Info needed: M38A1 flasher/signal unit on the steering column

[rob love]

Five it is.....I will amend my post. Thanks Wayne.

Mathematics say though that potentially 6 bulbs at an amp a piece require a 6 amp or higher fuse.

[Les Kovacs]

Thanks Rob & Chris for your answers and input....I found a 28 volt, 4.6 watt Wagner dash bulb from my local NAPA as well....I was told that the dash bulbs are the same as the turn signal bulb....bought 5 for about $1.30/each.....did I get the right bulb?

On start up, the turn signal worked for about 2-3 times-the green light flashed a few times then went out altogether....in your opinion, is it the old wiring which in places looks a bit worn, the flasher unit which is screwed high on the fire wall on the drivers side or is it the lever itself?

When the unit failed, the only thing I did 10 minutes before the failure was replace the two front orange lenses....any chances I broke or touched something wrong?

Thanks again,

les

[rob love]

I think your flasher is tired, or possibly had bad ground, but most likely is tired.

It can be replaced with a 2 prong 24 volt flasher if you have trouble finding a solid state one. The solid state flasher connection has 3 pins. Two of them are power in and flash out while the third is a ground. Install a normal flasher across the power in and flash out wires. Whether you cut your existing wires, or figure a way to tie in to the wiring is up to you.

If the lamp merely stayed on, then it would indicate a short, which is easy to find. There are 4 wires at the harness that have to do with the actual lamps. They are easy to remember....even will be for the right, and odd ofr the left. The key is number 460 and 461.

460 is front right turn
461 is front left turn
460-22 is rear right turn/brake light
461-22 is rear left tuen/brake light.

You would simply remove the connector at the signal arm, then with a multi meter set to ohms, put one wire of your meter to chassis ground and the other to the appropriate pin on the harness. Sorry, but I don't remember the abc numbers on the harness, but you can look those up on any SMP schematic easily enough. You will find the ohms reading (resistance) of each lamp will be somewhat similar. But if there is a short, you will find one wire will have a much much higher resistance or even a completely grounded condition. That will tell you what wire you are chasing.

The most common place for a short was the little wiring clips along the frame. They could eventually rub through the insulation of the harness and cause a short. Merely moving the offending clip a few inches along with a bit of electric tape would fix the problem.

I am sure whatever bulb you bought is fine.

Doubtful that changing a lense is your problem, although a lot fo the wires were pretty chewed up where they pass under the hood. As well, they will have been cut and a blue connector installed when guys would pull the engine. Far easier to do that than try and undo the little screw that held the clamploop that secured the wire. You could almost tell how many times the engine had been out by the number of crimp on connectors on those two wires.

[Les Kovacs]

Thanks Rob-I ordered a signal lever-it should be here tomorrow-if its not the problem...I will order a flasher-I guess I will keep lever as a spare. I will get back to this post if things do not work out.

Regards,

les

[rob love]

My money says the flasher, but what do I know.

[Les Kovacs]

Hi Rob....you are most probably correct. I just replaced the signal lever and the blinkers still do not work. With the power on and the new lever placed in left or right position the green light comes on and stays on (no blinking)until it goes back to off. So, I now have two operable signal levers which suggests that it's either the harness or the flasher unit.....I have a flasher on order which should be here tomorrow-I will keep you posted.

As well, I am still stumped as to the oil consumption of about a liter/700-800kms seeing that there is no smoke anytime, the plugs show no oiling, the antifreeze is crystal clear now for over 800 kms and the oil is not a chocolate shake. The oil dripping may be 3-5 drops per day from the rear main seal & the front crank seal. So, I contacted the retired CFB Petawawa mechanic that rebuilt the jeep. I mentioned the oil consumption and details. He said that: 1. A long stroke engine does inherently consume more oil (he did admit that the oil consumption that I had was somewhat unusual) but that he has seen much worse. 2. On rebuilding, he put in new rings (oil control & compression), all new bearings, oil pump etc).....so he too was stumped as to the oil consumption as the jeep only had 1100 kms on it when I bought it after the rebuild. He did mention the PCV valve but I told him that I had that off & well cleaned. He lastly suggested that I change to a straight 30 weight oil for the summer. I also mentioned the engine temp....he said that he was told to keep engine temps down on all of the M38A1 jeeps he maintained so he pulled the thermostats to keep the fluid circulating and that maintained temps to about 130-140F. He suggested that I pull my new 160F thermostat out if I am seeing temps in the 180 F range.
Any thoughts?

Regards,

les
les

[rob love]

Is your flasher harness fused? You don't want to burn out your new flasher, do you?

I would leave the thermostat alone. Nothing wrong with 180°F. The engine should be at full operating temperature to properly burn it's fuel.

Overheating on Jeeps however is not a good thing. I have seen more than a few blocks cracked in between no2 and no3 cylinders.