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Healey 100: No flashers anymore...........

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356roadster

356roadster

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Most likely I am starting to get on your nervs with all my questions to the forum but I am trying to ask a further one:

The electrics of my car seemed just fine until yesterday. Everything works, no problems at all.

But: today the flashers died..... No function at all anymore. I started to check the reasons: The switch box is functioning, there is a nice "clong" when I put on the rh or lh flasher. And there is electricity arriving at the flasher relay. I have changed the relay then; no change at all, the flashers are still dead.

I do not have much knowledge in electrics, maybe you have a recommendation for me how to continue my search for the problem?

Thank you for your advise!!!

Wolfgang
 
Wolfgang,
Don't forget that one of the more valuable features of this forum is the search function. Do a search in the Austin Healey forum for "flasher relay" and look for the thread that starts on 6-10-06. It discusses what you need to know. It sounds like you might have a problem with the flasher unit (which is a cylindrical "can" on the firewall) near the brake fluid resevoir. It has 3 contacts on the bottom. The big flasher relay next to the radiator on the left side is a "router" and should only click once when you put on a turn signal. The flasher can is what goes on and off. Try tapping on the can a few times to see if you can persuade it to work. If not you can check the voltage at terminal "B" on the can. It should be 12V when the ignition is on. If the flasher relay is working and you jumper the B terminal to the L terminal (on the can)and turn on the directional it will work if the can is defective. If it does not turn on the directional lamp then your problem is in the box like relay. Read the various threads on the flasher relay to see what to do next. Don't forget Lucas. You could have bad connections at all four turn signals, Not likely, but possible.Hope this helps.
 
To Dave and Jon,

you are totally right: I should have checked the forum first. I have tried this but was to stupid to change the "date range" and therefore did not find a fitting thread. Sorry about that.

My flasher unit has only two terminals; I will try to check the unit again. I have already changed the unit to another one but was not successful. Maybe the other unit was defective, too.

The flasher relay seems to work: there is a nice "clong" from the relay when I put on the rh or lh flasher.

I will report as soon as I have found a solution.

Wolfgang
 
On a three terminal flasher the third terminal operates an indicating lamp. Two terminal flashers do not have the lamp circuit.
D
 
Dave,
I assume that I can simply take a three terminal flasher then and leave the lamp circuit terminal empty!?
Thank you again for helping me.....
Wolfgang
 
Wolfgang,
what is going to illuminate the little light on the dash that tells you when the indicators are in operation?
 
To be honest: I really don´t know. but the little light was working when the flashers were still in function when I have bought the car. I have to check whether something fell of from the flasher-can but I really cannot imagine that the whole third terminal disappeared. I will check and report again......
Wolfgang (the absolute electrical beginner)
 
Wolfgang,
In the service manual is an electrical diagrammatic layout of the electrical system, O/21 is a layout of the BN1 including the 2 pin flasher can, and in the supplement at the back J/1 is the layout for the BN2 system, the manual (bible) if you dont have one is certainly worth the purchase price
If you kept the old flasher can you can use it as a reference to get a compatible replacement
 
I saw the diagrammatic of the BN1 in the manual now and the two pin system seems to be correct for my car (BN1). So I have to buy a 2 pin system again as I understand. I have a few three pin cans in my workshop but I think that they will not work when sinply not using the third pin, right?
Wolfgang
 
follow the circuits and see which is correct for your car,all the wires are numbered and are referenced back to a color code, by the way, on the picture of your engine bay you have a black box attached to the right hand strut is that the electronic ignition?
 
if your car was built after august 1955 its a BN2, stock plugs were NA8 25 thou gap, M plugs were NA10
flasher unit (think its a BN2 was part number) 1B2808
 
my car was built on the 20th of september 1954 according to a bmht-letter. the black box is the electronic ignition (the brand is piranha, seems to be an optical system like "lumenition"). the system works quite well and it seems that it was installed a short time ago as it looks quite new. therefore I will leave it as it is and check whether it´s a good one in the end...... what do you think?
 
356roadster said:
To be honest: I really don´t know. but the little light was working when the flashers were still in function when I have bought the car. I have to check whether something fell of from the flasher-can but I really cannot imagine that the whole third terminal disappeared. I will check and report again......
Wolfgang (the absolute electrical beginner)
Click to expand...
You have just encountered perhaps the most difficult & convoluted circuits in the whole car.

Nothing fell off. The BN1 with two terminal flasher had the dash indicator/pilot lamp connected between relay terminals two & six. If the left turn, terminal 6, is energized, LF & LR lamps are energized plus one side of the dash indicator. The other side of the dash indicator's return path to ground is via terminal 6 & the through RF turn bulb to ground. V/S for a right turn.

The Lucas turn flasher unit cans are very sensitive to the connected loads & any missing bulb or bad connection can stop the whole works.

Since the problem happened quite abruptly, I would start by verifying all turn bulbs & their hot AND ground connections.

Next, I would remove the flasher relay, carefully clean all external connections. Remove the relay cover & VERY CAREFULLY" clean the tiny relay contacts by passing a sheet of paper between them. Don't bend anything.

Finally, if still needed, I would replace the flasher can with a modern unit which is not sensitive to the connected loads.

Here is a pretty good diagram of the circuits for a later model three terminal flasher. The main differences would be the dash/pilot lamp connections as I mentioned.
https://members.cox.net/brianmix/healey100/default.html
Scroll down to "Diagram" on the LH side of the page.
D
 
Hi Dave Russell
Wouldnt the rh or lh work if only one side had a bad bulb/earth?
Sounds like I could use a 3 pin in place of the 2 pin and leave the pilot light pin idle.
I have a Hella (Part Number 3008 under accessories in their catalogue) 2 pin 12V 6x24W (32cps) installed at present
 
A short summary of my today´s electric experiences:

I have checked the bulbs and the hot and ground connections. The flasher indicator bulb did not work; I have replaced it but this did not solve the problem. The other bulbs are ok. No ground problems as far as I could see.

Then I have replaced the can; no success. But I have noticed that there is always a low flow of electricity from the can on cable 23 to pin 1 of the relay. Is this normal?

If I put on the rh flasher there is electriciy on pin 8 of the relay, respectively on pin 4 when I switch on the lh flasher. I think that this is ok.

But is it really ok if there is always electricity in cable 23 from the can to the relay??? I suspect that.

You see, I was a little bit frustrated.......

But then I took the healey out without flashers and the joy of driving definitely overcompensated the frustration...

By the way: Sorry for my bad technical english!!!
 

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In stand by mode, relay terminal 1 would be hot via the flasher.

For a RT, relay terminal 8 would be steady hot via the turn control on the steering wheel. This energizes the RT relay.

Terminals 6 & 7 would be hot via the relay contacts & terminal 1, until the current to the front & rear bulbs caused the flasher can to start operating. It is the current drawn by these bulbs that causes the flasher to operate.

When the flasher starts, terminals 1, 6, & 7 will be intermittently hot in time with the flasher.
D
 
Hi Johnny,

thank you very much. I have followed your advice on handling the gaps of the flasher-box. After adjusting the gaps properly everything is working again as it should.

Wolfgang
 
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