake stobe and one for sequential turn signal. The integrated PIC, (Programmable Integrated Circuit) is a small computer chip with custom software programmed. In order for it to work properly, it needs constand 12V

That makes sense.

TCAT, do you still have the original lights? I'd be interested to find out if the battery still runs down with the originals back in place. It would rule out or verify bad units.

TCAT · 12-13-2012, 08:59 PM

I do still have the stock lights. When I have time, I should install them and double check everything.

Mistah SS · 12-13-2012, 09:21 PM

Keep us posted.

The curiosity is killing me, mine should be delivered in a few weeks and we'll see what they do in a '13 SS.

TCAT · 12-13-2012, 09:30 PM

Good luck and enjoy that 2013!! You'll love it I think.

Mistah SS · 12-13-2012, 09:54 PM

Love might be stretching a little but I do like it alot! It has some things about it that just really bug me, but I'll change what I can't live with.

TCAT · 12-13-2012, 10:03 PM

Lol. Yeah, no car is perfect and I have my gripes about this car too, but overall I really enjoy owning this car more than anyone I have ever had, even when it was completely stock.

12-11-2012, 01:33 PM	#58
christianmotox Drives: ( . )( . ) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,827	Glad to hear its not the lights. i still haven't had a chance to test my system. __________________

12-11-2012, 02:05 PM	#60
christianmotox Drives: ( . )( . ) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,827	I wish i could use one of those, but i live in a condo and my car sits outside. Right now my battery is charging, because yesterday when i got back from work i saw my taillights flashing randomly. the battery was at 7 volts when i started charging again. Maybe one of those deep cycle Optima batteries would be better. __________________

12-02-2012, 07:54 PM	#57
TCAT Drives: Has Wheels Join Date: May 2011 Location: On Earth Posts: 5,553	I actually agree. I love the look, but I'm not willing to play games with these lights just to find later on that my battery is dead once again. I'm happy we didn't find anything unusual and at the same time, I'm at a loss for words because I still don't know what exactly caused 2 dead batteries in two and a half months. Battery number 1 was the stck battery I had for about 1.25 years. The second battery was a diehard that I had for 2.5 months. The first battery I used at shows with LED's, and that one I felt fine dying because of that reason. The second one however, I didn't use LED's at all at any shows that I can even think of. So, could the diehard battery been bad from the factory? It is possible, but unlikely. Then again, who knows.

12-11-2012, 01:58 PM	#59
TCAT Drives: Has Wheels Join Date: May 2011 Location: On Earth Posts: 5,553	Thanks me too . Now Technostalgia just has to get their act together and stop putting LED's in their taillights that burn out, LOL. Through researching online, there is a rather sizable amount if individuals who have experienced dead batteries in as little as 1-2 months on either this vehicle type or other new vehicles. What's weird is that there should be minimal battery drain as the cars sits. We tested my cars drain with the inhibition off but all electrical components in standby as it would when sitting there normally. It showed minimal battery drain and completely normal readings. With the draw it was showing, it would take 6-12 months to kill the battery. So, I have no idea why the batteries have been dying so quickly when nothing is drawing lots of power, and no accessories have been accidentally left on. It's a mystery to me why I would have 2 dead batteries two months apart, especially when the car checked out A-okay. So, the eliminate the possibility of this occurring again, I purchased a battery charger/tender, specifically the CTEK US3300. This is a fantastic charger, and is the recommended unit by many car manufacturers for their vehicles such as GM, Porsche, etc. I'll feel much more comfortable now with the CTEK attached to my car when I'm not driving it. With the unit constantly conditioning and analyzing the battery, each battery should live a longgggggg, healthy life. I found the CTEK online at Amazon for $55, which is great considering many online vendors were asking $70-80 for it.

