Fj40 Blinker Fix

[FJ40OliveRide]

I have a 1976 FJ40 that I am restoring. I am now testing the electrical system.

I had a blinker that turned the lights on but did not blink them. No emergency flashers or left/right, just constant on.

I opened the blinker module by carefully bending tabs to 90 degrees. Inside the blinker are two relays, a capacitor and some other components.

I connected a load light bulb to the "L" terminal and the + battery to the "B" terminal on the blinker to test. The bulb would light and the relay with the electrical components soldered to it would snap on but the the other coil would not subsequently fire and flash the bulb.

I found that the relay coil that connected to the capacitor and had no other components (the one where copper coil was exposed) would not snap down as it should when power is applied. I carefully unscrewed the contacts and bent the armature (moving part) spring slightly down toward the relay coil. Put the screw back in and it now works as it is supposed to. A very simple fix.

Hope that helps someone.

 

[firefighterjed]

Nice. Thanks for sharing and giving others the courage to dig a little deeper for the fix, rather than replace. One of the great joys of these vehicles it that they’re made of analog parts that can actually be repaired.

 

[73FJ40]

@FJ40OliveRide

What size bulb did you use for your test load? I was under the (mistaken?) impression that the standard flasher module wouldn't "flash" unless it saw the approximate current flow of two bulbs, signifying both filaments were functioning.

If one filament was burned out, the lack of current would prevent the flasher from operating, alerting the operator to the need to replace a bulb.

 

[FJ40OliveRide]

@FJ40OliveRide

What size bulb did you use for your test load? I was under the (mistaken?) impression that the standard flasher module wouldn't "flash" unless it saw the approximate current flow of two bulbs, signifying both filaments were functioning.

If one filament was burned out, the lack of current would prevent the flasher from operating, alerting the operator to the need to replace a bulb.

I used a brake light bulb that provided the required load.

 

[73FJ40]

I used a brake light bulb that provided the required load.

Actually, based on my comments above, two brake light bulbs in parallel would have been the appropriate testing load. The front and rear turn signal/brake light bulb filaments are the same in FJ40's.

A two bulb arrangement would double the amperage flow through the flasher, increasing the power to the solenoid.

 

[zerotreedelta]

The guts, for those who are curious. I pulled mine apart and made a new "lid" to hide the solid state flasher for LEDs. Tucked the guts in the originals storage container for now, it can always go back in.

It's a quirky little flasher unit - on the '76, it's always powered as well, just no load until the switch is enabled. Went to add a clicker to it (as the LED flasher doesn't click since it's solid state), and it just clicked ALL the time.