Turn signal kit question

Discuss all things Model T related.
Forum rules
If you need help logging in, or have question about how something works, use the Support forum located here Support Forum
Complete set of Forum Rules Forum Rules

Topic author
JRSpada4
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:39 pm
First Name: Jim
Last Name: Spadafore
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1925 Touring
Location: Fairmont,WV
MTFCA Number: 49891
Board Member Since: 2016
Contact:

Turn signal kit question

Post by JRSpada4 » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:04 am

At the end of the last driving season, I installed the 7-wire turn signal kit that the vendors carry. I'm sure everything is wired correctly, but they hyper-flash. I did tap the power from the back of the key switch, so the flasher is near the coil box on the dash. The bulbs are 6 volt incandescent. Any ideas on where to start troubleshooting? Is it something in my setup or do I just have a bad flasher?


Tom Hicks
Posts: 761
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:07 pm
First Name: Thomas
Last Name: Hicks
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '24 TT, '26 TT, '24 Speedster, '26 Speedster
Location: Chesterfield, VA
MTFCA Number: 32518

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by Tom Hicks » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:11 am

I think you will find that 6V draws a lot of amps which makes it flash faster. They should make a "heavy duty" 6V flasher. I'd try that first.
Technology, the solution to all of our problems... and the cause of most of them.


Topic author
JRSpada4
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:39 pm
First Name: Jim
Last Name: Spadafore
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1925 Touring
Location: Fairmont,WV
MTFCA Number: 49891
Board Member Since: 2016
Contact:

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by JRSpada4 » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:14 am

That's what I was thinking, but it's odd that Lang's and Snyder's would sell a kit that requires modification.


samuel pine
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2019 5:47 am
First Name: samuel
Last Name: pine
Location: dighton mass.
Board Member Since: 2004

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by samuel pine » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:23 am

Thats odd, I bought a run of the mill two prong 6vt flasher Napa works perfectly...

User avatar

AdminJeff
Posts: 988
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:32 pm
First Name: Jeff
Last Name: Stevenson
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1921 Touring
Location: Wilder Idaho
MTFCA Number: 50006
Board Member Since: 2017

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by AdminJeff » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:37 am

Tom Hicks wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:11 am
I think you will find that 6V draws a lot of amps which makes it flash faster. They should make a "heavy duty" 6V flasher. I'd try that first.
6v Or 12v makes no difference. The laws of physics and electricity demand that V=IR, or I= V/R no matter what. Get the right flasher and 6v bulbs. I bought this flasher and it works great, AND it has a buzzer I can actually hear in my open car. Any 6v motorcycle flasher should work fine.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07G85SZ ... b_pd_title

Jeff
Assistant WebSite Admin
1921 Model T Touring, 1930 Model A Roadster
Voltage Regulators, Starter & Generator Repair
www.modeltregulators.com
www.modeltstarters.com


Tom Hicks
Posts: 761
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:07 pm
First Name: Thomas
Last Name: Hicks
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '24 TT, '26 TT, '24 Speedster, '26 Speedster
Location: Chesterfield, VA
MTFCA Number: 32518

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by Tom Hicks » Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:04 am

AdminJeff wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:37 am
Tom Hicks wrote:
Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:11 am
I think you will find that 6V draws a lot of amps which makes it flash faster. They should make a "heavy duty" 6V flasher. I'd try that first.
6v Or 12v makes no difference. The laws of physics and electricity demand that V=IR, or I= V/R no matter what. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07G85SZ ... b_pd_title

Jeff
E definitely equals I X R!

Resistance is constant in this case,
so if E =12 , then 12 = I X R
If you change E to 6 with the same R, then I doubles, E = 2I X R. You are drawing twice as many amps.

Years ago I found that when I hooked up my truck to a trailer with incandescent bulbs (all they made back then) he signal flasher went really fast. I bought the "heavy duty" flasher from NAPA and had no more problems. So that is why I think current draw effects the rate of flashing.

The first thing to check is did you buy the 12V unit. Vendors sell the turn signal for both 6V and 12V. The 12 volt unit would have a flasher capable of handling the lower ampere draw of a 12 V system.


Then call the vendor, tell them the problem, I bet they have the answer. And I suspect that you have a lot of lights and your current (present) flasher unit can not handle the current(amps).
Technology, the solution to all of our problems... and the cause of most of them.

