Thanks Mr. Pete. I'm 61 years old and have been a helicopter mechanic for 40 years so figuring out mechanical things is in my nature but you just taught me something that I've wondered about on a few occasions. Hopefully age will never prevent me from learning new things. Carry on please, sir!
From what I've seen over the years, there's not a lot of people who have ever even heard the click of the flasher because they NEVER use their turn signals!! P.S. Love the What Makes It Work series!
I'll keep the idea of moving the flasher unit out from under the dash in mind. Tinitis and road noise won't let me hear them anymore. Too many hours on an old Cats with loose decking plates and un-muffled pony motors. As a young man, I spent a day running a series of errands with my Father. One task took us by where he worked at the rail yard. At the board marker's office he met one of his peers, Mr. Raymond "Ollie Dolly" (as the female clerks called him) Oliver. They hadn't seen each other for a while, so there was the usual greetings and exchange of news, part of that was about the recent influx of new 'kids' (switchmen) and how 'green' they were. Ollie asked: "Kenny, do you remember when we looked across the yardmaster's desk and thought 'when is this old prune-face going to retire?'" Dad nodded. "Now we are the prune-face." and now I are...
My daughter and I were working on replacing her flasher in her truck when you posted this video. Great timing, and yes girls also like watching your videos. Keep up the good work!
I recall when Dad had to hang his arm out the window to signal!! ;-) For years, he did that even with the turn signal on. Thanks for sharing and bringing back some good memories!!
Nice video. I troubleshooted a similar flasher (turn signal relay) a few decades ago when my 1962 VW beetle was acting up. The flasher in my old VW even had an adjustment screw to adjust the on/off time ratio (IIRC).
Thanks for another great video. I'd like to add that I solved the problem of not being able to hear the "click" by wiring a seat belt buzzer in series with the flasher thus making an intermittent "buzzing" sound. It was just obnoxious enough that I never again forgot to cancel my turn signal. :)
Great informative video. Loved your comments about the elderly Florida drivers. I'm there for the month and I agree with your observations completely. Lots of youthful aggressive drivers on the road too. I haven't decided which is worse.
My only disappointment was when you disconnected the still-hot wires from the working flasher setup (4:51), and laid them down, they didn't touch each other and create the world's smallest fireworks show, as they most certainly would have done for me...your comments would have been fun. I'm a BIG fan, Pete, and always look forward to the email notice about your newest video being ready for viewing...thank you for being who you are, and for doing what you do.
@mark spencer I see this is an old comment of yours, but maybe you still will read my response. :) This went through my mind too, but in fact, only the light would be turned on, if the two leads had touched each other. So no fireworks, because that would not have been a short circuit. :)
The strip of metal he's referring to is a bi-metal. Two different metals are sandwiched together to form the strip. Each metal expands at a different rate, when current is applied, which causes the strip to flex...hence, opening the circuit. Once the strip cools off, it regains its original form (closing the circuit) and the process repeats.
MrPete222 as stated below, and as I understand it, the "spring steel" part is indeed a a Bi metal strip with a Kink (or bend) in it and when heated it expands deferentially (one side more than the other) and Clicks (AKA Oil canning) and disconnects the heater then after cooling it relaxes, clicks back again and reconnects the heater for another cycle. I hope i've gotten it right :-) thanks for all your "Classes" in Machining etc.
Very nice! I have found out that the original General Motors flashers are irreplaceable. The aftermarket ones don't work the same and don't sound the same. Therefore, whenever I am at the junkyard, I collect original GM ones for my project cars.
Great video. The current flows through the heater element and completes the electrical circuit through the filament in the bulbs, however the heater element consumes just enough current to cause the heater element to heat up but not light up the bulbs. When the strip of metal flexes due to being heated it closes the contact points and gives the current a direct path to the bulbs causing the filaments to light up, at the same time the heater element cools down and the strip of metal relaxes and the contacts open and the cycle repeats itself. The reason that the flasher cycles faster when a bulb burns out is because there is LESS electrical resistance in in the circuit and the heater element heats up faster.
