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TR2/3/3A What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flashing?

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TuffTR250

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What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flashing?

On my 61 TR3A what would cause fast flashing of the turn signals even though all 4 lights and the indicator light are all lighting up? It was my understanding that fast flashing usually meant one of the bulbs is not working, but it this case they are all lighting up. Thanks!
Bob
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

Anything that reduces the current can cause that.

Make sure you've got the brighter filament lighting at the front; and that you've got the right bulbs installed (no LEDs).

Look for a bad (high resistance) connection. Can happen almost anywhere, but I've had the most trouble with the 4-way bullet sleeves. Sometimes the internal spring conductor can crack and not conduct very well. Not common, but I have seen control heads where the contacts were worn until they didn't make good contact.

I've even heard of it caused by a wire that corroded inside the insulation.

One trick that might help run it down is to install a jumper across the turn flasher. That will give you constant voltage at the bulbs, to make it easier to check the voltage with the bulb installed.

If all else fails, try a different flasher.
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

I've always found that a higher load causes fast flashing, as it heats the flasher element quicker. Plug in a trailer and flashing usually speeds up. Since all your lights are working, my guess is a new flasher element would fix it.
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

Thanks! I'll try the new flasher first. That's the easiest to get to.
Bob
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

A question: will an electronic flasher work with regular bulbs? Or would I be best to switch to LED bulbs in the turn signals? Thanks!
Bob
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

My experience was that a lesser load (1 bulb out, dimmer filament used, LEDs installed) caused fast flashing.

A load resistor in parallel is one way to address this when using a conventional flash unit - a common way to make LEDs work.

That said, on one of my cars (VW) LEDs in the rear lights sped up the flashing but I actually kind of like the effect (i.e. more annoying / noticeable).
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

TuffTR250 said:
A question: will an electronic flasher work with regular bulbs? Or would I be best to switch to LED bulbs in the turn signals? Thanks!
Bob
Click to expand...
Depends on the flasher. I use a Tridon EL-13, which was readily available at FLAPS and works great (but probably wouldn't work right with LEDs). All of the others they had in stock would not work right in the TR3A circuit. (Yes, I tried a sample of every 3 terminal flasher they had in stock.)

I would think that most LED-rated flashers would work as well, but it might be tricky finding one that will correctly drive the dash lamp and you'll probably have another wire to hook up. I used a load resistor instead (as Geo mentioned).
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

Randall, I've found Novita EL-13 in local FLAPs but not Tridon EL-13. For a TR3A does it need to specifically be Tridon? Thanks!
p.s. I plan to stick with conventional bulbs for turn signals
Bob
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

Here are the load resistors I used to slow down the LED blinkers:

gfvJglJ.jpg


I used bullets on each end for a 'no cut' addition to the loom (one end to the turn signal wire, the other end to ground. Magnets on the bottom let me tuck the resistors out of sight (e.g. on the inner wing under the apron).
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

The resistors work great, but sort of defeat the main advantage of LED's...lower current draw. It might be best to swap the flasher to take full advantage of the LED's?
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

Who cares how much current the turn signals draw? They aren't on long enough to even include in a power budget!

The main advantage should be that they are much brighter than the stock bulbs.
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

I assume you mean much brighter for the same current draw, since you can also get brighter Edison style bulbs too.
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

If you know of an incandescent bulb that will fit the sockets and put out 2 to 4 times as much light, I'd sure like to hear about it.

A very brief video. The light on the right is an uprated incandescent, about 25% brighter than a standard 1157. On the left are several LEDs, drawing a total of about half as much power.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q4GMcD9DktQ

PS, my tr3 didn't come with separate turn signals in the rear, so I've modified the corner lamps to serve triple duty as stop, turn and tail lights. The video shows brake lights, but the turn signals are the same.
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

LEDs aren't merely brighter - they are more abrupt (there's probably a term for that). When they flash the on & off are more immediate and (my opinion) more effective.
 
Re: What causes fast flashing turn signals when all bulbs & indicator light are flash

Wow Randall, that Novita EL13 turn signal flasher did the job!! The turn signals are all flashing as they should, including the dash indicator light. I got it at a CarQuest store. Thanks for the tip on that flasher!!
Bob
 
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