RESISTORS AND CAPACITORS - WHAT TO USE THEM FOR?

Resistors usually connect between + and - headlight connector power wires. There are two kinds, plug-n-play or bare wire resistors. The most commonly used resistors for headlight bulbs are 50W 8Ohm. Resistors may have to be used when upgrading from halogen bulbs to HID or LED bulbs, and if HID or LED bulb's power draw is less than that of a halogen bulb. The lower power draw of HID or LED bulbs may cause a dash "bulb out" warning light to come on or in severe cases the canbus system shuts off power to the lights entirely (RAM trucks) because it figures the bulbs are burned out. Installing inline resistors increases the power draw mimicking the power draw of a halogen bulb, satisfying the canbus system's requirements.

Capacitors on the other hand do not resolve headlights shutting off. Capacitors are used to smooth out current supplied to HID or LED bulbs, preventing bulb flickering. In most cases, when headlight bulbs start to flicker, installing a canbus anti-flicker module resolves the flickering issue (https://www.hidvisioncanada.ca/categories/led-kits-and-parts/led-anti-flicker-canbus-error-free-decoders.html). Ocassionally a small amount of flickering may be seen. This can be attributed to alternator current at low engine rpm. You can check if the flickering disappears by increasing engine's rpm. If it goes away then it's caused by the alternator. However, the chances of this are very small, around 1%.

So what if your new HID or LED light bulbs flicker and also shut off? The solution is to install canbus anti-flicker modules (https://www.hidvisioncanada.ca/categories/led-kits-and-parts/led-anti-flicker-canbus-error-free-decoders.html) which have both, resistors and capacitors built-into them. However, if your new LEDs have very low power draw like 2.5Amp instead of 4.5Amp (halogens), then installing anti-flicker decoders may not be enough to increase the power draw. In this case you will also need to install the 50W 8Ohm in-line resistors (https://www.hidvisioncanada.ca/categories/hid-products/resistors.html). Resistors get VERY hot while in use, so they should be mounted on a metal surface to dissipate the heat.

If you're unsure which way to go, please contact HVC's techsupport@hidvisioncanada.ca for advice or call us directly at (604) 791-9027.