Why would be less resistance? The bulbs are conneced in parallel, if one of them falls out from the circuit, the resistance will be more and not less. The current will be less and not more.
Great video Mr. Pete! Very enlightening for sure! Interesting, at 6:46 it looks like the soldered connection in the upper left is liquified! I know it can't be so it must be a trick of the eye, but it really looks like the solder is moving in liquid form.
Another excellent how it works vid ! ! After seeing this I think I now know why the clicking cycle seems to speed up when you have a signal bulb burned out. The extra current not being used by the burned out bulb heats up the bi-metal quicker - with the extra current it quickens the cycle time.
I was just wondering about this - but I think this is not correct. This flasher acts as a switch, and the current flowing through it is defined by the resistance (the bulbs) and the voltage of the battery. If you take out one bulb, the current will be lower, because you have higher resistance for the same voltage, therefore the flasher will heat up slower. However, what I think really happens is, that the final temperature it reaches, before it turns on, is lower, just a bit over the switching limit, and so it cools down to the turn off limit in a shorter period of time. So the "temperature swing" is reduced, and so also the mechanical movement gets limited, and this results in a higher switching frequency.
Brings the feeling of those 1950's cars where the whole body was vibrating when the flashers were actuated, every piece of steel in those cars were welded solid together, so the KLUNK was really loud... My first memories were my dad's 1953 Pontiac... ;)
Nice video. I've been in and out of electronics since the early 1990's and was unaware of these thermal flashers. Simple concept though certainly, but very energy inefficient compared to digital technology. Well done video!
Very cool. Thanks for another great video Mr Pete. In your playlist for "What makes it work" there are 4 more videos that are [Private video], and therefore not viewable. Wasn't sure if you are aware of that. If you have 4 videos that aren't getting any views, that would be the reason. Don't misunderstand, this is total selfishness on my part. If you have made other videos, I want to see 'em!
+mrpete222 I actually wired in two, wired directly off the rear flashers. It was made easier with it being an estate. I also seldom have rear passengers to annoy ;-)
+mrpete222 That's all I did, cheap 12v buzzers from eBay, wired in series with the bulb. I left them behind the trim and they were still too loud so I wrapped a bit of foam round them. Been working for 5 years now.
You touched upon a good question; how does the complex turn single switch work? The opposite break light canceled by the turn single was a tough one to figure out.
Have you considered fitting a small buzzer tapped into the indicator output? many available on e-bay. Could use the simple buzzer and chewing gum approach to adjust volume - or a more sophisticated volume control using a variable resistor so you can set a comfortable level.
not just an "old person" issue -- same applies when radio is cranked by kids. how about visually checking the instrument cluster a few times a minute as we were taught in the old days?
Great video! Thanks Tubal Cain! How about taking apart some circuit breakers. Maybe square D QO? I just replaced a bunch in a panel that was overheating from bad breakers.
Hrm, perhaps this explains why the turn signals on my old motorsickle just burn solid and won't flash. Either the relay is seized up or it isn't getting enough current to heat up sufficiently to cycle.
It looks like the heater coil needs to turn on and off for it to cycle. I'm guessing that when the main contact is closed it by-passed the voltage to the heater effectively shutting it off .
Greetings, I have a question for you. I’m trying to make a DIY European style two-tone siren using car horns and need a flasher capable of handling the task. I’m using two Seineca horns, one at 335Hz (3.0 amps) and the second at 435Hz (3.0 amps). Any suggestions ?
Great video! I was looking for an instructional video such as this one explaining how to wire everything. I have two questions for you. Can a 12v Heavy Duty Flasher 537 be used with two 12v LED lights? How would I wire them?
I bought an aftermarket "loud" beeping flasher for my toyota tundra, but I wish I could find the "old school" style from the 60's that really sounded off with a double click. Anyone have any ideas to make the clicking louder??? Another Great video Mr Pete.
