Turn signal flasher question

This may not seem important, but does you flasher turn on the lights immediately when the flasher lever is moved or does it do nothing thru the first 1/2 cycle?
I have one that "waits" and one that doesn't....
Thanks.

All of mine are the solid state versions and flash within seconds of the lever being moved.

Hmmm.....they are designed to flash about 80 times/sec, so if it takes more than 1/2 sec, then it's not immediate by my definition.

IMHO, you should be able to just bump the lever and get a signal, not having to wait 0.375 seconds to be exact.
The ones on the deuce and 8x8 both turn on immediately, but I have one from an M925 truck, which does not, so I'm curious...

They are all solid state since the '60s, so that's not the problem.

I dunno, Bjorn... maybe mine take a while for the wires to fill up with 'lectricity before it overflows into the bulbs.
Whatever they're doing; both of mine, as well as the flashers on every truck in our motor pool all work the same.

Mine blink real fast now for some reason?
but they all work.

....and then there's mine...sometimes it flashes, then sometimes it don't...then sometimes it does again...and and and...you get the idea. Yes, I know I need to purchase a new one...yes, the unit is grounded quite well.

Re: RE: Turn signal flasher question

Jones said:

I dunno, Bjorn... maybe mine take a while for the wires to fill up with 'lectricity before it overflows into the bulbs.
Whatever they're doing; both of mine, as well as the flashers on every truck in our motor pool all work the same.

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RE: Re: RE: Turn signal flasher question

The solid state flasher didnt appear until the late 60's before that a mechanical flasher was used it is identified by having a large relay box w/ all the wires attached.It was last used in production on the 715. Back then the mechanical unit was also supplied for installation on vehicles not orignally equipped(m-37 m-38 etc.) it is a very slow unit compared to the transistorised one and it is noisy you can clearly hear it. Later it was allowed that when the mechanical units failed they could be replaced w/ the transistor units in service, which explains how some older vehicles have them now. Im not sure when t/s were installled during production on other models ( duece 5 ton m151 etc)so I dont know if they had mechanical units in the beginning or if it was late enough that they got transistor units from the first. Here is the older mechanical kit: http://cgi.ebay.com/TURN-SIGNAL-SET...goryZ588QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

RE: Re: RE: Turn signal flasher question

Nice unit!
The first "transistorized" units were very heavy duty and actually used a 50 amp SCR to do the switching, they were good enough to cause a circuit breaker to trip in case of a shorted load, unlike todays' version.
In defense of the newer units, some do have overload protection.

Re: RE: Re: RE: Turn signal flasher question

gwalker said:

The solid state flasher didnt appear until the late 60's before that a mechanical flasher was used .......Im not sure when t/s were installled during production on other models ( duece 5 ton m151 etc)so I dont know if they had mechanical units in the beginning or if it was late enough that they got transistor units from the first......

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This may shed some light on the time in question:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index....n_signals&name=gallery&include=view_photo.php

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Turn signal flasher question

My newly aquired deuce has the tall skinny flasher unit with the heeat sink on top. I noticed on the way home that in 4 way mode it flashed quite fast. As we travelled the blinkers picked up speed as well. They stopped once and started working again. Finallly within the last couple of hundred miles they quit completely. I played with the lever ground but that didn't work. When I went up for the rally I took one of the wider aluminum ones up with me and plugged that in, worked great. Guess my whole point is on mine, them speeding up indicated an impending failure.

My blinkers haven't worked since I purchased the truck a couple of months ago.(before choping it up) Is the general concensus that I should replace the flasher unit first?

Swapping flashers should tell you if its a the flasher or chassis (flasher if the problem moves). If it's the chassis perhaps the voltage supply is down a volt due to connector/ ground corrosion(as westfolk points out)...

for the wires to fill up with 'lectricity

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Wires are already full of electrons. When a new electron arrives one has to leave. The effect is very fast, faster than the 'flow' of the electrons. It is like that desk top rack of swinging balls suspended on stings. Capacitors are full too but need to rearrange +/-(charge).

Maybe mechanical fashers are slow the first time because the bi-metal is colder?

LED bulbs are supposed to be faster getting bright [than filaments] .

Mine was real slow getting going. Sometimes 5 minutes. Sometimes less. Never the same...It was replaced.