Want A Blow Up Proof Turn Signal Flasher?

The replacement that failed was a heavy duty flasher. Six months is not a long lifespan for a flasher. And yes, it was the "top selling" replacement flasher brand. Purchased it in a NAPA store. Cost twice as much as the OEM flasher. Was taller, housed in a metal can.

NOT
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There are two types of "Thermal" Flashers (Actually 2x2x2 but we won't even mention the other splits)

Standard and Heavy duty

The standard flasher as the current passes to the lamps, it heats a bi-metal strip and eventually it opens the curcuit, Just like a self resetting thermal circuit breaker (Which is exactly what it is)

YOu add more lamps and they short blink BLI---off---BLI---Off instead of BLINK--off.

Then there is the HEAVY DUTY thermal breaker.

On this one when you flip the lever, current flows in a HEATER wire, not through the bi-metal strip which is much, much heavier. When it's hot enough the switch CLOSES shorting the heater and passing current to the lamps.

You double the number of lamps.. NO CHANGE IN BLINK RATE.

Neither of these are short circuit proof. but the HD units can take dang near anything else.. Reverse polarity don't bother them either.

THe other 2 splits

2 or 3 terminal
Loud or Standard click.

Oh it is such fun! It's practically a festival of pain. A boastful young man who is a mechanic said "No problemo. Un minuto y dame 50 pesos!"

Yeah he got my four dollars in pesos. It must not have been a problem because after 25 (I timed them) minutes he approached me, took the banknote, said "Thank you" very politely then left.

The actual physical difference, you nailed it. But it's like armor plate, one inch is nice, but two feet is pretty much a guarantee.

Like me fighting a bad road at night because the cardiologist would only see me at 5PM (Winter) after which I have a 125 mile drive. Couldn't see the potholes good. Or road colored cattle.

So on went a couple of modified Harbor Freight driving lights. Then the piece de resistance...a pair of Hella 100/80 lamp bulbs. There's no traffic out there. And the Hella's cannot hold a candle to the blinding glare of metal halide new car blue lights. But a knothead with those lights, did not dim at 300 meters. So I gave him a taste of the grape - 310 watts of Halogen Photons.

Some people shrug off ratchets that snap, lamps that go "poof", fans that don't or won't, and integrated circuits that unexpectedly become segregated. I wish I had their patience.

You always paint such a vivid picture Mex, but your forgot to mention how your lower back enjoys such ministrations :)

I'm pretty good at turning the skies black with my curses when each and every aspect of everything colludes to drive me insane, but luckily in my vehicle, I can swap out a flasher in seconds.

For the sake of interest, what is the difference between the product you posted and Electro-mechanical jobber I did? One has moving parts, the other no?

The issue with mine is temper tantrum grade inaccessibility. Remove heater ducting, lay with back on floor, feet dangling out the door. Not far enough. Scrape skin off wrist on sharp edge of steering column support. Edge of fingernails to claw plastic clip off of bump in firewall. Damned flasher will not come down.

Hold flashlight in teeth, stick second arm up there, and fumble until the base for the flasher can be leveraged and the flasher yanked out.

Wonderful. Where did the base spring back up to?

Steam coming out of ears. Curses, vows, blood promises NEVER AGAIN!

Celso dropped the 8-ton jack in the rear and blew the 20-amp fuse as I was checking the lights up front before a trip. The base of the jack shorted the right turn signal lead. A "normal" flasher does not like to see a 20-amp short. They get all excited and have a stroke.

That electromechanical flasher above, is a good one. A lot better than the standard metal case Chinese stuff. But in order to soothe my outraged sensibilities regarding the psychotic inaccessibility of the flasher, I resorted to extremes. H-Bomb proof. Plug N Play - forever.

As retribution for my last comment, my Hazard flasher, which is the same, but separate, as my signal flasher, failed a short while ago.

It was a thermal flasher. On RockAuto, I saw they did not list any thermal flashers anymore but an "electro- mechanical" flasher.

I put the still good thermal flasher in the hazard connector and put the newly acquired Tridon EL12 in the signal flasher connector.

It is a bit taller than the thermal units, and much heavier. It clicks loudly. I have no idea how this product compares to the product in the OP.




I took apart the failed thermal flasher. There was some crusty junk on the contacts. I cleaned it, and reassembled it. It works fine again. Back up.

Not all 1157 replacement LED bulbs can adequately fill out the reflectors, and some available are just dangerous.

Reflectors/ tail lamps designed around LED's are great. Inserting LED bulbs into a fixture designed around a single bright incandescent filament is a******shoot.

Usually the owner who did such an upgrade tries to justify the purchase by saying it is adequate or superior, when only a percentage probably are.

I recently replaced my incandescent 1157 (38/403 lumens) taillight bulbs with incandescent 3496 bulbs.

3496 bulbs, rated at 38/540 lumens.
2357 bulbs are rated at 38/502 lumens
2057 bulbs are rated at 27/440 lumens

All use the same base, and all but the 2057 claim the same wattage, so filament life must take a back seat to visibility on the higher Lumen bulbs.

The highest output LED 1157 I found claimed 440 Lumens, all others just claim "velly velly bright, you likee".


I replaced my Flasher a few years back. Was $3.59 and took 17.2356 seconds to replace in my vehicle.

Shunting onto another track,

I sure like LED tail lamps. With incandescent lamps the flasher had to stay engaged long enough for the bulb filament to heat up to maximum brightness. With a trailer, the low wattage LED can still be really bright. I can't tell you the number of trailers I have been behind that had barely visible turn and brake lights.

Better to give the hand signal rather than blow up with anger.

Anymore when I stick my arm out the window to issue a signal it usually involves the use of a digit.