Well I be darned... all this time, I always thought it was a relay clicking, not a metallic strip. I wonder if some are relays? But then I'd imagine a relay wouldn't last as long given the duty cycles involved..
Now on fords they are incorporated into a $300.00 Lighting Control Module along with the Brake Light relay, High Beam relay and the Parking Light relay. The door ajar buzzer, head light left on buzzer and seat belt buzzer are incorporated into the cars audio system.
+mrpete222 Well I worked for a municipality's fleet that had about 120 Ford Crown Victoria's. They went out more often than the ones in Fred and Ethel's Gran Marquis. We eventually took the Lighting Control module apart, found out which relay went bad and got some replacement relays through Mouser Electronics. Someone mentioned the 537 flasher and yes we used them for the wigwag flasher on the police cars. We eventually went to the electronic control boxes for flashing the headlights because some car manufactures used negative switching and others used positive switching for the high and low beam lights. In the end they came from Ford with the wigwag flashing units already installed. Ford quit making the Crown Vic Police Interceptor in 2012 .
HI THERE,GOOD VIDEO',I HAVE THIS 1979 KAWASAKI KE 100 ENDURO,I REPLACED THE REGULAR SIX VOLT TURN SIGNALS WITH AN LED SIX VOLT TURN SIGNALS.WHEN I SWITCH TO THE LEFT,ALL 4 BULBS ARE FLASHING,SAME WAY TO THE RIGHT.WHERE DID I GO WRONG?PLEASE GIVE SOME ADVISE.THANK YOU
The directional lights on my '07 Chevy Cobalt work fine, but the clicking sound stopped a few years ago I figure that the flasher must be of the electronic persuasion and therefor be routed through at least 3 computers and would cost at least a thousand bucks to repair. I am an old man and I do drive with my directional light on occasionally.
+dan andy I do the same thing...don't quite qualify for senior discounts yet but I figure I'll leave mine on and take some of the pressure of the older fellers I seem to be rapidly catching up to.
+mrpete222 Thanks for replying Mr. Pete -- My theory was the outside temperature would affect the heating & cooling speed of that metal strip, which would in turn change the blink frequency. So in the winter when the temperature was -30 outside, the metal strip would take longer to heat up and cool quicker which would mean the blinker would blink quicker and pause longer between blinks. The inverse would happen in the summer. I've done some poking around the internets, and from what I can tell there would be a change, but it would be very small, so not noticeable difference... Testing my theory would be a neat experiment though...
@@2121jwill Temperature dependence is small, because the switching happens due to the temperature difference between the heated and non heated part of the mechanics. So, in wintertime both will be at lower temperature and in summer both at higher temp. The electrical power for the heating will provide in both cases the same "delta T" (temperatur increase), thus the switching process will have the same (or very similar) flow.
The flasher is an auto resetting circuit breaker. The on time and off time are dependent on the current draw of the bulbs. A failed bulb reduces the current draw and alters the timing. Likewise, adding a bulb would have an opposite effect - towing a trailer for example.
Although your statement is correct, it does not explain why a failed bulb would increase the frequency of the flash. More bulbs = higher current. Higher current means the strip will expand quicker. This would imply an increase in frequency as more bulbs are added to the circuit. But, the opposite seems to be the case. As you reduce the number of bulbs it reduces the current, yet the frequency increases. This timing question has puzzled me for years.
+KevCarrico, current is the flow of electrons through a circuit and doesn't exist until it is being used/consumed by a load. There is no such thing as 'excess current' that is not being used. The bulb's filament is a load and current flows while it's connected to the battery. When the bulb's filament breaks there is no longer a path for the flow of elections and therefore no longer any current.
U showed to types of flashers the one with the fine wire starts in the off state when a load larger then the fine heating element is connected it heats the element closing the the switch bypassing the heater sending full power to the light the element cools continuing the cycle. The other type of flasher starts in the on state and relies on the bulb load through the heating element to open the contact and turn off the bulb that flasher reacts more to load and may not flash with a missing bulb or flash very fast with to large of bulbs or a trailer added.
