LED Flasher Information
What is an LED Flasher? An LED (-compatible) Flasher is a turn-signal or hazard flasher relay that works properly with LED turn-signal bulbs. Generally, a stock automotive Turn Signal (or Hazard) Flasher Relay does not work with LED Bulbs unless it was designed for that. If you replace incandescent (regular) bulbs with LED Bulbs, you may notice one of two malfunctions: Either the lights will not flash at all, or they will flash fast/eratically, the latter is known as Hyperflashing.
Why do I need one? Because you're noticing that the turn-signal or hazard lights aren't flashing properly. Stock flashers (i.e. the one that came with the car) may be of the thermal or electronic-with-lamp-out type.
Thermal flashers require that your bulbs consume a minimum amount of load, usually 15 Watts or more, to function properly. Electronic-with-lamp-out flashers require a certain amount of power usage by the bulbs. If it's too low, they will flash fast (by design) to let the driver know that one of the bulbs has burnt out. That is known as the lamp-out warning. Not all electronic flashers have this feature.
LED bulbs draw very little power: not enough to make a thermal flasher "kick in", and also not enough to make the electronic flasher (with lamp-out) think that all the bulbs are OK.
Why does my existing electronic flasher not work with LEDs? For flashers, electronic only means that the flasher's internal timing (on-time vs. off-time) is electronically controlled, vs. thermal flashers that use a bi-metal strip. Electronic timing control means that the flash speed is constant regardless of the load (or two-speed for electronic flashers with lamp-out warning circuits).
Are there different types of LED flashers? Yes, because life is complicated. There are generally 2 types of LED flashers: Solid State and Relay. A solid state flasher has no moving parts. The finaly switching element inside a solid-state flasher is a semiconductor power transistor. In a relay-based flasher, the final switching element is an electromechanical relay.
| Type | Pros | Cons |
| Solid State |
Virtually Unlimited Life Wide Input Voltage Range |
Higher Cost Makes no Clicking Sound May have limited current capabilities |
| Relay | Makes clicking sound |
Limited Life (Longer than thermal flasher) May require ground-wire (depends on model) |
Almost all folks use the Relay type because it makes the clicking sound. If you're looking for a flasher for use on a work-truck where your flasher may be running for hours each day, or if you're looking for one that works at 6 Volts, then you should opt for the Solid State flasher.
What's so great about your LED flashers (versus some other brand LED flasher) ? A few things:
Reliability: We sell flashers from CEC industries, they have been around since 1959 and their flashers are extremely well built and reliable.
Approval: All LED flashers from CEC meet DOT requirements and meet SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) and FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards)
Compatibility: All LED flashers from CEC, including the Solid State flashers, are compatible for use with regular bulbs as well as LED bulbs or a mix of LED / regular bulbs. There are many cheap LED flashers on the market that will simply go up in smoke when you put regular bulbs in. You may think that's not important, since you have LED bulbs in your car, but think about it:
If your LED bulb goes out, you can simply go into any auto parts store and get a standard (non-LED) replacement bulb to get you going "legit" without burning up your flasher.
If you are towing a trailer, you may not have LED bulbs in the trailer: Our flashers will work with (and can handle the load from) incandescent bulbs, so you do not have to worry about burning out your flasher.
If you have LED bulbs only in the rear (or only in the front) our LED flashers will work with a mix of incandescent and regular bulbs
My LED flasher has a black wire coming out of it, what's that for? This wire needs to be connected directly to ground. In the simplest case, that would be a piece of sheet-metal of the vehicle. The reason your flasher may have this is because none of the terminals of the flasher socket in the original vehicle design was grounded. Old style thermal flashers don't need a ground, but LED compatible ones generally do.
How do I find the correct LED flasher for my vehicle? If your existing flasher has just 2 prongs arranged in an L-configuration, you will need the EF32RL flasher. Otherwise, use the CEC Flasher Lookup Guide to locate the stock flasher model number for your vehicle. Then locate the matching LED flasher in the table below. If it says "N/A" then we do not have an LED-compatible flasher available. The first section shows flashers that plug into the existing socket and usually do not require any rewiring except a ground wire. If the note says "Taller" or "Shorter" then that means the LED Flasher is taller or shorter than the stock flasher. The second section shows flashers that are not a direct replacement, a wire harness is required.
