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  #1  
Old 04-26-2017, 07:05 PM
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Back up Warning and Signal Flasher Problem

Hopefully someone can help me understand what is going on here. I installed my Yakima Hitch Mounted Bike Rack, and immediately set off the PDC system. OK, so I did some research, and found the threads about that. One solution that was suggested was to install a Bully Hitch Cover Light that would fool the car into thinking it was pulling a trailer. Fine - did it.

That did take care of the back-up warning - the light comes on but no sirens. But with the Bully installed, the turn signals flash rapidly when used, as if a turn signal bulb was burned out. I assume the car thinks it is pulling a trailer with bad signal lights. Both signals work fine, but they flash double time.

OK, so one more try. I bought a Bully (CR-007XL) X-Large Hitch Brake Light. This one has tail, brake, and signal lights on board. But the car still does the same thing - signals flash rapidly. These are not LED's, all the lights seem to be functioning, can anyone tell me why this is happening?

BTW, this is a 2002 4.6is with a BMW hitch and wiring installed by a BMW dealer. The Bully has a 4-flat that I am connecting to an adapter, then to the car. I have tried two different adapters - same issue.

I just got the car, so I have never hooked up a real trailer to see if it does the same thing with full on trailer lights. I'll do that tomorrow. I'm out of ideas.

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  #2  
Old 04-27-2017, 07:55 AM
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Ok, no luck on that question, let me try this: is it in any way harmful to have my signals flash rapidly all summer when the bike rack is on? It is annoying, but it isn't putting up any messages about lights being out or throwing any codes. I just don't want to do something that will eventually cause problems.
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Old 04-27-2017, 06:42 PM
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I would guess that the signal lamps on the hitch light are low wattage lamps and don't provide a large enough load to "fool" the LCM into thinking the trailer lamps are OK. You could try clipping a 12v 21w lamp across one of the signal lamps and see if that changes the flash rate on that side.. then you'll have an answer. If this works, then you'll want to add a couple of resistors to each side to increase the load.

What is the wattage rating of the lamps on the hitch lamp? I'm guessing they are only 5 or 10w.
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Old 04-27-2017, 08:12 PM
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Thanks, I'll check that. What kind of resistor would I be looking for. I'm not much on electrical.

Last edited by jnclem; 04-27-2017 at 08:17 PM.
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Old 04-27-2017, 09:09 PM
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Originally Posted by jnclem View Post
Thanks, I'll check that. What kind of resistor would I be looking for. I'm not much on electrical.
Rather large ones - a 10w, 10 ohm resistor will add about 12 watts of load but as it's a flasher it shouldn't overheat.

These...

https://www.radioshack.com/products/...esistor-2-pack
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Last edited by wpoll; 04-27-2017 at 10:32 PM. Reason: fixed resistor value...
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Old 04-27-2017, 09:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wpoll View Post
Rather large ones - a 10w, 1.0 ohm resistor will add about 12 watts of load but as it's a flasher it shouldn't overheat.

These...

https://www.radioshack.com/products/...esistor-2-pack
These are even bigger, but are recommended for this very kind of thing, at least when putting in LEDs. Maybe these would be too much.

2x LED Load Resistors 25W 10ohm LED Bulbs Turn Signal Error/Blinker/Hyper Flash | eBay
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Old 04-27-2017, 10:27 PM
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I just pulled the cover off the lager unit that is supposed to provide brake, tail and flashers. The bulbs are full sized double filliment 12V bulbs. P21/6CP12V is what I think it says. It looks just like a regular 1157 type bulb. I didn't expect that to be what was in there. I need to hook this thing up to one of my trailers and see if it flashes rapidly with a. Actual light system. Maybe I. Chasing a problem in these hitch covers that is actually a problem in the car's wiring or brain.
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Old 04-27-2017, 10:31 PM
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Originally Posted by jnclem View Post
These are even bigger, but are recommended for this very kind of thing, at least when putting in LEDs. Maybe these would be too much.

2x LED Load Resistors 25W 10ohm LED Bulbs Turn Signal Error/Blinker/Hyper Flash | eBay
They would work well - as would these...

2x Load Resistor 25W 6.8ohm Fix LED Bulb Hyper Flash Turn Signal Blinker New | eBay

IF that's the problem. And it seems like it isn't....
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Old 04-27-2017, 10:33 PM
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Originally Posted by jnclem View Post
I just pulled the cover off the lager unit that is supposed to provide brake, tail and flashers. The bulbs are full sized double filliment 12V bulbs. P21/6CP12V is what I think it says. It looks just like a regular 1157 type bulb. I didn't expect that to be what was in there. I need to hook this thing up to one of my trailers and see if it flashes rapidly with a. Actual light system. Maybe I. Chasing a problem in these hitch covers that is actually a problem in the car's wiring or brain.
Well, that eliminates the load as being the problem.

Weird issue. Does it have the same symptoms when hooked up to a trailer?
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Old 04-27-2017, 11:09 PM
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Originally Posted by wpoll View Post
Well, that eliminates the load as being the problem.

Weird issue. Does it have the same symptoms when hooked up to a trailer?
That's what I'm going to find out next. My trailers are both parked away from my home right now, but after all of this, I'm starting to wonder if the cR was ever programmed for having a hitch. I'll go connect it to a trailer tomorrow and see what happens.

Right now I have the smaller hitch cover connected. It eliminates the PDC going off every time I back up, but the signals flash rapidly. I don't know if that hurts anything or not.

I read back through the various threads on this. It seems that one individual finally solved the problem but manufacturing a four pin wiring system with a somewhat complicated set of resistors attached. All of the other "solutions" that were found eventually failed or caused other problems.

With the popularity of hitch mounted racks and baskets you would think there would be a simple solution to this.
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