The 552's are too quiet. I like the old 323's better. Those are getting harder to find now. I had to order one through ebay a while back when mine went out. And today I went and scrounged some older model GM's in the junk yards and managed to find a couple that were easily accessible and still worked. I may go back this weekend with some tools to get the ones that are further up behind the dash.
I had something wrong with my truck flasher and it started going twice as fast but still worked, my buddy said it was a short and fixed it but I never knew exactly what went wrong.
I had a 1990 Plymouth Acclaim LE and it had a very unique flasher. The hazards and turn signals each had their own sound. The turn signals had kind of a "drum like" clicking sound, the hazards sounded similar but still different. Anyone know what type of flasher it was? And if it may have been 2 separate flashers? Thermal? Electro-mechanical?
Thanks for your video. I have a question, I notice that on some old cars that use a traditional flasher, when you switch on the turn signal, the first blink is always longer. Can you please explain why?
On the first blink, the stationary steel contact point is cooler, so it takes longer for it to drain enough heat away from the bending bi-metal strip than on subsequent cycles, after the stationary steel piece has warmed up a little.
mystery solved! I have always wondered about this. now I just have to try and figure out why my motorcycle right turn signal is mixed up with my brake light and why my turn signals won't blink
Thanks Mr. Pete. I'm 61 years old and have been a helicopter mechanic for 40 years so figuring out mechanical things is in my nature but you just taught me something that I've wondered about on a few occasions. Hopefully age will never prevent me from learning new things. Carry on please, sir!
You must be 65 now, how are you doing sir
From what I've seen over the years, there's not a lot of people who have ever even heard the click of the flasher because they NEVER use their turn signals!!
P.S. Love the What Makes It Work series!
+suzukichopper LOL--thats the best one yet--Thanks for watching
bmw
I'll keep the idea of moving the flasher unit out from under the dash in mind. Tinitis and road noise won't let me hear them anymore. Too many hours on an old Cats with loose decking plates and un-muffled pony motors.
As a young man, I spent a day running a series of errands with my Father. One task took us by where he worked at the rail yard. At the board marker's office he met one of his peers, Mr. Raymond "Ollie Dolly" (as the female clerks called him) Oliver. They hadn't seen each other for a while, so there was the usual greetings and exchange of news, part of that was about the recent influx of new 'kids' (switchmen) and how 'green' they were.
Ollie asked: "Kenny, do you remember when we looked across the yardmaster's desk and thought 'when is this old prune-face going to retire?'" Dad nodded.
"Now we are the prune-face."
and now I are...
My daughter and I were working on replacing her flasher in her truck when you posted this video. Great timing, and yes girls also like watching your videos. Keep up the good work!
Wow what a fantastic video! This is how you make a proper video on how something works.
Thank you very much!
I recall when Dad had to hang his arm out the window to signal!! ;-) For years, he did that even with the turn signal on. Thanks for sharing and bringing back some good memories!!
Always wondered how that worked. Thanks!
Nice video. I troubleshooted a similar flasher (turn signal relay) a few decades ago when my 1962 VW beetle was acting up. The flasher in my old VW even had an adjustment screw to adjust the on/off time ratio (IIRC).
Thanks for another great video. I'd like to add that I solved the problem of not being able to hear the "click" by wiring a seat belt buzzer in series with the flasher thus making an intermittent "buzzing" sound. It was just obnoxious enough that I never again forgot to cancel my turn signal. :)
+Will Shankle good idea
Great informative video. Loved your comments about the elderly Florida drivers. I'm there for the month and I agree with your observations completely. Lots of youthful aggressive drivers on the road too. I haven't decided which is worse.
+eldoradony They are both bad
My only disappointment was when you disconnected the still-hot wires from the working flasher setup (4:51), and laid them down, they didn't touch each other and create the world's smallest fireworks show, as they most certainly would have done for me...your comments would have been fun. I'm a BIG fan, Pete, and always look forward to the email notice about your newest video being ready for viewing...thank you for being who you are, and for doing what you do.
