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

[Wayne Hingley]

Les; attached is a photo to support Rob's description above. There is a local connection in the 460/461 wire in that area. I used that connection to splice in the fuse (note section with red wires), as I don't like the idea of cutting wires in my harness.

[Les Kovacs]

Thanks a bunch Wayne & Rob..

I have several questions....looks easy but...where do you get the rubber connections to connect to the male and female plug (when pulled apart) with the fuse in the middle?

Right now, when the lever is activated left or right the light turns on but does not flash....does this indicate the flasher or harness?

While the lever was activated (light on with old flasher unit)I checked all connections and wriggle the harness from top to bottom but the light was still lit.....so....

If I replace the flasher with my new one and activate the lever will the flasher burn out if there is a short?

Regards,

les

[rob love]

Sounds like you are going to find out.

The rubber connectors are available from a variety of sources online....they won't be at the local auto parts store though. Don't get hung up on Wayne's perfectionist ways.....a couple blue connectors will work fine. So will solder and heat shrink for a proper long term and reliable solution.

You can always open up the connection at the 460/461 wire and tape a fuse across it just to test. Then you can put in your new flasher and if the fuze doesn't blow, you know it was the old flasher.

Or you can take a $50 chance and install the new flasher without a fuze and switch away. I know which one I would do.

[Les Kovacs]

Thanks Rob....I will go to Canadian Tire and see if I can find a fuse line & add a male connector to fit into the female (460-461?) and a find a female connector to connect into male (460-461?)....and, at the same time try to source a new harness as mine is a little roached.

Many thanks again Wayne & Rob,

es

[rob love]

You can get bullet connectors that are crimp on and will sorta interface with the military connectors, but you will have to tape the connections. They are likely available at Cdn tire, or places like NAPA etc.

I see where Wayne used the fuze holders for the little plastic fuses. To be correct for the time period of the Jeeps, you will want the inline fuze holders that use the glass fuzes.

[Les Kovacs]

Hi Rob....thanks for the connector pics (nothing better than a pic)...I have done some research and came up with Erik Military Supplies.....they have original Packard Military connectors male & female with the rubber casing....to look OEM....I have gone through the jeep and there were may exposed blinker wires that required a new connector or casing so I ordered a whole bunch which leads me to my next question...

As in Christmas light bulbs of the 50's to 80's, if one bulb was burnt out the whole tree went out and you had to find the bad bulb....question...could the whole blinker system have gone out due to exposed wires leading to their respective lights?

I will have a fuse put into the old harness like in Wayne's picture in a couple of days....then I will see if the flasher or lever is the issue. Right now, with power the lever light stays on.....does this mean that there is a short? If so, any hints on how to trace the bad connection?

Thanks again,

les

[rob love]

Les

You have to back and read my many posts in this thread. I have covered how to trace a short, and have mentioned that right now you may only have a bad flasher, or you may have a bad flasher because of a short. The short would be traced by removing the large connector at the signal controller, and then checking for resistance (ohms reading) between the 4 main wires (460, 461, 460-22 and 461-22) to see what readings you get. If all are similar (which they should be because they are all going through a similar bulb) then they are OK. But if one or more read much much lower resistance ( zero resistance indicating a perfect ground) then you know which wire was the problem. Note your problem may be intermittent....you may have to have someone wiggle the wires to find the problem.

So as to your new question: Yes, you can burn out the flasher with just one single wire shorted to ground. Let's pretend there was a ground in the wire leading to the left rear turn signal. Every time you applied the right signal, you would be subjecting the flasher to up to 25 amps of current. At the same time, everytime you applied the brake, you would be causing the little points inside the controller to 25 amps of current. Neither component will put up with that for very long.

All that said, your problem may still be just a bad flasher. An exposed wire is not necessarily a short to ground...it has to touch ground.