| Stock Flasher | LED Flasher | Direct Replacement / Notes |
| EF552 | EF32RL | Taller, Ground Wire. Use EF32SS-R for solid-state |
| TF552/536 | EF32RL | Taller, Ground Wire. Use EF32SS-R for solid-state |
| TF575 | EF32RL | Shorter, Ground Wire. Use EF32SS-R for solid-state |
| TF577 | EF32RL | Shorter, Ground Wire. Use EF32SS-R for solid-state |
| EF32 | EF32RL | Ground Wire. Use EF32SS-R for solid-state |
| TF550 | EF33RL | Shorter, Ground Wire |
| EF33 | EF33RL | Ground Wire |
| EF26 | N/A | |
| EF27 | EF27L | |
| EF28 | EF28L | |
| EF29 | EF29L | |
| EF30A | EF30AL | Ground Wire, Alternating Flasher (not Turn Signal / Hazard) |
| EF30WW | EF30AL | Ground Wire, Alternating Flasher (not Turn Signal / Hazard) |
| EF31 | EF31L | |
| EF34 | EF34L | |
| EF35 | EF35L | |
| EF36 | EF36L | |
| EF37 | N/A | |
| EF39 | N/A | |
| EF41 | N/A | |
| EF42 | N/A | |
| EF43 | N/A | |
| EF44 | N/A | |
| EF47 | N/A | |
| EF54 | N/A | |
| EF55 | N/A | |
| EF56 | N/A | |
| EF57 | N/A | |
| ELM449 | ELM449 | |
| ELM463 | N/A | |
| ELM468 | N/A | |
| ELM470 | ELM470 | Limited LED Compatibility, requires front or rear to remain incandescent. |
| Stock Flasher | LED Flasher | Non-Direct Replacement / Notes |
| TF569 | EF32RL | Requires special wire harness to convert ground-wire to prong, such as EF3C |
Can I not just look at my stock-flasher prongs to determine the LED-compatible part? !!! ABSOLUTELY NOT !!! This may work but it's a really bad way of going about this: For example, there are many round 3-prong flashers that have the same size and shape, and the prongs look the same, but they're actually not compatible. For example, the TF569 is a 3-prong flasher that uses the 3rd prong for ground, whereas most round 3-prong flashers use the 3rd prong for the pilot light (the light in your dash / instrument panel). Also, some 5 prong flashers use a hazard prong that is grounded whereas another flasher that looks identical uses a hazard prong that goes to the bulbs.
OK, I put in one of your LED flashers, but nothing is happening, the bulbs are not coming on at all, or they're staying on. This is most commonly seen with the EF32RL or EF33RL. Here's the long answer: Your car originally came with a thermal stock flasher. Those had 2 or 3 prongs. One of those is the X-prong, the other is the L-prong. Officially the X-prong should be connected to 12 Volts (battery), and the L-prong goes to the lamps (via the turn-signal switch). However, a thermal flasher could not care less if those 2 wires were reversed, so when they hooked up the wire harnesses, they didn't check (nor care) if those 2 wires were correctly hooked up to the flasher socket. They didn't have electronic flashers back then, so nobody cared. Your electronic flasher, however, requires that the socket is wired correctly. If it's not, you have two options to fix this: #1 is to try and rewire the socket. That's easy if the socket is "stand-alone" and you can get to the back of it. Just swap the X and L terminals in the socket. If that's not feasible, you need to get or make a harness, basically 2 or 3 pieces of wire with push-on connectors on each end (male on one end, female on the other end). For a 2-prong harness, you can also purchase part # EF2C if you don't want to make your own. A 3-prong harness EF3C is available but it requires you to remove the terminals from the socket and put them into whatever position you want.
I have an old 6-Volt car, what are my options? Few... If your car comes with a 2-prong flasher you can use our EF32SS or EF32SS-R, but they will not make any clicking sound. If your car came with a 3-prong flasher that uses the 3rd prong for the pilot light (usually a #535 flasher) then you're really out of luck unless you can do without the pilot light in your dashboard.
Do I need a bracket for my flasher? Usually not. Almost all flashers we sell come without a bracket, because it's not usually needed. But if you want to get one anyway, they are available, the part number are BR1, BR2 or BR3 for the 3 different styles. The technical details for each flasher on our site show the correct bracket to use.
I am still lost / unsure / scared Call us at (281) 257-8587 but PLEASE have the following available: The MAKE, MODEL and YEAR of your car, the actual flasher you currently have in your vehicle, and a ruler or calipers.