Blinker speed on 1st Gen

[bepnewt]

How many times ( approximately ) per second ( or minute ) should my blinkers blink on my '64 when I have the turn signal on?

-BEPNewt

[RivNut]

That would probably depend on the flasher unit you have and the resistance of the bulbs. How fast does yours blink and are you thinking it's too fast or too slow? Really, really fast blinkers could indicate that a bulb is burned out somewhere.

Ed

[bepnewt]

That would probably depend on the flasher unit you have and the resistance of the bulbs. How fast does yours blink and are you thinking it's too fast or too slow? Really, really fast blinkers could indicate that a bulb is burned out somewhere.

Ed

Slow. I'll try to time it tonight, although my evening is pretty full as is.

I'm guessing once every 2 seconds is how it's currently blinking.

-BEPNewt

[CheezeMan]

Check the type of flasher unit you have. Thermal? Maybe its about to hit its blink limit.

I replaced my flasher last year as the turn signal sometimes didn't blink, was slowing down, and then finally stopped altogether.

I had the old thermal unit. Those were designed to fail after only 40 hours of blink time.

The new one I got from Rock Auto was a more modern electronic type used in today's cars and is also rated for 400 hours of blink time. It is a plug-n-play type so no modifications needed.

good luck!

[Guest Rob J]

Sounds to me like you must be low on blinker fluid.

[bepnewt]

Sounds to me like you must be low on blinker fluid.

Most likely. And I need to swap out the winter air and put summer air in the tires.

-BEPNewt

[bepnewt]

I didn't get a chance to mess with the car last night to time the blinkers. I'll have about an hour tonight before my plans kick in so I'll try to get the timing then and see about the below information...

Check the type of flasher unit you have. Thermal? Maybe its about to hit its blink limit.

No idea. How do I find out and where is the flasher unit?

The new one I got from Rock Auto was a more modern electronic type used in today's cars and is also rated for 400 hours of blink time. It is a plug-n-play type so no modifications needed.

This sounds like a good plan if the old one is bad. How much $$$ was it?

[Guest Rob J]

Most likely. And I need to swap out the winter air and put summer air in the tires.

-BEPNewt

And, while your at it, you may need to change out your muffler bearings (if they are a bit raspy). Also for improved brake "feel" and stopping performance, I've had great luck with a set of cross drilled brake lines.

[Guest u571]

The flasher is located on the fuse block which lives above the park brake pedal.That silver can is the flasher and they are cheap.If you get a new one make sure it has the same number of contact pins as the old one and if you need to pull the fuse block,for the sake of mankind-disconnect the neg. battery cable unless you want a fireworks display in your car!

If I remember correctly the flasher unit is easily accessable.I replaced mine when I changed some fuses as I had a new spare lying around.

Mark

[CheezeMan]

...from Rock Auto, the Tridon EL-12 unit was about $5.72. It's a no-brainer to install. Just make sure to disconnect the battery. The fuse block will pull out easily to get a better view of the slots where it connects--- if you're not a contortionist that is...

[bepnewt]

Update time - I got the new Tridon EL-12 a while back and decided it was time to put it in. The left blinker is actually to the point now where it doesn't blink at all - it just comes on and stays on.

So, I decided to actually see what was going on on the outside of the car.

Right blinker on, blinking fine, maybe a little slow. And, the blinker was clear on the front.

Left blinker on, no blink on front just steady on, and it was amber.

I bought a pair of amber bulbs to replace that clear one. I decided to check the amber one on the right and it was a beauty. Pic attached. Replacing that one kinda made sense, too. Plus, I hear the Smithsonian was looking for one of these bulbs.

So, now to the rear - the left rear blinker light doesn't even come on. It doesn't light up with brakes, either, which makes sense to me since I assume they both use the same filament. But, the running light works on it. The right rear is fine.

I tried a replacement bulb and got the same result. So, now my plan is to replace the flasher unit now and if that doesn't help, check fuses. I just looked at the fuse block and don't see the old one, but it's dark. Heading to get the shop-light and tackle the next step!

I really hope it isn't a short.

-BEPNewt

[bepnewt]

... So, now my plan is to replace the flasher unit now and if that doesn't help, check fuses. I just looked at the fuse block and don't see the old one, but it's dark

Well, what I thought was the fuse block wasn't, which explains why I didn't see the flasher unit. Here's a great thread on where the fuse block is in '63 and '64 Rivs.:

http://forums.aaca.org/f177/fuse-box-location-240325.html

I had misinterpreted where Mark ( a few posts above ) said to look so went searching in the forums.

I replaced the flasher unit and now I have working blinkers and brake lights. They even blink at a normal speed!

There are some good threads here in the forum on how the blinkers and brake lights interact and to diagnose a turn signal problem. There's also a lot of good info in the Chassis Service Manual.

Thanks for all the help, folks. I just bragged about all you guys to the guy across the street. He and his 20-yr old son are out there right now dismantling a pair of '72 Darts right now to make one car from. They have a long road ahead of them. Luckily, Dad is a major car guy.

-BEPNewt

ps. Attaching a pic of the sure box for future viewing of a '64 owner.

[CheezeMan]

BP, Glad you got that resolved. I didn't know about the '64 fuse panel being in a different spot. The '63 is behind the parking brake pedal, at the firewall.