Hi guys!

Had a weird issue come up this weekend. I went to drive my truck for the first time in a couple of weeks and when I got in I noticed a constant clicking from under the dash (whether the truck was on, off or if the indicators / hazard lights were on or off). I investigated and found it was my flasher relay. I have replaced this relay recently (within the past year) to an EP27L to accommodate the LED lighting I installed throughout the truck (hyper flash on the old relay doesn't even describe it properly, it was a constant buzz!) and it has been working perfectly until this point.

I thought it may just be something going on with the relay so I pulled it and replaced with the old EP27 unit I still had. It does the same thing, albeit at a slower rate (every 4-5 seconds). The lights do not blink when it is doing this, but still operate normally when I move my stalk up or down or when I press the hazard / flasher button on top of the steering column.

My question is, has anyone else had a similar issue, if so what was the fix? I am wondering if there is a short somewhere in my multifunction switch that is causing this issue? If so, why would it come up when truck has been sat?

I didn't have the time, not the inclination to roll around inside my truck (hotter than hades here in Florida right now) to troubleshoot any further. I pulled the relay altogether until I get some time and cooler weather to look into it further.

Otherwise the truck seems to operate as normal, even all the lighting seems to have no ill effects from this?

 

i had a similar issue just a few months ago. Flasher clicking as you say whenever i tried to use turn signal. I replaced it with an old one, a new autozone one, a new oreilly one, and even a new Ford relay, still the same result... I then bought a new multi-function switch but when i got down to it it was only a loose connector on the switch. On mine the retaining tab that holds the connector in place had broken and over time the connector had worked loose. I plugged it back in and the clicking stopped and turn signals work again. Going on 4 mths now... I hope it turns out to be this simple for you..

 

Thanks for the reply! Where exactly is this connector? In the steering column?

 

yes...

 

Perfect! Thank you so much for the info! Now I just need to find 5 minutes.......

 

I am having the same issue. I think. Very similar. I HAVE a 1997 b4000. Led flasher Part # for it says a 2pin flasher. A 1997 "Ford Ranger" part# says 5 pin flasher. I have a 5pin, so, common sense says, being they're sister vehicles, replace 5pin with a 5 pin right? I buy new led flasher from Amazon, part #'s match all cross references so don't go there lol, put in flasher and it clicks constantly, at a normal rate mind you, no matter what. Take out new led 5pin while issue is happening live, old flasher works fine. While still clicking I replace with the old standard flasher and it stops immediately. I have a combo of led and factory bulbs in the locations that need a flasher. (incandescent taillights but led front lower turn signals). At 1st I thought the same, a short or I had accidentally pressed the 4ways on top the column. NOPE. I interchange the flashers live action...lol, led clicks and standard old does not.

 

TLDR on this: I got a bad generic flasher, got a Novita branded one which worked.

I just fixed this issue yesterday in my 1999 Ford F350. The issue started out because my left-front turn signal wouldn't work even though the bulb was fine, 4-way flashers would light it, etc.

So I figured okay, it's the flasher relay, and since I'm replacing it anyway I'll get an LED compatible one. Of course, getting to that flasher under the dash is a pain in the butt. I started out by removing the ashtray & cup holder and scraping my arm to get to it, but turns out it's a LOT easier just to reach up from near the gas pedal. Of course, it's one of those things where you kind of have to know where it is by that point, but once you do, it's super easy to reach.

I got the el-cheapo flasher (EP27) from Amazon for just under $10 and when I plugged it in (I'd already swapped all the bulbs for LED at this point) it worked great. For about 5 minutes. Just long enough for me to confirm everything was working, all the signals, hazards, etc.

That's when it started clicking, as if I had flipped a signal or turned on the hazards, constantly. Even with the engine off. With the key out. Curiously, if I started the truck I couldn't hear it at first, but if I listened closely (and put my finger on the flasher) I could tell it was actually still constantly clicking, just not as vigorously.

After researching on here it sounded like my multifunction switch might be the issue so first I made sure the plugs on it were all inserted okay. Then I noticed that the constant clicking from the flasher was still happening even with the MFS entirely unplugged. "Okay," I thought... "maybe it needs some grounded connection from the MFS harness to shut it up."

Flash forward to yesterday, I stopped by the local Autozone and picked up a new MFS (thankfully they had it in stock) and also got a Novita branded EP27 LED flasher.

Step 1 was to put in the new Novita flasher and see if that took care of it. Yes... that was it. The el cheapo one from Amazon was bad - plain and simple.

Step 2 was to go ahead and replace the MFS because there was a separate issue with flipping it up to signal a right turn - it usually wouldn't "stick" and I'd have to hold it up to keep the signal going. I couldn't see any obvious issues with it when I eyeballed it, but I already had the new one in my hands and figured I may as well. Yeah, it was $88 or something but meh... worth it to me not to have to fight that arm on every right turn.

Anyway, the long story short - it was a bad knock off EP27 module from Amazon. No branding on it besides just the model name and the little layout showing what the 5 pins are. The Novita branded module from Autozone worked great. I saw Amazon has those too, and same price, but some reviewers said they ordered the Novita and got an unbranded knock off instead, so I guess it depends on the seller, if they're going to rip you off or not.

To Amazon's credit, I initiated the return of the bad module and I didn't have to actually return it. Which tells me that enough people have returned these as being defective that Amazon no longer cares to receive the bad ones back anymore, and they trust the customer if they say it's defective.

 

did you figure out exactly what the cause was of the flasher clicking constantly? Mine has been doing it for months and drive me insane.

 

I'd be curious to know if his issue was similar to mine, where the flasher module was just flaky, and getting a good replacement fixed it.

The oddest thing in my case was the way it would click non-stop (more like a buzz... probably hundreds of times per second) even with no key in the ignition, hazards off, etc.

I don't know how it's wired but it must be getting voltage all the time so that the hazards could operate. And for whatever reason the bad module was triggering the relay all the time. Even stranger, the buzzing would diminish slightly with the key in the ignition position. At first I thought it would stop entirely but putting my finger on it I could tell it was still activating rapidly, just not with as much gusto.

I just chalked it up to a bad flasher since the replacement one from the local auto parts store worked great. I pulled apart the bad one I got online just to see what made it tick, but there's really not much to see on there. Bad IC, I guess.

 

Kind of the same thing going on with my truck ... 2002 F250 ... I recently decided to replace my turn signals/running lights with brighter LED lamps. I did the rear first and right away, noticed the dreaded "hyper flashing". Rather than installing a load resistor I decided to order an LED style flasher. On my truck, the emergency flashers and the turn signals use the same flasher. I also ordered and installed LEDs for the front turn signals/running lights. I installed the new LED flasher (which wasn't easy) and it seem to work for about an hour then noticed that with everything turned off, it was still making a ticking noise (just like the turn signal was on). Mind you that everything was working fine before I started this conversion project. I removed the new flasher and put the old one back in. Now the old one buzzes when I have the running lamps on and try to use the turn signals (still with LED's installed). The signals went back to hyper-flashing when in day-time use (without running lamps on). I'm completely baffled.

UPDATE: I ordered the NOVITA EP27 FLASHER from Amazon and it solved my problem... Everything works as it should with the new LED bulbs installed front and rear.