Symptoms:
|
Flasher light on
dash
|
Lights (outside
car)
|
Result
|
|
On with no click
|
On with no flashing
|
bulb out or defective relay
|
|
On with slow click
|
On and flashing
|
bulb out or defective relay
|
|
On with normal click
|
On and flashing
|
normal condition
|
|
On with fast click
|
On and fast flashing
|
dirty light sockets or partial ground
|
|
On with fast click
|
Off and no flashing
|
short before wire gets to the turn
signal circut under dash
|
Blinker Relay- (inside the car) two wires
coming out;
light green/gray (to the B terminal) and light
green/brown (to the L terminal)
The blinker relay looks exactly the same as the
Hazard relay (under bonnet) and is located on the
backside of the dash just under the tachometer on
US cars.
Note that the Hazard and Blinker relays were
combined into a single one for 1978-80 cars and was
located behind the dash (somewhere below the tach
or speedo). This "Flasher" relay now had 3 wires
(light green/gray, light green/brown and
green/light green).
If the behavoir of your flashes changes when
other lights in the same cluster are switched on
(i.e. side lights, brake lights etc) then 99.9% you
have a bad earthing (ground) problem and/or a bad
cell in your battery. To identify which cluster the
earth fault is in, remove the other bulbs and then
try it (i.e. if you removed the front side light
bulb and the flash rate is then ok - that's the
one). You should sort this a.s.a.p. as it can cause
other problems and is likely to get worse. It is
probable that it is merely a corroded connection.
If the flashers don't work properly both sides
then the battery voltage may be low. The running
voltage of a car is around 14v, the battery should
be 12v. If the battery is in fact 12v then try a
new flasher unit.
Upgrading to a modern elecronic flasher is easy.
Most cars (e.g. Ford Escort/Fiesta/Sierra, Vauxhall
Corsa/Vectra/Cavalier/Astra) use the same standard
flasher which is almost a direct replacement for
the thermal type relay - you just have to provide
an extra earth lead.
Sample questions:
"My left directional flashes furiously,the
indicater light only flashes once and goes out.
I've eliminated the wiring to the directionals.
I've ruled out from the steering column out and the
flasher gets hot."
The problem lies in the bulbs or earthing (grounding), the flasher units only work properly if they can read the correct voltage.
If you haven't noticed, the Haynes manual's
wiring diagram is VERY wrong around this relay on
US 1976 cars, probably other years also.
Visit the wiring diagrams
page for excellent 75, 76 and 78+ diagrams
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