Hazard flasher relay

[Craig Elliott]

Hi

I'm trying to find a replacement falsher unit/relay for the hazard lights on my '73 +2 S130/5. The unit that was on the car has 3 pins, was made by Niles (??) and has the following written on it:

FT3B3
variable load
Heavy Duty
Flasher
Japan

and:

12V 32CP
max 6 lamps
90 c/m
use with a 14a fuse in input
DON'T DROP

The three pins are marked L, P and B and the unit looks a little like a small drinks can with the three terminals at one end.

Having gone to the usual suspects, the flasher units that they have have only two pins and it looks like the 3 pin one is unavailable. I either need to re-jig the hazard light circuit to take the two pin one, or find a modern equivalent. Can anyone advise on what to do in the first instance or on an alternative unit that will fit the existing system?

Many thanks!

Craig

[kcrossle]

Craig - have you talked to Alan at premierwiring.co.uk. I just got a 3-prong flasher from him - a fairly standard part he says.... now I just have to figure out the wiring.


Keith

[1964 S1]

Hello Craig, maybe Moss Motors can help... the relay can't be Lotus specific, I'd try British parts suppliers in your region. What usual suspects did you contact?
Eric

[rjaxe]

Craig you could also try Vehicle Wiring Prducts they have a good range of flasher units. Their Tel. No is 0115 9305454.
Cheers

[mikealdren]

Craig,
Flasher units at this time were very generic. They tended to be mechanical but were being replaced by electronic devices in the '70s. The original was probably a can, very roughly 2 inches high and an inch in diameter. The later ones are much smaller and rectangular section.
I worked at Vauxhall at the time and replaced mine with an off the shelf Vauxhall part, it works well.
Mike

[Craig Elliott]

Folks

Many thanks for your really helpful responses, problem now solved... A Lucas SFB105 flasher unit works fine and I understand it's also used on the 2 seat elan (Susan Miller sent me one to try).

Keith - Just in case this helps the markings by the terminals should be connected as follows:

B = Power in (on my wiring diagram for a non-federal +2 S130 this should be a brown wire)
P = Feed to the hazard warning lamp on the dashboard (a green/light green wire)
L = Flasher signal out (to the hazard switch - a yellow and red wire)

Not sure if the wire colours will be consistent on all models so best check...

Craig

[kcrossle]

Craig - that's very helpful. While we're at it, do you have the same knowledge about the Hazard Switch. Considering the switch is either on or off I'm struggling to understand the four terminals it has.

Lesson to folks dis-assembling cars - it's not enough to photograph the part and have a wiring diagram. The pics aren't good enough!


Keith

[alan71]

The reason you can?t use a simple on off switch for the hazards is because then left and right indicator lamps would be permanently connected together. You need a 2 pole switch so, in the hazzards off position, the left and right lamps are independent.

Alan

[Craig Elliott]

Keith

The hazard switch on mine has six terminals. If I recall correctly they are set out as follows:

Top

Green/Red Green White
Green/Red Green White
Yellow/Red Yellow/Red

The yellow and red wired bridges across the two bottom terminals and is the power feed from the flasher unit, the green and white wire is the R.H side indicators and the Green/Red are the L.H side.

Following the logic on the wiring diagram, the top green/red and green/white wires come from the indicator switch, the same coloured wires going to the middle terminals go on to the indicators.

Good luck!

Craig