Turn signal light??

[cobrasnake]

Hi, today I put on the turn signal and after taking it off the amber indicator was still on, what could be the problem?
BTW All the bulb lights are good.

Thanks

 

[Seymour Snerd]

Hi, today I put on the turn signal and after taking it off the amber indicator was still on, what could be the problem?
BTW All the bulb lights are good.

Thanks

See schmatic of that area below. I'm assuming what you're saying is you used the turn signals, they worked normally, but when you turned the switch off the amber dash light stayed on.

I think your flasher unit has failed. I don't recall exactly where it is, somewhere behind the dash. Usually it's an aluminum or plastic box or cylinder about 1" on each side, and might look just like an automotive relay. If you can get it to make it's "tink-tink" noise, perhaps by manipulating the switch, you might find it that way. If you can't find it let me know and I'll figure out where it is. If you can, swap it for an equivalent from your local Pep Boys or whatever, and see if that fixes it. They're pretty generic and cheap.

 

[cobrasnake]

See schmatic of that area below. I'm assuming what you're saying is you used the turn signals, they worked normally, but when you turned the switch off the amber dash light stayed on.

I think your flasher unit has failed. I don't recall exactly where it is, somewhere behind the dash. Usually it's an aluminum or plastic box or cylinder about 1" on each side, and might look just like an automotive relay. If you can get it to make it's "tink-tink" noise, perhaps by manipulating the switch, you might find it that way. If you can't find it let me know and I'll figure out where it is. If you can, swap it for an equivalent from your local Pep Boys or whatever, and see if that fixes it. They're pretty generic and cheap.

View attachment 51090

Thanks Alan!

 

[Seymour Snerd]

... I don't recall exactly where it is, somewhere behind the dash. Usually it's an aluminum or plastic box or cylinder about 1" on each side, and might look just like an automotive relay.

Just to answer the outstanding question in this thread, namely, "where is the flasher relay?" In my case it was extremely difficult to get to since it was tucked into the upper fold of the dash above the tachometer. This required dropping the steering column and removing the tachometer (see http://www.gt40s.com/forum/superformance-gt40s/34932-how-remove-tach.html).

My flasher relay is cylindircal, about 1" dia and about 1-1/2" tall, with a clear plastic body. It is attached to about 6" of free wiring so it has to be within about a 6" radius of the steering column. A better place to locate it is against the frame just forward of the left side switch panel. I hope I'm the only one with it in the location I had, but I doubt it.

 

[Seymour Snerd]

And after all that it turns out my flasher problem is internal to the flasher relay as well. There is a very thin piece of copper that is an extension of the dash lamp terminal. If it is a little out of adjustement (i.e. bent) the dash lamp will be intermittent with wiggling the terminal. If it is further out of adjustment, the dash lamp will either be solid on or solid off.

So, if you have any symptom where the turn signals themselvers work but the dash lamp doesn't, you should probably just go buy a new three-terminal flasher relay.

This is a picture of the guilty party:

 

[Seymour Snerd]

This is a picture of the guilty party...

I learned way more than I wanted to know about flasher relays today: Three terminal flashers are of two incompatible types: The Tridon EL13 SPF used by SPF is in series with the turn signal lights, with a separate terminal for the dash light. In other words it needs no ground connection.

The other type of three terminal units deletes the dash light terminal but requires a ground terminal. This i believe is because it has an internal integrated circuit that assures a load-independent flash rate and controls some government mandated "bulb out" behavior (eg blinking fast).

If you see a flasher unit described as "electronic" it simply means it has one of those ICs. It does NOT mean it has no galvanic contacts or moving parts or is "solid state." I could not find any solid state flasher units other than a bulky (4 cu. in) and expensive ($40) Grote 44010.

So basically the obvious thing to do with a bad EL13 is replace it with another EL13 and hope for the best. I'm going to go one step further and replace mine with an EP26, a 4-terminal unit to which I will have to supply a ground lead (there's a power receptacle nearby in the small switch panel where I can grab a ground). The reason for the change is that I suspect the EP26 will be more reliable. It also has a rectangular case that is easier to fit behind the dash.

 

[Rich E.]

Best I know mine still works. I wouldn't know tho. Got tired of that "mini sun" blinding me everytime I switched lanes. Especially at night. Now I just say a small prayer and add throttle......

 

[Seymour Snerd]

Now I just say a small prayer and add throttle......

Yeah with any unusual car there's guaranteed to be a guy gazing from your 7-8 o'clock position so you can't see him and he can't see your turn signal.

 

[Seymour Snerd]

So basically the obvious thing to do with a bad EL13 is replace it with another EL13 and hope for the best. I'm going to go one step further and replace mine with an EP26, a 4-terminal unit to which I will have to supply a ground lead (there's a power receptacle nearby in the small switch panel where I can grab a ground). The reason for the change is that I suspect the EP26 will be more reliable. It also has a rectangular case that is easier to fit behind the dash.

So just to finish this story... EP26 does not work because its dash light output switches to ground, not +12.

So I use a modernized EL13 from here:
LED Flasher Units FL2-RED & FL3-RED specifications
FL-3 for $13. This has a nice little mounting tab and may actually be solid state, because it makes no sound nor vibration when operating. I did not take it apart to verify that. Also, for what it's worth, if you change your tail lights to LEDs the flasher will still work properly.

I plugged it into a 4-terminal flasher-relay pigtail socket

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051ZHPSE

and using only 3 of the wires hardwired that into the car's harness. This not only makes the flasher relay plug-replaceable, but lengthens the harness so you can mount the flasher below the dash where it's accessible. And it's now impossible to plug it in the wrong way.