@mark spencer I see this is an old comment of yours, but maybe you still will read my response. :)
This went through my mind too, but in fact, only the light would be turned on, if the two leads had touched each other. So no fireworks, because that would not have been a short circuit. :)
really enjoy the what makes it work series. Thank you Mr Pete.
What a great video! Thank you so much for making this. Very helpful and interesting
Pretty Neat!!! Never gave much thought about that annoying little switch lol Nice to finally see what is in there mystery solved Thanks !
Pete....Like the way you explained and demonstrated...Great
Thank you
Beautiful. I love the level of detail in your film sir!
Thank you
Thank you! Great, thorough explanation and good quality visual representation.
Thanks
The strip of metal he's referring to is a bi-metal. Two different metals are sandwiched together to form the strip. Each metal expands at a different rate, when current is applied, which causes the strip to flex...hence, opening the circuit. Once the strip cools off, it regains its original form (closing the circuit) and the process repeats.
Like the way you explained it. Thank you
Another title might have been 'What makes it tick'. Thanks for all your efforts, I've learned a lot.
+chuck fischer I like that. I just added it as a sub title. thanks
Nice job, I'm enjoying this series. Thanks.
MrPete222 as stated below, and as I understand it, the "spring steel" part is indeed a a Bi metal strip with a Kink (or bend) in it and when heated it expands deferentially (one side more than the other) and Clicks (AKA Oil canning) and disconnects the heater then after cooling it relaxes, clicks back again and reconnects the heater for another cycle. I hope i've gotten it right :-) thanks for all your "Classes" in Machining etc.
This is SO FASCINATING
So interesting, Thanks!!
Great closeups. 👏🏻
Very nice!
I have found out that the original General Motors flashers are irreplaceable. The aftermarket ones don't work the same and don't sound the same. Therefore, whenever I am at the junkyard, I collect original GM ones for my project cars.
+davida1hiwaaynet Thanks for watching--resourceful
Great video.
The current flows through the heater element and completes the electrical circuit through the filament in the bulbs, however the heater element consumes just enough current to cause the heater element to heat up but not light up the bulbs. When the strip of metal flexes due to being heated it closes the contact points and gives the current a direct path to the bulbs causing the filaments to light up, at the same time the heater element cools down and the strip of metal relaxes and the contacts open and the cycle repeats itself.
The reason that the flasher cycles faster when a bulb burns out is because there is LESS electrical resistance in in the circuit and the heater element heats up faster.
Why would be less resistance? The bulbs are conneced in parallel, if one of them falls out from the circuit, the resistance will be more and not less. The current will be less and not more.
I found that very interesting. Always wondered how that worked. Thanks for showing us!
Great video Mr. Pete! Very enlightening for sure!
Interesting, at 6:46 it looks like the soldered connection in the upper left is liquified! I know it can't be so it must be a trick of the eye, but it really looks like the solder is moving in liquid form.
+ShysterLawyer Ha, it really does look just like that.
In HD you can see it's just a reflection and the wire is actually spot welded there.
+ShysterLawyer Thanks for watching
Great video
Great explanation. Thank you! Can I wire something to my turn switch without turning off with the relay turning on and off (light blinking)
Thanks sir, that was enlightening !
Keep on trucking (from France)
+MakeFix thanks for watching
Excellent. Amazing what a little heat can do. Thanks for sharing. regards from the UK
+Gary C Thanks for watching
Another excellent how it works vid ! ! After seeing this I think I now know why the clicking cycle seems to speed up when you have a signal bulb burned out. The extra current not being used by the burned out bulb heats up the bi-metal quicker - with the extra current it quickens the cycle time.
exactly
I was just wondering about this - but I think this is not correct. This flasher acts as a switch, and the current flowing through it is defined by the resistance (the bulbs) and the voltage of the battery. If you take out one bulb, the current will be lower, because you have higher resistance for the same voltage, therefore the flasher will heat up slower.
