News:

Due to a technical issue, some recently uploaded pictures have been lost. We are investigating why this happened but the issue has been resolved so that future uploads should be safe.  You can also Modify your post (MORE...) and re-upload the pictures in your post.

Main Menu

1941 Cadillac Turn Signal Indicator Light

Started by J. Russo, July 26, 2021, 01:12:03 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

J. Russo

I have an after market 6 volt flasher in my car. The flasher is operational with the exception of the turn signal indicator bulb wire that is connected to the "P" terminal on the flasher. I've read a post where it was mentioned the ground for this wire is provided by plugging the bulb housing into the back of the speedometer.

This does not flash when I use the turn signals. The wire is brand new and tested good with a multimeter.

Does anyone know if I need to add a ground to the "P" terminal on the flasher in order for this to work? I've reached out to the vendor to see if the flasher may be defective.

Thanks,
John
Thanks,
John Russo
CLC Member #32828

Daryl Chesterman

This thread may or may not help you with the flasher wiring.

     http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=135483.0

Daryl Chesterman

J. Russo

Hi Daryl,

I saw this post while researching my issue. My wires are connected correctly and I verified the bulb is good. Not sure why it's not flashing.

Thanks,
John
Thanks,
John Russo
CLC Member #32828

J. Gomez

Quote from: J. Russo on July 26, 2021, 03:21:54 PM
Hi Daryl,

I saw this post while researching my issue. My wires are connected correctly and I verified the bulb is good. Not sure why it's not flashing.

Thanks,
John

John,

For the '41 with positive chassis ground the negative side of the BATT provides the power to the "X", the "P" on the flasher (if is the old thermostatic type) would extend the same "negative" power source as the "L" for the pilot light, the filaments of the bulbs provides the path to the chassis positive to activate the flasher.

Since you have an aftermarket type (you did not mention if it is the newer electronic type or the old thermostatic  ??? ) you can check with a test light the "P" terminal and to chassis (positive) to verify it is working.

Good luck..!
J. Gomez
CLC #23082

J. Russo

#4
J. Gomez,

I tested each terminal with my test light and the turn signal on. The L and X terminals light up. The P terminal does not. My guess is the flasher is an electronic type. It was made in Taiwan and I bought it new a month ago on Ebay. The vendor knows little about it. They just sell them. It was listed as compatible with my Cadillac.

With that said.....is the Tung-Sol 229D the only flasher I should look for?

Thanks,
John
Thanks,
John Russo
CLC Member #32828

J. Gomez

Quote from: J. Russo on July 26, 2021, 07:57:51 PM
J. Gomez,

I tested each terminal with my test light and the turn signal on. The L and X terminals light up. The P terminal does not. My guess is the flasher is an electronic type. It was made in Taiwan and I bought it new a month ago on Ebay. The vendor knows little about it. They just sell them. It was listed as compatible with my Cadillac.

With that said.....is the Tung-Sol 229D the only flasher I should look for?

Thanks,
John

John,

Others may have additional suggestions, but with having a positive ground many aka aftermarket electrical parts are 50/50 that they would work correctly. The old thermostatic flashers with the correct voltage they are 100%.

One thing I've found with some new 3-prongs electronic/relay type flasher (advertised as LED or standard bulbs compatible) they may show the correct terminals "X", "L" and "P" but there is one small caveat is the "P" is not for the "Pilot" but is the ground for the electronics inside, so these are 2-prong plus ground prong.

The correct ones should have 3-prong (same labeling) with an extra wire just for the electronics ground, so the "P" also flashes.

Good luck..!
J. Gomez
CLC #23082

J. Russo

J. Gomez,

I purchased a Tung-Sol 229D flasher with the same result. The P terminal is not supplying power to the indicator light. I did connect the indicator light to the L terminal and it flashes when I turn the signals on, but it also stays lit solid when the turn signals are off. Looks like that is not the solution.

Could you expand on the ground you wrote about in your previous post. If I keep the connection of the indicator light wire to the P terminal, where does the extra ground wire connect to the flasher?

Thanks,
John
Thanks,
John Russo
CLC Member #32828

J. Gomez

Quote from: J. Russo on July 31, 2021, 05:59:47 PM
J. Gomez,

I purchased a Tung-Sol 229D flasher with the same result. The P terminal is not supplying power to the indicator light. I did connect the indicator light to the L terminal and it flashes when I turn the signals on, but it also stays lit solid when the turn signals are off. Looks like that is not the solution.

