Hello,
Chance's indicators began to act erratically.
I checked for bad grounds, and found a stripped wire. The pervasive legacy of alarm installers. I repaired it, but the problem persisted. The combination switch is fine, and the rest of the wiring was untouched.
The flasher relay turned out to be faulty. It is part 81980-12070, which is discontinued.
Notice that it has four pins and a rubber cap. The pins had a substance that looked, and felt, like bulb grease. There is an adapter to plug the relay into the three-pin socket.
In old age, carbon builds up between the contact plates above the solenoid. As a result, they stick together and interrupt the circuit. A flush with contact cleaner helps a little, but not for long.
The replacement part is 81980-32010. It is shorter. It has three pins, unlike 81980-12070. It plugs right in.
I noticed that the OBD port in the newer model 70 Series is close to the relay block. There is not enough room for the older part to fit. I guess the size change is to make it fit without interfering with the OBD port.
There are two part numbers in this relay. I suppose the lower part number is from Denso, but I may be wrong.
The indicators are now working.
I wonder if there are solid state relays for this application, just like there are solid state voltage regulators for alternators.
Juan