Hero Tail lights slow to light up

[SSEssence]

Whoever already bought the tail lights I'm sure they can live with the delay, but the delay is not normal and other aftermarket led tail lights don't have a delay so I don't see why they can't fix the issue? Half second or second delay, it is still a delay and a manufacturer defect and should be fixed in the next production run IMO.

[J Rod]

I'm wondering if it doesn't have something to do with the fact that they made them compatible for both the RS and non-RS models. I've never seen that done before, usually they only work for one or the other.

[orange devil]

Thinking it has something to do with the option between . Sequential and regular feature. I have not timed it yet to see if ther is a difference

[Dragonman]

Okay, I just did some digging.

Initial shovel full found a Laboratory Test Procedure for FMVSS 108 which led me to search for and find this.



Down on page labeled 421 in the document and 121 in the pdf viewer, is TABLE I–a—REQUIRED LAMPS AND REFLECTIVE DEVICES where the right most column lists Device Activation Requirements where it states "Must be activated upon application of the service brakes." Which I would guess is in support of paragraph S5.5.4 "The stop lamps on each vehicle shall be activated upon application of the service brakes." on page labeled 308 in the doc and page 8 of the pdf.



I don't see anything yet to indicate any delay is acceptable. Perhaps the word "upon" is just vague enough. I however, interpret that to mean when the brake pedal is moved, at all.



I'm thinking HERO Lighting Technology, which I can't seem to find a manufacturer's website for, might want to rethink, redesign and rebuild the control boards for these lights to make sure they illuminate according to the standard.


I would imagine this might be one of those times where someone doesn't like the internet much.


I'd be happy to see if someone can find different/updated data since the document I found is 10 years old.



See the attached files if link doesn't work.

[Dragonman]

Appears to be a much newer version.



Pertinent paragraphs are S7.9.5 which simply refers to Table I–a where it states the same as the 2008 version.

[Dragonman]

Not sure if anyone else has looked into the delay on stock lighting but I did this morning. I recorded a .3 second delay from full brightness on the high mount before the mains came to full brightness.


Here's the vid I took and used to determine timing.





My conclusion after seeing this inherent delay indicates it's built in and if the control boards on the Hero lights are adding additional time for processing to what's already there, well then, I think I'm ok with it. It would be interesting if someone found a setting in the ECU/BCM that controls this delay and see if it can be set to a lower value.


Would like J Rod's raw video file so I can compare the timing on his lights but I may just order my set and see what it is after I get them installed.

[RLNTLSS]

The middle tail light .. lights up instantly..im ok with that

[CamaroFred]

Originally Posted by Dragonman

Not sure if anyone else has looked into the delay on stock lighting but I did this morning. I recorded a .3 second delay from full brightness on the high mount before the mains came to full brightness.


Here's the vid I took and used to determine timing.





My conclusion after seeing this inherent delay indicates it's built in and if the control boards on the Hero lights are adding additional time for processing to what's already there, well then, I think I'm ok with it. It would be interesting if someone found a setting in the ECU/BCM that controls this delay and see if it can be set to a lower value.


Would like J Rod's raw video file so I can compare the timing on his lights but I may just order my set and see what it is after I get them installed.

If the Cyclops is LED and the brake lights are LED why would there be a delay?
Oh, the brake lights fade up. The third light does not.
Why would someone design the brake lights to ramp up? They are LEDs, so it isn't extending the filament life.
Your video doesn't include them turning off. Do they also fade down?

And the point of a high-mount brake light was so the driver behind the driver behind you could see the light. But now it is mounted on the deck lid, so what sense does that make? At least at the base of the rear window a following driver had a chance.
Stupider and stupider.

[camguynj]

Just add a Gen5DIY PlugNPlay 3rd Brake light flasher. That will more than compensate for the delay in getting the attention of the driver behind you even with the 3rd Brake light being on the deck lid.

https://www.gen5diy.com/collections/...=7607897063482

[Dragonman]

Originally Posted by CamaroFred

If the Cyclops is LED and the brake lights are LED why would there be a delay?
Oh, the brake lights fade up. The third light does not.
Why would someone design the brake lights to ramp up? They are LEDs, so it isn't extending the filament life.
Your video doesn't include them turning off. Do they also fade down?

And the point of a high-mount brake light was so the driver behind the driver behind you could see the light. But now it is mounted on the deck lid, so what sense does that make? At least at the base of the rear window a following driver had a chance.
Stupider and stupider.

Contrary to popular belief no light bulb, LED or otherwise, are truly instant on. If you run the vid frame by frame you can see it on both the incandescent and the LED high mount. LEDs just come up faster than incandescent lamps. I'm not even certain my HMSL is LED. I'll have another look at the full video I took to watch the shut off sequence and see which cool down the fastest.


It's pretty much moot now. If there's delay on the stock set up I don't care there's delay on the aftermarket. Ordered my set late Saturday night, Phastek time.

[Dragonman]

My Hero's should be arriving late this week.


I was curious about the shut down phase so had a look and made this from the full clip.







At full speed I noticed the mains made it to full off .61 seconds after the high mount.



By the way, high mounts aren't really for the cars behind the car behind you. It's a dedicated brake light that will only illuminate for the brakes and doesn't do double duty as a turn signal or running light. It's there to give clueless drivers a clue when they're trying to stare through your car to that traffic light ahead.

[pnwdan]

Guess I would argue that in slow motion it takes a full second for the delay and the video says it is 1/8th speed so simple math would divide that one second by 8 and that the true delay of the stock lights (.125 seconds). Not nearly as long as .5-1.0 delay of the Hero lights. Just my 2 cents..

[Dragonman]

If my lights get here when Fedex says they will they'll be installed this weekend and I'll spin up another vid to see where the new ones land.

[orange devil]

Originally Posted by Dragonman

If my lights get here when Fedex says they will they'll be installed this weekend and I'll spin up another vid to see where the new ones land.

Are you going to use the . Sequential feature or the regular?