Could you expand on the ground you wrote about in your previous post. If I keep the connection of the indicator light wire to the P terminal, where does the extra ground wire connect to the flasher?

Thanks,
John

John,

Sorry for confusing the ground, the "ground" I meant relates to the electronic type flasher aka the ones advertise as LED/standard bulbs would have the "P", the "X" and the "L" but they also have one extra wire for the ground just for the electronics inside the unit.

In your details finding something is not correct in the wiring or the dash indicator or ???

The attach file shows the wiring diagram for the 1941 flasher and lights connections plus a copy of the 3-prong flasher for reference.

You will notice on the wiring diagram the "P" is at the terminal of the dash bulb and the other side of the bulb is "ground (positive)". The "L" extends over to the switch and it connects to both front and rear bulbs depending on the position L or R for the flasher to start.

The bottom layout shows how the flasher extends the "X" "voltage" over to both the "P" and "L" once the contacts made to light the lamps, but the "L" (load) Is the one that will starts the flasher cycling.

Hope this helps..!
J. Gomez
CLC #23082

J. Russo

Thank you for the info. I've re-confirmed that the wiring is correct at the signal switch and the flasher. I've reached out to the harness maker to get their input as to why the P terminal has no power.

Something I didn't mention previously is that my bulbs are blinking very fast on both sides, over 130 times per minute. I don't know what the norm is for the flasher I have (Tung-Sol 229D). The other flasher I was using behaved the same.

I've researched some reasons for the fast blinking which could be bad bulbs, a bad ground or the turn signal switch.

The bulbs are good and I don't believe I have a ground issue as the bulbs are plenty bright and when I unplug the ground wire from the front bulbs they flash very dim.

I'd appreciate any other ideas folks might have if in fact the blinking I'm experiencing is not normal.

Thanks,
John
Thanks,
John Russo
CLC Member #32828

J. Gomez

John,

Quote from: J. Russo on August 01, 2021, 10:11:48 AM
Thank you for the info. I've re-confirmed that the wiring is correct at the signal switch and the flasher. I've reached out to the harness maker to get their input as to why the P terminal has no power.

That would be the best bet as they should be able to address if there is wiring issue in this case, maybe mislabel or wrong connections, etc. If you do not have power on the "P" terminal that is the first thing to check and validate.

Quote from: J. Russo on August 01, 2021, 10:11:48 AM
Something I didn't mention previously is that my bulbs are blinking very fast on both sides, over 130 times per minute. I don't know what the norm is for the flasher I have (Tung-Sol 229D). The other flasher I was using behaved the same.

The fast rate of flashing is not normal that is an indication that there is something wrong (again wiring issues above). Under normal conditions if the flashing rate is very fast that is an indication one of the bulbs filaments is open since the overall resistance for the flasher to work correctly increased but this is predominant for newer models with the directional dash lights as well as the front and rear with 3-bulbs.


Quote from: J. Russo on August 01, 2021, 10:11:48 AM
The bulbs are good and I don't believe I have a ground issue as the bulbs are plenty bright and when I unplug the ground wire from the front bulbs they flash very dim.

Well that is another indication something is not correct in the wiring (see above) if you follow the diagram both front and rear are tight together (in parallel) so if you removed one of the bulbs the flasher with just one bulb may or may not start or it may click once and just the rear one will be lit NOT the front since the bulb is removed, same would apply if you remove the wire from the bulb socket from either front or rear.

Good luck...!
J. Gomez
CLC #23082

J. Russo

I realize this is an older post but wanted to provide an update. To summarize I had 2 problems.

1. The turn signal bulbs were flashing very fast, about 130 times per minute.
2. The turn signal indicator bulb within the speedometer was not flashing at all.

I recently realized that my brake and turn signal lights were not very bright, especially in the daylight while driving. I did some research on this forum and found there is a higher power 6 volt 1154 bulb that I could use. The model is 1154HP. When I installed these new bulbs in the back for the brake lights and turn signals, the HP bulbs were definitely brighter. I also found that installing these bulbs resulted in the speedometer bulb for the flasher now blinking and the turn signals are now flashing at a normal pace where before they were flashing very fast.

I can't explain why both of these issues have been addressed with the higher candle power bulbs. I just know everything is working as normal. I didn't do anything other than take the bulbs out of the sockets and install the HP bulbs. I just thought I'd share in case someone else has the same issue.
Thanks,
John Russo
CLC Member #32828