We're often asked, “what is the best flasher?” and that's usually a hard question to answer. Like many other warning lights, is really depends upon your needs. We're going to walk you through a few types of flasher types on the market and the pros and cons of each.
Plug-N-Play Flashers
A new type of flasher is called a plug and play flasher that connects to your OBD-II port. This new style of flasher users your vehicle's computer to virtually control the lights and make them flash in a sequence. This is hands down the easiest way install a flasher. But because this requires a vehicle's computer and very specific controls within the computer, the vehicle makes and models that these are compatible with are very limited. Leading in this category is the Speed Turtle brand of flasher. While they are easy to use, they do require specific technology in the vehicle that limits which they are compatible with.
Headlight/Taillight Flashers
There are a multitude of headlight/taillight flashers on the market. Just as much as the prices vary, so do the features. Some are vehicle specific and plug and play, while others require you to hardwire the flasher into the vehicle's wiring harness. If you're not very experienced with 12V wiring, this may not be something you're capable of doing. Typically the flashers will allow you to bypass the vehicles wiring so the flashing does not interrupt the vehicle's normal function. Be sure to look for a flasher that does not disable any vital functions of the vehicle. For example many headlight flashers will wig-wag the headlights which will cause you to never have more than 1 headlight on simultaneously. We recommend connecting any headlight flashers to the high beams, that way your headlights still operate normally. Some taillight flashers will not allow you brake or turn signal to operate while the flasher is activated. So be sure the flasher allows the brake and turn signals to override the flashing mode. The Feniex Flasher is a great example of a flasher that does just that. Setting the brake and turn signal to the highest mode will allow them to override the flashing mode.
LED Flashers
The last general type of flasher is the standard LED flasher. These are very popular for custom light setups, or a great way to sync the entire vehicle. If you light does not have a built in flasher or the flasher broke, you can replace it with one of these. They're also particularly helpful when trying to sync multiple brands of lights. If you're able to set the lights to steady burn, the external flasher will control the flash pattern thus syncing all of the lights.