12-11-2012, 02:25 PM	#61
TCAT Drives: Has Wheels Join Date: May 2011 Location: On Earth Posts: 5,553	Damn man, I'm sorry to hear that. This is definitely not good, and even though my car and the taillights tested out fine for the most part, I still blame them since they were the last thing installed on my car and I've had 2 dead batteries in 2.5 months. That's a little too crazy to be a coincidence. I'm not sure what to think about it, LOL. I teallyyyyyy hope you find a solution. That's crazy to have to deal with that all the time. There are too many people dealing with the same issue now. One of those deep cycle batteries may help, but unfortunately I don't have any first had experience with them to offer any educated opinion on it. Since both of our taillights flash before the battery is about to die, I wonder if that's a function built in to the taillights to tell us the battery now has low voltage. We need Todd to chime in here, or we'll give him a call.

12-12-2012, 12:25 AM	#62
Mistah SS Drives: 2013 1SS Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 45	I've been thinking about the sequential lights and had some thoughts that may seem random but maybe will trigger other ideas and responses about why they may not be working properly. I'm not an expert on the sequentials but have read a little on them as I have been interested in buying some. Also, I haven't checked into the camaro electrical system in depth, so some things are speculation. I've been around some devices that I replaced with newer, more efficient (lower current draw) units. These units were connected to boards with triac controls and some would energize but never de-energize. When connected to relay controls there was never an issue. I had to add resistors to the triac units so they would detect a load connected. LED's work the same way in some situations such as replacing incandescent bulbs with LED's for blinkers or DRL's. The device controlling the blinking/illuminating effect doesn't "see" a load and thinks that a bulb is missing, which could explain (if I remember right) an earlier post about getting a message displayed that a bulb is out. Others have had to add resistors so the system sees a load. For lights to work, they need a positive and negative which seems to me that there has to be a closure of the circuit at some point to energize the lights. If there was something in the taillights causing this closure, wouldn't they be on or flashing all the time? I have an LED flashlight with a strobe mode that acts really weird when it gets hot and if I leave it on, it stops blinking. When it cools, it works fine. As for the sequentials flashing in show mode, I understand it requires a wire to be grounded. I would assume anyone using this installs a switch or pushbutton to ground. This also leads me to believe there is +12VDC to the taillights at all times or merely connecting a ground wouldn't do anything, so the signal triggering the lights is negative when the brake pedal is pressed or lights are turned on. Is the camaro's body control module (BCM) electronic or electrical? I can't say yet, but I'm curious to find out when I get time. Could there be something in the BCM that doesn't like the "feedback" or load imbalance that the sequentials are sending to it (or not sending when it should)? Can different camaro models have different BCM's? Maybe this is why some have issues and some don't.

12-12-2012, 12:36 AM	#63
TCAT Drives: Has Wheels Join Date: May 2011 Location: On Earth Posts: 5,553	Thanks for the input. That was fantastic, and gives great good for thought. I'll start asking some electricians, and I hope others chime in with details as well. Thanks!

12-13-2012, 08:59 PM	#66
TCAT Drives: Has Wheels Join Date: May 2011 Location: On Earth Posts: 5,553	I do still have the stock lights. When I have time, I should install them and double check everything.

12-13-2012, 09:21 PM	#67
Mistah SS Drives: 2013 1SS Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 45	Keep us posted. The curiosity is killing me, mine should be delivered in a few weeks and we'll see what they do in a '13 SS.

12-13-2012, 09:30 PM	#68
TCAT Drives: Has Wheels Join Date: May 2011 Location: On Earth Posts: 5,553	Good luck and enjoy that 2013!! You'll love it I think.

12-13-2012, 09:54 PM	#69
Mistah SS Drives: 2013 1SS Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 45	Love might be stretching a little but I do like it alot! It has some things about it that just really bug me, but I'll change what I can't live with.

12-13-2012, 10:03 PM	#70
TCAT Drives: Has Wheels Join Date: May 2011 Location: On Earth Posts: 5,553	Lol. Yeah, no car is perfect and I have my gripes about this car too, but overall I really enjoy owning this car more than anyone I have ever had, even when it was completely stock.