However, what I think really happens is, that the final temperature it reaches, before it turns on, is lower, just a bit over the switching limit, and so it cools down to the turn off limit in a shorter period of time. So the "temperature swing" is reduced, and so also the mechanical movement gets limited, and this results in a higher switching frequency.
Brings the feeling of those 1950's cars where the whole body was vibrating when the flashers were actuated, every piece of steel in those cars were welded solid together, so the KLUNK was really loud... My first memories were my dad's 1953 Pontiac... ;)
Nice video. I've been in and out of electronics since the early 1990's and was unaware of these thermal flashers. Simple concept though certainly, but very energy inefficient compared to digital technology. Well done video!
Thanks
Excellent video.. Awesome work..! Clean and professional .. Thank you so much for the explanation ..
Great explaination Mr. Pete!
Great video and education... Thanks!
Wonderful video thank you Pete
Very cool. Thanks for another great video Mr Pete. In your playlist for "What makes it work" there are 4 more videos that are [Private video], and therefore not viewable. Wasn't sure if you are aware of that. If you have 4 videos that aren't getting any views, that would be the reason. Don't misunderstand, this is total selfishness on my part. If you have made other videos, I want to see 'em!
Mr Pete, I too can't hear the damn thing so I wired in a small 12v buzzer. Works a treat!
+Peter Fletcher I need to do that. But cannot even find the flasher on my new car-it is behind the speedometer in a tight spot
+mrpete222 I actually wired in two, wired directly off the rear flashers. It was made easier with it being an estate. I also seldom have rear passengers to annoy ;-)
+Peter Fletcher Can I tap into the tailight wires, instead of the actual flasher? Also, what kind of buzzer.
+mrpete222 That's all I did, cheap 12v buzzers from eBay, wired in series with the bulb. I left them behind the trim and they were still too loud so I wrapped a bit of foam round them. Been working for 5 years now.
You touched upon a good question; how does the complex turn single switch work? The opposite break light canceled by the turn single was a tough one to figure out.
Very informative and helpful!
Thanks
Great video ,very detailed 👍👍
Thanks
Thanks for teaching me.
very helpful for me. putting turning light's on a motor cycle that never had them
Mr Pete that was great
+Doug Van Allen thanks for watching
Have you considered fitting a small buzzer tapped into the indicator output? many available on e-bay.
Could use the simple buzzer and chewing gum approach to adjust volume - or a more sophisticated volume control using a variable resistor so you can set a comfortable level.
An interesting explanation. Thank you
Thanks
not just an "old person" issue -- same applies when radio is cranked by kids.
how about visually checking the instrument cluster a few times a minute as we were taught in the old days?
Thanks for the visual of the ROFs in FL.
pretty cool Thanks for Sharing!!!
didn't know how it worked but I do now thanks
LOL -- men in florida, flashers and the "early bird special"!!!
Great VDO.
Thanks
explained in great detail as always.. thanks for sharing sir....
+Kevin Willis Thanks for watching
Great video! Thanks Tubal Cain! How about taking apart some circuit breakers. Maybe square D QO? I just replaced a bunch in a panel that was overheating from bad breakers.
+CRANEDRUMS Believe it or not, breakers are on my to do list.. I'm so cheap, that I'm watch for used ones
Thank you, I really enjoyed, that!!
Hrm, perhaps this explains why the turn signals on my old motorsickle just burn solid and won't flash. Either the relay is seized up or it isn't getting enough current to heat up sufficiently to cycle.
Great video sir
Thank you
Thank you for the great explanation! :)
It looks like the heater coil needs to turn on and off for it to cycle. I'm guessing that when the main contact is closed it by-passed the voltage to the heater effectively shutting it off .
+Maurice “Butch” Chauvette
Exactly !! So at six minutes Mr.Pete is correct.
Greetings, I have a question for you. I’m trying to make a DIY European style two-tone siren using car horns and need a flasher capable of handling the task. I’m using two Seineca horns, one at 335Hz (3.0 amps) and the second at 435Hz (3.0 amps). Any suggestions ?
