Morris Minor Owners Club

hi need a bit of advise if poss on my indicator problem. ive read the other threads on the subject, but my problem is slightly different, when i first indicate either left or right, the indicator stork light and the indicator stay on, but after the first movement i can sit there all day indicating left and right with no problems, if i then leave it for a few minuites i then get the same initial problem , ie the light stays on permminatly, any help on this annoying little problem would be helpfull. many thanks steve

First step is to check connections on all lamps, second (and I think most likely) change the flasher unit.

Just learn to double flick the switch each time.......

When the indicator warning light stays on get out and check if the indicators are also staying on. If both front and rear are on but not flashing then you have a dodgy flasher.

thanks for that, yes lights do stay on, i will try another flasher unit, regards steve

Yes - but are they ON, but not flashing? It is the flasher unit - unless you have been changing bulbs and have put incorrect watts in?? Does it do this on both sides ??

Related but slightly different.

I bought new flasher units from ESM which I assume are 'Electronic' and not Bi Metallic (I'm wiring in the trafficators as well)

It says the car has to be negative earth, which it is, but they won't flash.

Any idea why, as the original Lucas Bi Metallic works fine?

If it is electronic and you are wiring indicators and flashers the unit will be seeing more juice going through it than it was designed for.
A bi-metallic one would just flash too fast for the same reason.

Sorry, I meant that the flashers alone won't work with the new units but do with the old ones.

I haven't got as far as adding in the trafficators

I think it's not the first time recently the ESM flasher units have been found wanting......

Are you wiring the indicators and trafficators according to the wiring diagram on http://seriesmm.mmoc.org.uk Tech. Info. Combined Indicator and Trafficator Wiring Diagram?
You will note that this system requires a flasher for each side and they are positioned after the trafficators which will have no effect on the flasher unit.
The diagram was originally designed for a dash mounted indicator switch with a built in warning light which uses 2 pin flasher units. If you are using a steering column indicator switch with warning light you will need 3 pin, 42+5W flashers and a wire from each P terminal to the indicator warning light.
I would stick with the old tin can flasher unit as it has no fancy electronics and is not polarity conscious

I don't know what exactly ESM have supplied, but many electronic units have three terminals which do NOT correspond to the three terminals of a bimetallic flasher. The Autosparks one, certainly, needs an earth, and does not have a separate terminal for the warning light.

Do the ESM electronic ones have Bosch-standard numbering on the terminals?

Kevin

ESM ones are 3 terminals marked:

L X
p

I can't read what the original Lucas ones say I'm afraid

@mike.perry Thanks for the info. All I have done is tried the new units in place of the old ones first. As they won't work, then nothing has been done yet about the traficators and yes the car has a 68 wiring loom and steering column indicator switch

I couldn't see the point of doing anything unless I knew that the 2nd flasher unit actually worked in the car (which it won't)

Replace the old flasher with each new flasher and if they work then continue, if not then disconnect the green and green/brown wires from the flasher unit and connect them together. Test the indicators, they should light but not flash. The warning light will not work. Connect the working flasher B terminal to the green/white wire from the indicator switch and the L terminal to the green/white wire to the R/H indicators and the light green wire to the P terminal. The right indicators should now work.
Repeat the test with the L/H indicators and when you are sure that the wiring is correct then fit working flasher units on both sides and connect both P terminals to the warning light. NB I have not actually tried the last bit but I am told that it works.

Sounds like the ESM ones are labelled the same as standard ones, so, before any changes to the wiring to provide semaphores as well as flashers, they should work if B is connected to the supply, L to the switch, and P to the warning light.

I've not tried Mike's idea about connecting two units to the warning light either: I've never had to cope with a warning light on the stalk, so I've always either been able to use two warning lights or one light connected across the switch outputs.

All of the electronic units that Vehicle Wiring Products offer need an earth, but not all the AES ones do - some must earth their electronics via the load, which would make them either not work or, worse, let the smoke ou _then_ not work if you connected the live feed and switch terminals the wrong way round.

I'm puzzled, and all I can suggest is double-checking it's connected correctly then send it back and ask ESM to check it if it still doesn't work. If, by any chance, it's not an electronic one, we're back to the alternatives of some units needing side repeaters as well as the two indicator lamps, or the general dismal quality of modern thermal flasher units.

Kevin

In the end I decided to simply wire the Semaphores in separately using a semaphore switch on the dash, so no need to mess around with the wiring.

Simply took a live from the switched side of the ignition to the trafficator switch and ran a twin core cable under the sill carpet, splitting off at the drivers side 'B' pillar to run across to the opposite side under the rear seat.

Both worked when tested, but were 'sluggish' at returning and one side didn't light up as it wasn't going quite high enough for the contact to make.

A bit of a clean and a drop of wondrous 3 in 1 oil on the hinge/springs and they now work perfectly

So now the car works as it would from the factory and I can use the semaphores at shows etc. and the modern flashers on the open road. I just need a new bulb for the semaphore switch (which is on it's way)

On the subject of the ESM new 'flasher' units, they are marked 21WX2+5W - max 47w

The original Lucas one is plain 42W and as it works, so I'm sticking with that

It is not difficult wiring according to the diagram and if you use a trafficator switch with the warning light built in then you only need 2 pin flashers.
Trafficators need to be used regularly or they stick