User avatar

George Mills
Posts: 543
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:32 pm
First Name: George
Last Name: Mills
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Roadster, 1919 Hack, 1925 Fordor
Location: Cherry Hill NJ/Anona Largo FL
MTFCA Number: 29497
MTFCI Number: 10032
Board Member Since: 1999

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by George Mills » Sat Apr 06, 2019 1:37 pm

The supplier has supplied sometimes mismatch. They just reship what their supplier prints on the box.

If you bought the 7 wire kit with the indicator light, I have specified 6V and received 12V which means at high noon it looks like a blown out match! They have been helpful, sent me replacement bulbs, but they too were 12v so I changed it out myself...they do try!

Not sure about the flasher tho’. I trashed the one they sent because it wouldn’t blink with led in front and rear 4 corner...replaced it right off the bat with one someone forum said was rated for led duty. It worked


Tom Hicks
Posts: 761
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:07 pm
First Name: Thomas
Last Name: Hicks
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '24 TT, '26 TT, '24 Speedster, '26 Speedster
Location: Chesterfield, VA
MTFCA Number: 32518

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by Tom Hicks » Sat Apr 06, 2019 2:01 pm

I have the standard turn signal kit on all three of my running T's. One TT and the speedster are all LED lighting. LED's draw very little current, the flasher will not work with them alone. I had to put a resistor in parallel with each turn signal to draw enough amps for the flasher to work.


The TT Ellie Mae I am presently building also has the signal kit, but the flashers work because the front turn signals are incandescent. They draw enough current for the flasher to work.


Your problem has a simple solution, I suspect an incorrect flasher, and I will be interested when you get back with what you find!
Technology, the solution to all of our problems... and the cause of most of them.

User avatar

Novice
Posts: 584
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 12:25 pm
First Name: Jim
Last Name: Davis
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926 Touring. 1923/26 Open Express. 1920 depot hack
Location: Tomball,Texas
MTFCA Number: 49832
MTFCI Number: 24686
Board Member Since: 2017

What makes a turn signal flash faster.

Post by Novice » Sat Apr 06, 2019 2:53 pm

FYI. The flasher speed is inverse to the current flow. So when a light bulb burns out the turn signal flash faster because of less current draw. Found this on the web.

What causes turn signals to flash fast?
When a turn signal bulb burns out, less current flows through the mechanical flasher, so the bi-metallic strip cools faster and snaps back to its original shape faster. So the on/off cycle runs much faster when even just one bulb is burned out.

An electronic flasher mimics the operation of a mechanical flasher by flashing faster when it detects a lower current draw due to a burned out bulb.

©, 2018 Rick Muscoplat


Topic author
JRSpada4
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:39 pm
First Name: Jim
Last Name: Spadafore
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1925 Touring
Location: Fairmont,WV
MTFCA Number: 49891
Board Member Since: 2016
Contact:

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by JRSpada4 » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:17 pm

I think George may have the answer. My flasher unit is marked "heavy duty", but may be the 12v unit. The box was marked 6v, but the kit was supplied with 12v bulbs. Lang's swapped them out no problem. I'm thinking the whole kit was mislabeled.


Topic author
JRSpada4
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:39 pm
First Name: Jim
Last Name: Spadafore
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1925 Touring
Location: Fairmont,WV
MTFCA Number: 49891
Board Member Since: 2016
Contact:

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by JRSpada4 » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:12 am

I had the correct flasher, but it must have been bad out of the box. I ordered a replacement from Snyder's and everything is working perfectly now.


Spade
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2019 8:48 am
First Name: Curtis
Last Name: Fesler
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1923 Fordor
Location: Ozarks of Arkansas

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by Spade » Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:41 am

Good deal. I wired up the flasher and could not believe it when they worked. I am not the best at following directions but this kit works well.


Tom Hicks
Posts: 761
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:07 pm
First Name: Thomas
Last Name: Hicks
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '24 TT, '26 TT, '24 Speedster, '26 Speedster
Location: Chesterfield, VA
MTFCA Number: 32518

Re: Turn signal kit question

Post by Tom Hicks » Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:58 am

Spade wrote:
Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:41 am
Good deal. I wired up the flasher and could not believe it when they worked. I am not the best at following directions but this kit works well.
Great! Thanks for getting back with the solution. It can be aggravating when you do the installation correctly and one of the components is defective, but you should have no more problems with it.
Technology, the solution to all of our problems... and the cause of most of them.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic