Flasher Unit Bad ?

I am not sure how to tell if its my flasher or Turn switch I believe its the flasher Unit as the light do not flash and the Hazards do not flash But I could be wrong.

And If it is bad what one do I go for I saw some on eBay but they look different in design . Any help or advice would be great Someone said something of baking it in the oven and i was unable to see what to look for in the break they talk about. is there way to test it first?

They are easy to test if you have a 12 volt or 24 volt power supply and a test light or volt meter. Here is a video showing how to test the flasher:

I've noticed with a bad flasher that sometimes the appropriate pair of lights comes on but does not flash ,, and other times nothing comes on at all

a trick i learned some time ago was put it in the 4-way position and let it sit that way while you do your pretrip, or are puttering around in the vicinity while it's running and able to keep an eye on it, or while on the road.. Sometimes the unit will warm up after a while (or whatever it needed to do) and the lights are flashing

Sometimes it will stay operational awhile until the next time the truck sits for a few months, and sometimes the trick just doesn't work.. Everyone's results may vary

I have good spare levers and flashers from my part-outs and use a set for troubleshooting .. I have seen four different makes/designs and it shouldn't make any difference as long as the plug fits .. The one you pictured is the newest style , and i'm still running a few of the old metal ones

thank you all who responded for the Information. I bought an older flasher unit I Believe to replace it 11613631 i did the test the light stays solid as you can see by the photo. I assume the flasher unit is bad then ?

There are posts here about this on how to build your own.....i bought a few, they kept dyin, so i did what Clinto suggested and built one, still goin strong (knock on wood)

marchplumber said:

There are posts here about this on how to build your own.....i bought a few, they kept dyin, so i did
what Clinto suggested and built one, still goin strong (knock on wood)

Click to expand...

Cool you have skills No one I know out here works on these I moved to seaside Area Soon to Klamath Falls Do you happen to have that Link ?

M-series flasher relay - civvy conversion how-to

Do a search with that if it isn't the link....Clinto is the author....

Appears that the link didn't come through, but a search will bring it up....Good luck!!=)

SoldierwithaM109A3 said:

Cool you have skills No one I know out here works on these I moved to seaside Area Soon to Klamath Falls Do you happen to have that Link ?

Click to expand...

Thanks for helping me get better at computer stuff....im mechanical, not an IT guy, but wanted to help ya, so i kept trying....LOL

Thx all for that

SoldierwithaM109A3 said:

thank you all who responded for the Information. I bought an older flasher unit I Believe to replace it 11613631 i did the test the light stays solid as you can see by the photo. I assume the flasher unit is bad then ?

Click to expand...

yes bad .. i would be curious though if you kept it powered up awhile whether or not it would start flashing on its own .. it might, it might not .. i always thought individual electronic components inside an assembly could only be good or bad, and not intermittent .. But i've seen some of these military flasher units defy that belief


wait a minute, "military flasher units" ??? sounds like something that could've aired on Monty Python.

msgjd said:

wait a minute, "military flasher units" ??? sounds like something that could've aired on Monty Python.

Click to expand...

Napoleonic warfare in field trench coats? What are they doing- OHHHH MY!

@marchplumber thanks for the thread link. It makes me want to try to design a reproduction flasher case I can 3D print to fit modern off-the-shelf components, but looks close enough to the original.

I u

HDN said:

Napoleonic warfare in field trench coats? What are they doing- OHHHH MY!

@marchplumber thanks for the thread link. It makes me want to try to design a reproduction flasher case I can 3D print to fit modern off-the-shelf components, but looks close enough to the original.

Click to expand...

I used a weather tite electrical box.....worked well with cover....if you could design it....make the 3D schematic for printing....it could become a popular replacement item....I followed Clinto's suggestions.....its not green, or black, but could easily be painted such

HDN said:

Napoleonic warfare in field trench coats? What are they doing- OHHHH MY!

Click to expand...

i can hear michael now.. "What a suuuper idea for a skit! "


and after your skit, cue John to say his infamous "different" line , and camera pan to clinto and marchplumber working on their home-made flasher boxes wearing ,,, wearing what? ,, or not

msgjd said:

i can hear micheal now.. "What a suuuper idea for a skit! "


and after your skit, cue John to say his infamous "different" line , and camera pan to clinto and marchplumber working on their home-made flasher boxes wearing ,,, wearing what? ,, or not

Click to expand...

Jeweler's glass and a boler???

marchplumber said:

I used a weather tite electrical box.....worked well with cover

Click to expand...

i wonder why the gov't likely spent stupid $ on those electronic flashers, when a simple SAE 24VDC mechanical cylindrical-type flasher housed in a weatherproof metallic or non-metallic box w/ removable cover and gasket-based cannon plug in a knockout (or cast/moulded theaded hub) would've done the job just fine and likely be way better than what's on the trucks

I look at it the same as the push button light switch replacing the tried and true 3 lever switch. If you can’t make a large amount of money on it invent something that you can make a large amount of money on and get it on the appropriation list. Then make even more money when it has to be replaced more often than projected.

Barrman said:

I look at it the same as the push button light switch replacing the tried and true 3 lever switch. If you can’t make a large amount of money on it invent something that you can make a large amount of money on and get it on the appropriation list. Then make even more money when it has to be replaced more often than projected.

Click to expand...

That's called "engineered obsolescence".

Is it up to the vehicle manufacturer to source components, or is it usually the government who specifies it? Imagine the flasher guy getting their foot in the door and making bank all these years later on flashers with a useful life measured in less than five years

The standardization of parts among all military vehicles was a result of lessons learned in WWII. The first M series vehicles such as the M35, M37 and M38 were in my opinion stop gap trials. All wiring the same, lights and switches along with alternators, distributors as much as possible, fuel caps and such all the same basic parts. The next generation incorporating all of the innovations intended never happened. Korea, SAC and the federal interstate system took all the money Congress had plus much more with none appropriated for replacement of vehicles that actually did work.

Then the CUCV version of vehicles got plugged in as cheap replacements. I count the M715 as the first of these. Jeep civilian truck with as much M series standardization as possible. The Dodge and Chevy CUCV trucks were progressively more civilian than M series. The 1980 election finally unleashed the money flow from Congress toward military vehicles. By then the suppliers were very well intrenched in the system and profited greatly. That still hasn’t stopped.