TR2/3/3A TR3 Electrical issue flasher unit

[prb51]

My old flasher unit was dead so I replaced it with a flaps 3 screw type.
My dash turn signal light illuminates on L/R but does not flash.
Are the flasher units sold by the TR suppliers special and work off of lower wattage or what?
Horn etc works fine.

 

[TR3driver]

My experience was that most of the 3-terminal units sold by FLAPS simply do not work correctly in the TR turn circuit. (I bought one of each, tried them all.) Not a matter of wattage so much, as the way the dash light is wired.

A Tridon EL-13 works, but the plastic case is kind of fragile. The first one I bought eventually broke, apparently just under the force from the clip. Being somewhat disgusted with that, I got one of the other ones to work, by rewiring the dash lamp from ground to the ignition circuit.

But then for the project TR3, I bought another EL13. Decided it's flash rate was a bit slow for my tastes (which might have something to do with my rather novel turn signal circuit), so I popped the plastic housing off and adjusted the tabs to get a higher rate. I'm reasonably happy with the result, although I still couldn't get it quite as fast as I wanted.

Of course, the sensible solution is to buy a proper reproduction from your favorite LBC vendor. But some of us are too stubborn for that!

 

[prb51]

Randall,
Thanks for the info.
Never had a flasher apart. I assume you bring the tabs closer together for a faster switch?

 

[TR3driver]

The EL-13 'electronic' flasher is quite a bit different inside than the usual 'thermal' flasher. It's more or less a relay with two windings, and a capacitor.
Unfortunately, I don't recall just what I did overall; it was kind of a trial and error process. I do recall that the margin between "faster" and "not working" was very small.

I don't particularly recommend the mod to others, just reporting what I did. If I manage to find an original Lucas can, I'll probably try to stuff a 'real' electronic flasher inside. NE555 anyone?