I keep going through flashers
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I keep going through flashers
Alright guys, in my 79 Bronco, I keep going through flasher 'fuses'. From the day I bought it (4 years ago)...ever 4 months the flasher right by the fuse box would go bad. Originally I put the cheapo $3-5 flashers in. And for the last year and a half or so, I use the $12ish heavy duty flashers...and get about 6 months of use out of them.
When the flasher goes bad, the symptoms are different sometimes. There have been times where my signals will blink really fast, there have been times where my signals go solid and other times nothing happens at all. Then I replace it, and all is right with the world. And now it has happened again, and sometimes it blinks so fast, you can barely tell it's blinking and other times it's slightly slower. And yes, the outside light corresponds with the speed of the dash indicator. Symptoms remain the same when headlights are on or off or brakes are on or off.
Anybody have any suggestions as to why this is happening? I've had other dentsides go 5-10 years before needing a new flasher.
When the flasher goes bad, the symptoms are different sometimes. There have been times where my signals will blink really fast, there have been times where my signals go solid and other times nothing happens at all. Then I replace it, and all is right with the world. And now it has happened again, and sometimes it blinks so fast, you can barely tell it's blinking and other times it's slightly slower. And yes, the outside light corresponds with the speed of the dash indicator. Symptoms remain the same when headlights are on or off or brakes are on or off.
Anybody have any suggestions as to why this is happening? I've had other dentsides go 5-10 years before needing a new flasher.
MSEE
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,386
Likes: 35
From: Austin, TX
Sounds like one or more lights in the circuit are the wrong bulb. It's also possible there's a weak short in the wiring out to the lights, downstream of the flasher.
The flashers in these trucks are thermal. The heat dissipated in the flasher element as current passes through the flasher is what triggers the lights to shut off (when the element cools, they turn on again). This is what creates the blinking effect. If there's too much current, the lights blink too fast. If there's enough current, the flasher will burn out. That's why the model number of the bulb (which specifies the filament resistance) as well as the number of bulbs matter.
The flashers in these trucks are thermal. The heat dissipated in the flasher element as current passes through the flasher is what triggers the lights to shut off (when the element cools, they turn on again). This is what creates the blinking effect. If there's too much current, the lights blink too fast. If there's enough current, the flasher will burn out. That's why the model number of the bulb (which specifies the filament resistance) as well as the number of bulbs matter.
MSEE
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,386
Likes: 35
From: Austin, TX
That's a band-aid fix that doesn't necessarily solve the problem. A healthy electrical system should handle a thermal flasher just fine. If it doesn't, something's wrong. While an electronic flasher might make the symptoms go away, there's still an underlying current draw problem that needs to be solved before it causes something else to show up.
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Thanks guys. I'll be the first to admit, electrical work is not my forte...and when I first bought this thing, the whole damn thing had to be re-wired. So seeing as this was my very first big electrical project, I'm sure there probably are some integrity issues in the system, that I didn't know about or just overlooked. Thanks for all the help.
My next question though, where in the heck do you start looking? Start from the socket(s) and work back or from the fuse and work forward??????
My next question though, where in the heck do you start looking? Start from the socket(s) and work back or from the fuse and work forward??????
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