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Abe, that's a very sensible response. I never sold anything on e-bay, but maybe I should learn how. Goodness knows I have a lot of things acquired over the years that aught to be for sale on e-bay. Pretty soon I'm going to have two new Chinese relay switches to add to the two I already have. My dear wife could really get into the e-bay selling thing. There are two old wooden sailboats in our driveway that she would like to see gone for sure. But alas, the selling won't probably start until after I'm gone.
My poor old truck is just slipping little by little over to the "dark side" with its two headlight and now two (soon to be installed) signal light relays. How many relays are in a modern vehicle by the way? But hey, I'm still 6V positive ground. LOL.
Here is a question about the Signal Stat turn signal switch which I have asked myself since I owned my truck in 1977. How do they make those pilot lights "burn out proof"? My grandfather would have had the turnsignals and the Signal Stat switch put on whenever PennDOT made turnsignals mandatory. And those little green lights are still working!
Thanks Mark! Your switch has the "look" that would blend right in with my truck's very original no frills interior. I'll send you a PM. I'd send you some rep points too, but I'm not allowed to.
Abe, as we were messing around trying to get the Signal Stat switch to work, sometimes the little green lights lit up and sometimes not. Using diodes we were able to get the signal lights and brake lights to work. The only catch was when you applied the brakes, the signals stayed on but stopped blinking. We also had the little red signal light markers on the speedometer working. As mentioned though, sometimes the little green Signal Stat marker lights worked and sometimes they didn't.
Hi Jim,
Just finished a crazy week and was looking thru the posts. I just wanted to apologize for sending you on a wild goose chase. I really hope you get it figured out... keep at her. Using diodes is above my pay grade but sounds like your on the right track... You have a beautiful panel there, a few diodes or relays will never change that!
Zac
Hey Zac, no apology needed. You've been very helpful. The 6V relays are ordered and they were not very expensive. We are going to use your schematic to try to get the very cool looking old Signal Stat switch to work. I appreciate that you were able to post the information. The fact that we learned that 6V relays are needed in a 6V system, and you can't run current backwards through the diodes in 5 to 4 wire adopters, may be helpful to someone else down the line. It's all good. When you are retired, you have the time, and I've given up stressing about spending money (within limits of course).
The summer driving season is slipping away, and my turn signal/brake light issues are still not resolved. Finally, this afternoon my auto electrician friend had a chance to take a quick look at Zac's plan and the 6 volt relays I bought. It didn't take long to realize we were stymied yet again. My relays are double pole double throw with eight contacts arranged in two rows of four. The wire diagram shows relays with eight contacts, but they are arranged with five contacts on one side of the relay and three on the other--not four and four like mine.
Given the configuration of the relays we had, we couldn't duplicate the circuits in Zac's diagram, and of course we couldn't make the signals and brake lights work. Are 6 volt relays available with contacts configured like the ones in Zac's diagram (post #12)? Thanks.
Here is a question about the Signal Stat turn signal switch which I have asked myself since I owned my truck in 1977. How do they make those pilot lights "burn out proof"? My grandfather would have had the turnsignals and the Signal Stat switch put on whenever PennDOT made turnsignals mandatory. And those little green lights are still working!
They have a single bulb inside, and I've had to replace mine. The bulb is mounted inside the handle, so when you move it to L or R, the bulb moves behind the lens in the housing for L or R. When you put on the emergency flashers it lights the red lens. Very simple to take them apart to replace the bulb, as I recall it doesn't require taking the unit off the column.
The summer driving season is slipping away, and my turn signal/brake light issues are still not resolved. Finally, this afternoon my auto electrician friend had a chance to take a quick look at Zac's plan and the 6 volt relays I bought. It didn't take long to realize we were stymied yet again. My relays are double pole double throw with eight contacts arranged in two rows of four. The wire diagram shows relays with eight contacts, but they are arranged with five contacts on one side of the relay and three on the other--not four and four like mine.
Given the configuration of the relays we had, we couldn't duplicate the circuits in Zac's diagram, and of course we couldn't make the signals and brake lights work. Are 6 volt relays available with contacts configured like the ones in Zac's diagram (post #12)? Thanks.
Jim
Hi Jim,
you got the right relays by the sound of it. That wiring diagram is just drawn that way to make it easy to understand. If you got the same amount of terminals (8) and you ordered a double pole double throw relay then your set.
So how can we figure it out..... usually on the relay it will have the terminals numbered. Then on the side of the relay it will sometimes show a mini schematic about how it works. If you want to post a picture maybe I could give you a hand. If there is no schematic you might have to figure out with an ohm meter. Just energize the coil terminals with your 6v battery, and then test the terminals to see which ones open and close. I’m sorry if this is a little confusing it’s hard to type it all up, I’m sure if Your mechanic friend had more time he could figure it out. If you want to pm me I’ll send you my cell number and I could talk you thru figuring it out. If you could post a picture of the actual relay .... close up all 4 sides and top and bottom. Let’s see if we can get this working for you.
zac
Thanks Zac for staying on the case! The relays are 6 volt double pole double throw with 8 contacts. I don't recall that they were numbered. I'll post up some pictures tomorrow.
Upon further inspection, the contacts do appear to be numbered. Looking straight down at the the contacts, the left side contacts are numbered from top to bottom--1,5,9,13. The right side is numbered 4,8,12,14. There is a little schematic on what I would call the top of the relay (it is on the opposing side from the contacts), but I really can't make it out very well.
My relays are from the Germal company. The part number is MY2N-J
Here are some pictures:
Let me know if you need any more information or better pictures. If need be, I could try harder to figure out the schematic. I just remembered, my wife has a special light and magnifier for sewing. Thanks!!!
Jim
P.S. The last picture is the best view of the contacts. On that picture, the upper left contact is #1--upper right is #4.
Hi Jim,
Those pictures will work, I googled the relay and got a decent picture. let me think about it and I’ll write something up and post it. the relay coil though is polarity sensitive ... looks like they built in a diode so we will need to know whether your truck is still positive to ground or has it been changed over?
Zac
06-15-2018, 01:56 PM