Great video! I was looking for an instructional video such as this one explaining how to wire everything. I have two questions for you. Can a 12v Heavy Duty Flasher 537 be used with two 12v LED lights? How would I wire them?
I'm thinking that's a bi-metalic curved strip, not just spring steel. Good series!
I bought an aftermarket "loud" beeping flasher for my toyota tundra, but I wish I could find the "old school" style from the 60's that really sounded off with a double click. Anyone have any ideas to make the clicking louder??? Another Great video Mr Pete.
+GunPilot Thanks for watching
Well I be darned... all this time, I always thought it was a relay clicking, not a metallic strip. I wonder if some are relays? But then I'd imagine a relay wouldn't last as long given the duty cycles involved..
Now on fords they are incorporated into a $300.00 Lighting Control Module along with the Brake Light relay, High Beam relay and the Parking Light relay.
The door ajar buzzer, head light left on buzzer and seat belt buzzer are incorporated into the cars audio system.
+MD500E99 Hope they are reliable & no one has to buy a new one
+mrpete222
Well I worked for a municipality's fleet that had about 120 Ford Crown Victoria's. They went out more often than the ones in Fred and Ethel's Gran Marquis. We eventually took the Lighting Control module apart, found out which relay went bad and got some replacement relays through Mouser Electronics.
Someone mentioned the 537 flasher and yes we used them for the wigwag flasher on the police cars. We eventually went to the electronic control boxes for flashing the headlights because some car manufactures used negative switching and others used positive switching for the high and low beam lights. In the end they came from Ford with the wigwag flashing units already installed.
Ford quit making the Crown Vic Police Interceptor in 2012 .
+MD500E99 Interesting. My nephew is a state trooper. He loved the crown vics for their comfort & roominess--now drives something smaller.
Lovely thanks great video
+Dave Jones Thanks for watching
HI THERE,GOOD VIDEO',I HAVE THIS 1979 KAWASAKI KE 100 ENDURO,I REPLACED THE REGULAR SIX VOLT TURN SIGNALS WITH AN LED SIX VOLT TURN SIGNALS.WHEN I SWITCH TO THE LEFT,ALL 4 BULBS ARE FLASHING,SAME WAY TO THE RIGHT.WHERE DID I GO WRONG?PLEASE GIVE SOME ADVISE.THANK YOU
I’ve been watching your video for a long time....and now I realize how old you are :-) :-) :-)
75
Ate those things mandatory? Because I still hear the clicking in modern cars. As if other forms of circuitry is not allowed.
I would have mounted a "sugar cube" buzzer, and tapped it into the signal circuit.
The directional lights on my '07 Chevy Cobalt work fine, but the clicking sound stopped a few years ago I figure that the flasher must be of the electronic persuasion and therefor be routed through at least 3 computers and would cost at least a thousand bucks to repair. I am an old man and I do drive with my directional light on occasionally.
+dan andy I do the same thing...don't quite qualify for senior discounts yet but I figure I'll leave mine on and take some of the pressure of the older fellers I seem to be rapidly catching up to.
+Dave W + Thanks Dave. some younger folks don't think this will ever be them.
I was very surprised blinkers worked that way! So, does that mean blinkers would blink at different rates in the winter v.s. the summer?
+Jack Williams ???--Thanks for watching!
+mrpete222 Thanks for replying Mr. Pete -- My theory was the outside temperature would affect the heating & cooling speed of that metal strip, which would in turn change the blink frequency. So in the winter when the temperature was -30 outside, the metal strip would take longer to heat up and cool quicker which would mean the blinker would blink quicker and pause longer between blinks. The inverse would happen in the summer.
I've done some poking around the internets, and from what I can tell there would be a change, but it would be very small, so not noticeable difference... Testing my theory would be a neat experiment though...
