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63 BJ7 Flasher Problem

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Chris_BJ7

Chris_BJ7

Freshman Member
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My left and right turn signals do not work when the headlights are on. They appear to work when the headlights are off, but don't blink as fast as they should. Is this a sign that my flasher unit should be replaced? It's a little scary to be on the road without the flashers working properly, so any advise would be appreciated.

Happy Healeying
 
Hi Chris:

Are you talking about the turn signals in your rear lights? I had a similar problem in my BT7, and found that the current wires into each of the rear lamps were reversed. To check this, turn your ignition key on, then turn on your headlights, and engage either turn signal. Look real closely at the rear lamp that you engaged. Is the turn signal truly not flashing, or is it just flashing very faintly? If it is the latter (as it was in my case), the headlamp circuit was running through the brighter filament of the bulb, and the stop/turn signal circuit was going through the dimmer filament. The brighter filament of the bulb was almost completely drowning out the flashing going on through the dimmer filament. Switching the current wires at the lamp remedied the situation.

When my headlamps were turned off, the flashing of the turn signal (through the dimmer filament) was visible, as it was not being drowned out, and appears to be working.

I remedied this a couple of years ago, and everything has worked since. I also recall that before the repair, and whether or not the headlamps were on, that when I engaged either turn signal, that the green flasher indicator on the dash would blink about three times and then go out. After the repair, when either turn signal is engaged, the indicator flashes until canceled.

I hope this helps!

Jerry
 
The blinking rate is dependent on the current flow through the flasher. Assuming nothing changed just prior to the problem like one of the turnsignal lamp filaments opened then the flasher is suspect. The unusual thing is the effect of the headlights. With the engine at about 1500-2000 rpm the system voltage should be high enough to restore slow blinking with the headlights on. If that doesn't occur I would get out an ohmmeter and look for high resistance somewhere.
 
Chris

Has this just happened or did you buy the car with the problem?

It does sound like a wiring problem to me.

Have you got a copy of the work shop manual, take a look at the wiring diagram for the early cars and try tracing the wiring around.

Bob
 
It's true that the original equipment turn flasher is very sensitive to bulb current draw & to system voltage. If everything is working perfectly, the flash rate will still vary with system charging/battery voltage.

If you could bear to have a non Lucas part in the car, replacing the flasher unit with a modern electronic flasher would make a large improvement. Not sensitive to bulb resistance or system voltage.

There are cheaper replacements available but the NAPA #50-263-3 (Signal Stat) turn signal flasher would solve most of your problems.
D
 
Hi Dave,

I just hooked up the Napa flasher replacement and everything is working perfectly now. My next challenge is mounting the unit permanently. Do you have a recommendation on a bracket to mount the unit? The Lucas unit had a small L shaped bracket attached to the unit for mounting.

Thanks for your help,

Chris Hollimon
 
You could glue a mounting tab to the flasher, or make a clamp to hold it, or, I just tucked the end of the flasher partially behind the top of the firewall carpeting. Not many folks are going to look under there to see how original the installation is.
D
 
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