1952-59 Ford Turn Signal / Flasher Help

Hi guys....Last night my turn signals gave out on my '55 Fairlane. By that I mean that they do not come on at all.

So with that I believe the culprit can be narrowed down to the fuse, the flasher or the switch. Now, are all three of these pieces up underneath the dash? Silly question I'm sure, but I'll tell you that I had a heck of a time getting up there to see anything last night :w00t: . Should I be able to reach up and grab the wiring, and then all three pieces will come down for servicing, or do I need to work upside down with a clutch pedal in my head :hehe: .

Now, as far as parts, I don't know what fuse I need. For the flasher I believe it's part#13350 (or NAPA NF535) and switch 13341, is that correct?

Posted this over at Y-Blocks also, but I'm really hoping that some help can be provided for this newb!

Thanks in advance for any help or insight you guys can provide!!! -Jeff

 

the switch is in there column under the steering wheel, the flasher unit is under the dash , i know i had turn signal and brake light issues due to the contacts being very dirty in the switch in column(you can try to flip the trun signal switch back and forth a whole bunch of times and see if they come back on) but since you say they both dont work i would suspect a fuse or the flasher unit has gone bad, i rewired my car 12v and new wiring so i cant look at mine, one thing you can do is get a probe test light and when you locate the flasher unit test both leads and find if your getting power to it..... if so then you test the other side if power is coming out. i would just take the flasher unit in to autoparts and have it matched up, make sure you get what ever voltage your running 6v,12v? or it can be a fuse but to tell you the truth its been so long since i looked at stock wiring in a 50's ford i couldnt tell you where at they are but would think they are under the dash on drivers side . i think some stuff had inline fuses in black/brown plastic fuse holders. if you test it like i said from the flasher , if theres no power then its from there back up to the column ,so you could trace wire back and see if theres a inline fuse all the way to the switch in column.

 

I'd go with flasher or contacts in the steering column, I don't recall there being a fuse in the system. I've had to clean up the contacts on my 55 a couple of times. Gary

 

I'm picking up the flasher after work today....NAPA will have one by 3. Gotta' love 'em! So I'm hoping that's the problem. I really don't think it's the fuse, but in any event I didn't know what one to buy anyway until I can pull the one out from the car, if that proves necessary.

Now all I have to do is actually find where the flasher is up behind the dash and somehow contort myself to get at it!!

 

Looking at that one pic of the front of your car, if it wasn't for the post they'd be twins.

 

@Gary - Ha....ain't that the truth! Just checked out your pics: very sharp ride! Who knows, maybe they rolled down the same ***emblyl line one right after the other!

OK, an update: I'd definitely say it is the flasher. Pulled it out from behind the dash and just out of curiosity then I tried the signals again. Sure enough, they sort of worked again, albeit intermittantly. If they stopped but I moved the flasher unit, then they'd kind of work again. Doesn't seem like a wiring issue though, but the flasher unit.

But of course this wouldn't be quite as simple as just taking one out and plugging the replacement unit back in (NAPA NF535). The old one had two connecting posts, with an orange and a blue wire connected to the flasher. The new one has 3. I don't know that much about auto wiring, and there are no lables on the old flasher and my shop manual, though it has a wiring diagram, doesn't spell it out for newbs like me. Also, the new flasher has a 'P', 'L', and 'X' labeling next to the posts, but I don't know what those mean (I'm guessing P is +, maybe??? but no idea on X and L).

To top it all off, the wiring off the car has two differnt connectors, kind of like a male and female type of thing, while the new flasher has just males. Does it sound right that I'd have to chop the end off one of these wires to splice a new connector on?

 

im pretty sure you have the wrong one you need the two prong 6v
X=12VDC feed from fuse
L= Load - to the Turn Signal Switch
P=Pilot - indicator light in Speedo.

......you will have to put the new style connectors on the wires ,depending on the prongs on flasher....


you can use these to replace the connectors on the fords in the future on repairs(sometimes you have to spread the bullets open a little) the are sold at any auto parts store
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=bull...&w=528&h=332&ei=XbA8ToWPKMzSiAK3qZzDBg&zoom=1

 

I'm hoping it's the right flasher....I know that it's definitely 6V at least, only because it's actually printed on the flasher itself. Only wish I knew which wires went where!

 

did you read my above post??????????????????????????????????????????????
it tells you what goes where!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
im dumb founded right now you didnt catch it on here or yblocksite..................................................................

just replace the 12v with 6v power in the above equation ! try just hooking up the X and L and not the P.....prongs!!

here ill repost it:
X=6VDC feed from fuse ( power wire to old flasher)
L= Load - to the Turn Signal Switch (the other wire that was on old flasher)
P=Pilot - indicator light in Speedo.( dont hook this to anything)!!!

 

Sorry to disappoint Lost. When you started out with 'you have the wrong one'....I guess I didn't pick up on what you were explaining. I appreciate the help though and spelling it out.