@@2121jwill Temperature dependence is small, because the switching happens due to the temperature difference between the heated and non heated part of the mechanics. So, in wintertime both will be at lower temperature and in summer both at higher temp. The electrical power for the heating will provide in both cases the same "delta T" (temperatur increase), thus the switching process will have the same (or very similar) flow.
Please tell me sir what happens if we dont use indicator flasher relay
What makes it tick in double time if one of your bulbs is burnt out?
Thanks for the videos.
The flasher is an auto resetting circuit breaker. The on time and off time are dependent on the current draw of the bulbs. A failed bulb reduces the current draw and alters the timing. Likewise, adding a bulb would have an opposite effect - towing a trailer for example.
+Danny Morehouse Very well stated. I added your comment to the video at 5:35. thanks
Although your statement is correct, it does not explain why a failed bulb would increase the frequency of the flash. More bulbs = higher current. Higher current means the strip will expand quicker. This would imply an increase in frequency as more bulbs are added to the circuit. But, the opposite seems to be the case. As you reduce the number of bulbs it reduces the current, yet the frequency increases. This timing question has puzzled me for years.
excess current no longer used/needed by a blown-out bulb accelerates the blinker heating/cooling cycle.
+KevCarrico, current is the flow of electrons through a circuit and doesn't exist until it is being used/consumed by a load. There is no such thing as 'excess current' that is not being used. The bulb's filament is a load and current flows while it's connected to the battery. When the bulb's filament breaks there is no longer a path for the flow of elections and therefore no longer any current.
U showed to types of flashers the one with the fine wire starts in the off state when a load larger then the fine heating element is connected it heats the element closing the the switch bypassing the heater sending full power to the light the element cools continuing the cycle. The other type of flasher starts in the on state and relies on the bulb load through the heating element to open the contact and turn off the bulb that flasher reacts more to load and may not flash with a missing bulb or flash very fast with to large of bulbs or a trailer added.
+Cataskew Thanks-thats good info
The 552's are too quiet. I like the old 323's better. Those are getting harder to find now. I had to order one through ebay a while back when mine went out. And today I went and scrounged some older model GM's in the junk yards and managed to find a couple that were easily accessible and still worked. I may go back this weekend with some tools to get the ones that are further up behind the dash.
Good video! Thanks
Thanks
What type of flasher is it or to what car are i need one of those
I had something wrong with my truck flasher and it started going twice as fast but still worked, my buddy said it was a short and fixed it but I never knew exactly what went wrong.
+Shane K thanks for watching
My turn signals have been out for 4+ months I always worry about getting into an accident.
Why do I feel like MrDressup is making this video 😂
You used to be able to buy a 2 prong flasher that played Love Me Tender by Elvis.
I had a 1990 Plymouth Acclaim LE and it had a very unique flasher. The hazards and turn signals each had their own sound. The turn signals had kind of a "drum like" clicking sound, the hazards sounded similar but still different. Anyone know what type of flasher it was? And if it may have been 2 separate flashers? Thermal? Electro-mechanical?
So there is no blinker fluid?
Thank YOU 😊
Thanks for your video. I have a question, I notice that on some old cars that use a traditional flasher, when you switch on the turn signal, the first blink is always longer. Can you please explain why?
On the first blink, the stationary steel contact point is cooler, so it takes longer for it to drain enough heat away from the bending bi-metal strip than on subsequent cycles, after the stationary steel piece has warmed up a little.
cool , What was a vibrator under the dash connected to?
+finpainter1 -???? Thanks for watching!
old am radio
good explanation
mystery solved! I have always wondered about this. now I just have to try and figure out why my motorcycle right turn signal is mixed up with my brake light and why my turn signals won't blink
thank you, this is very helpful!
👍
Do you have a video on how to test a 5 pin ford flasher?
Lol very specific description of old men
It's not just spring steel, it's a bi-metal lamination.
I think he should have demonstrated that special loud flasher module that he bought, but didn't work in his car. It could be defective. ???
thanks for showing this.
keep up the video's
+novartec Thanks for watching
Two thumbs up
Very interesting!