For clarity, there are two skinny brass bridges inside the switch mechanism…one for the upper and one for the lower row. So four parts will fly out when you take it apart…two u-shaped brass bridges and two microscopic springs.
Now, in terms of the circuitry…why does the repeater light on the dash have an independent ground? Is this a ground for the flasher, perhaps?
Just for the record, I did NOT take the switch apart. I found that with enough q-tip cotton swabs, toothpicks, some spray electronic cleaner, and some spray electronic de-oxidizer the switch and contacts cleaned up very nicely saving me the risk of a springageddon.
I revised my previous post…basically asked why the repeater on the dash has it’s own ground. Is this tied to the operation of the flasher canister (for the signal lights)? In other words would the signal light canister go inop with a bulb failure on the dash indicator? Difficult to understand operation without a diagram of the flasher internals…
Eric,
The repeater lights (flasher W/L on the schematic?) ground through the flasher switch. I.E. BW/LGY through switch to ground and BR/LGU through switch to ground. That is their only ground, I guess because they are mounted in plastic?This then allows them to be controlled by controlling their respective ground. Just speculating here though.
The flasher internals can be view via photos and a short video here:
Thanks, Craig. Missed that post. Very helpful.
Well done Craig!
For the sake of people who are dissatisfied with the new forum platform, Craig’s use of the new facility is a perfect demonstration of what you can do easily with the new platform, but only with great difficulty (if at all) on the old one.
XKE Series 3. LHD
Left hand directional indicators flashing much faster than right hand indicators.
Is the problem in the steering column directional switch or the flasher unit under the glove box?
I have accessed the column switch unit and removed covers and clamps etc. to check GR and GW voltages. These appear to fluctuate between 10 and 20 volts when lights flashing.
I’m looking for advice before proceeding further. It seems to me that the flasher unit only reacts according to the external voltage applied to it and may not be the problem. Should add that all bulbs are exactly matched.
Flasher unit works on load…… it needs 42 w to function correctly
Check the matched bulbs are all 21w
Danny
I checked the bulbs on both sides of the vehicle. Both front bulbs are double filament 1157 and the rear flashers are single filament 1156 . The flasher filaments of the front bulbs and the filaments of the rear flashers are identical resistance .5 ohms (when cold, assuming a tenfold increase in resistance when operating normally to yield 21 watts )
Could this imply a lower resistance path to ground in the left hand flasher circuit?
Andrew I don’t have a wiring diagram for the series 3 …… check your wiring and that the front bulb is wired the right way round… so that the 21w comes on not the 5w …… that’s all I can think of I’m no auto electrician
If the bulbs themselves check out ok, then one of the wiring sections on the left hand side has a break in it, either on the green/white wire, on the earth return, or at one of the connectors or socket.
There is a s3 wiring diagram on xkedata.com
kind regards
Marek
Marek
I replaced both rear flasher bulbs with new bulbs. (Sylvania 1156)
Now both sides are flashing at the same rate but very fast , around 120 flashes per minute.
Both red/green wire and green/white wires show the same resistance to ground with no current, .5 ohms.
Do you think this points to a problem with the indicator flasher unit?
Andrew
Yes, these flashers will flash fast with out enough load like 2 1156 bulbs. Probably time to buy an LED rated flasher.
Does it flash at the correct speed with two of the old bulbs fitted on one side? If so, then this is a load thing and the flasher wants to see two old style filament bulbs, not one filament bulb plus one low load bulb.
LED bulbs are low load - they don’t draw much current and will cause trouble. The Sylvania 1156 is a halogen bulb - again, this is not a standard old fashioned filament light bulb.
You can either fit an old fashioned (high load) filament bulb as a replacement or use a flasher can which works with low loads. That type of flasher can has a timer inside rather than a load sensing bimetallic strip which heats up and cools down with load to give you the timing.
Before you decide, take a look at the wiring diagram to see whether you need another flasher can for the hazards aswell. The cheapest option is almost certainly going to be to have just the old fashioned 22W filament bulb as a like-for-like replacement.
kind regards
Marek
Bill and Marek
Thanks for the invaluable information. I didn’t realize that the 1156 21watt bulbs I used were of lower resistance than the original 21 watt filament bulbs. I called SNG Barratt and they have the early filament versions for $1 each so I ordered 4.
My original problem was caused when I replaced one of the old filament bulbs with an 1156. This caused one side to blink faster than other. I expect the flashers to be ok when I replace both of them with the original type bulbs.
The hazard flashers are working normally with the 2 1156 bulbs at the rear. So I expect them to be ok with the new original type bulbs.
Try swapping the flashers and see what happens. The speed of flash will also depend on the voltage, so with a charging generator or alternator the lights will flash a little differently.
The filament bulbs arrived from sng barratt and were fitted today. Turn signals now balanced and repeat at a rate of around 100 times per minute. Somewhat faster than expected but well within the legal limits of 60 to 100.
Correction ‘60 to 120’ flashes per minute.