Types of Flashers

Jman423

Jman423

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What type of flasher do I need and what options should I pay attention to?

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Please keep it clean and organized, this forum section is heavily moderated to keep information organized. We're going to use content from these discussions to compile a helpful guide for users seeking information about products in this industry.
 
Flashers for emergency warning lights have been around almost as long as the lights themselves. The obvious ones are halogen flashers and strobe packs (which contain transformers and flashers and other "magic" stuff). Most of those are fairly simple and I won't really discuss them now.


LED flashers are kind of special. Most LED lights on the market have a built in flasher. This allows the light to blink when power is applied. Most also have multiple (sometimes tons of) patterns available.


Internal flashers may also have


a synchronization wire or other access point. This generally allows lights from the same manufacturer to flash together or opposite eachother. The capacity of this feature may be limited, only able to sync 2 lights total, or extreme, I remember a video from Feniex where they had a wall of T-6s syncd with eachother.


External flashers share many characteristics with internal flashers however they almost always require an independent power supply. The main advantages to external flashers is the ability to sync lights of various brands and a centralized wiring location. One of the main drawbacks of them is that not all lights will function properly. Some LEDs have a slight delay that we don't notice but it's enough to mess up the flash pattern from an external flasher. This is, in my experience, more common with lights set to steady that have an internal flasher. Most of the time your safest bet with an external flasher is to use "dumb" light heads.
 
What's the difference in a high side flasher and low side?
 
Depending on the flasher power rating, a high side flasher will pulse the input voltage of the flasher. So, if the input voltage is 12 volts, each output will put out 12 volts. This method required you to connect the positive side of the lighthead to these outputs and connect the ground side of the lighthead to a common ground.

A low side flasher is just the opposite. This means that you apply 12 volts, or whatever the voltage rating is of the ligthead to the positive input on the lighthead and then connect the ground wire of each lighthead to the flasher.

Tony
 
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ERM said:
Depending on the flasher power rating, a high side flasher will pulse the input voltage of the flasher. So, if the input voltage is 12 volts, each output will put out 12 volts. This method required you to connect the positive side of the lighthead to these outputs and connect the ground side of the lighthead to a common ground.

A low side flasher is just the opposite. This means that you apply 12 volts, or whatever the voltage rating is of the ligthead to the positive input on the lighthead and then connect the ground wire of each lighthead to the flasher.

Tony
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Thanks Tony. Very well explained. Now I know.
 
sounds like a fancy way of saying.. positive or negative flashed.....
 
It appears my original post was deleted because I miss stated what I was trying to do. Which flasher module would you professionals recommend to flash my brake lights on my 07 Chevy Avalanche? I have standard halogen bulbs.
 
Whelen ULF44 can I hook up more than just 4 lights? I'll have 4 vertex competitor haw 's and one strobesnmore Tru Dual 7200 flood light with amber warning. Even though the ULF44 only has 4 outputs, can I tie 4 vertex's and the 7200 into it?
 
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