Wiring up Hazard Lights on my Elan +2

[TonyT]

I have a 1968 Elan + 2 on which I would like to have Hazard Lights in case of a breakdown. I have acquired a suitable Hazard Light Switch and a new Flasher Pot and I have identified the 2 wires which come from the Direction Indicator Switch on the Steering Column which go to the Direction Indicator Lights on the car. One side is a green/white wire and the other side is a green/red wire. As I want the Hazard Lights to operate when the Ignition is switched off, I have identified a source of live power on terminals A1 or A on the RB106/2 Voltage Regulator, so I thought that if I run a wire from here through the bulkhead to the Hazard Light Switch and then to the new Flasher Pot and from there "Piggy-Back " connections into the green/white and green/red wires, it should work. However, I can't believe it would be that simple and I must be missing something! How much of it should be earthed and should I be using relays at some point in the circuit?. I have never done any car wiring and so before I start, I would like some advise as to whether this is a practical plan and if not, what am I missing. Alternatively, is there a better way of doing it - if so, can anyone provide me with a simple wiring diagram which an enthusiastic amateur could follow. Any help with this would be much appreciated.

[mbell]

The +2S130 had a hazard lights. If you can find the wiring diagram for that you'll be able to see how Lotus wired it up.

[Billmack]

Hazard flasher switches are generally complicated as they disconnect from the regular flasher, hook the left and right sides together and flash all four through a separately fed larger flasher for four or more lights. I believe they have eight terminals in mist British cars. Often troubles with the regular blinkers are traced to the hazard switch as the regular blinkers are fed through that (two green wires often with little black bands on them)

[mbell]

A low quality version of the S130 diagram can be found here:
https://lotuselan.net/lel/7884/0/+2_wire_1rs.jpg

You can about make out that the hazard switch sits between the indicator outputs and the indicators. It either connects them to the indicator switch outputs or to the separate hazard flash output.

[TonyT]

Thank you for your replies mbell - I followed your link to get the wiring diagram but the quality of the diagram was such I could not make out all the links between the switch and flasher unit components. I also looked at a full copy of the +2 S130 wiring diagram but I found this to be too complicated to fully understand - for example, following some of the wiring from the switch, it goes into a shaded vertical bar with a host of other wires which I found impossible to follow. I was hoping that someone out there could provide me with a simple drawing just comprising of the circuitry for the switch and flasher pot and the connections into the green/white and green/red wires going to the indicator lights on the car. I did glean from the wiring diagram you gave me a link to that the green/white wire feeds the indicator lights on the right side of the car and the green/red wire feeds the current to the left side. Anyway, Thanks for your help.

[TonyT]

Thanks Billmack for your reply. I have sourced a small Hazard Light Switch with a built-in on-light on eBay which only has 5 terminals on it. It came with instructions on how to wire it up either with the light in the switch permanently on using a combination of 4 of the 5 terminals or with the light in the switch is on when the push-switch is on and light off when push-switch is off by wiring a combination of 4 different terminals.
I was hoping that I could get from someone a simple hand-drawn wiring diagram that I could follow as looking at the Official Wiring Diagrams for the Lotus Elan + 2 is far too complicated for me to follow. However, Thank you for your reply.

[HCA]

You pretty well have it spot on in your opening post!

Hazards are not complicated - in fact they are dead easy!

I assume that you have a flasher relay that is rated for hazard use and not indicator use? (if you are using LED bulbs, then use a suitable unit) I also assume you have the correct switch for hazards - ie a double pole/single throw?

On your flasher unit, there will be three terminals:

B - this is a live feed (usually and brown wire will suffice as a source
P - this will go to a tell tale light.
L - this will go to the downside of the switch - ie the output after both poles are joined.

Your switch will have three terminals:

Output - this goes to L on the flasher unit
Pole 1 - as you already noted - goes to Green/white (does not have to join in the indicator switch - piggy back on the wire where you see a good point)
Pole 2 - as you already noted - goes to green/red (same as above)

[HCA]

This is a basic diagram - but if your switch has 5 terminals, you need to work out which three you use. The flasher unit might use different terminology.

[TonyT]

I have been digesting all of the feedback I have received from this Forum and elsewhere and have come to a point when I can put down on paper what I think is the solution to wiring up Hazard Lights on my Elan+2 so I have attached my thoughts as a diagram for anyone to shoot down, criticize or add to this wiring diagram.
However, I still have a few questions that I am not sure about - (1) should the Hazard Flasher Unit come before the Hazard Light Switch or after as shown in my wiring diagram or doesn't it matter?
(2) as I am connecting into the Direction Indicator wires, will the orange Direction Indicator Light situated in the Speedometer flash when the hazard lights are flashing or will I have to connect into this Direction Indicator Light wiring for it to flash.
(3) any other necessary requirements needed ie relays, earths, fuses, etc.
Any help or comments will be gratefully appreciated.

[TonyT]

Thanks HCA for you information and diagram.
I don't have LED lights on my car and I didn't know that there is a difference between the flasher units for indicators and hazard lights. The Flasher Unit that I have got only has 2 terminals - one is marked L and the other is marked X - so I guess that it is the wrong one.
You have answered one question I was not sure about - in you wiring diagram, the live feed goes to the flasher unit first and then to the Flasher Switch - is that important or doesn't it matter.

[TonyT]

Don't know why my wiring diagram on my recent post came out upside down - I am new to this Forum and don't know how to turn it around. However, I have found out that if you click on the upside down diagram, you get a smaller version the right way up which is still readable.

[Bud English]

Tony- Note that the switch in HCA's drawing disconnects the hazard circuit completely from the indicator circuit when not in the hazard position.

In your wiring diagram you have your single output wire from your flasher tied to both the left and right turn indicator lights. Both left and right lights will flash when you turn either left or right indicators on, with or without the hazard switch on.

[HCA]

Why are you making it complicated? I have told you what to do. Why change it?

Yes the hazard flasher relay is different - it has to feed four bulbs. An indicator relay only feeds two. If yours does not have a P terminal, fine, it is designed for a circuit that uses the existing indicator tell tales, or in your case, a built in tell tale.

By the way, your idea will not work - you cannot feed 12V into a load terminal and expect 12V out the other side. Also when you use your indicators, regardless of left or right, all four lamps will [very slowly] flash.

[TonyT]

Thank you Bud English and HCA for you messages.
I do hope you realise Bud English that the wiring diagram I posted is a totally separate circuit to the Indicator Lights circuit and the only connections into the Indicator Lights wiring is to "piggy back" into these wires from a separate circuit. Following HCA's wiring diagram, I realise that I should put the Flasher Pot before the Hazard Light Switch and not after it - the Direction Indicator Flasher Pot has not been touched - I have a separate Flasher Pot for the Hazard Lights. Because I am connecting into the Direction Lights wiring from the Hazard Light Switch, will all the lights still flash when I use the Indicator Stalk on the Steering Column?
With regards HCA to your comments regarding the suitability of my Flasher Unit, I bought it on-line as it was sold as " 12V Universal Flasher Unit Max 47W Run Hazard Car Light Bulb FL1 ". I thought that this would do the job and as my Hazard Light Switch has an in-built light, I now realise that I don't need a third terminal for a tell tale light. The information that I received with this switch was limited to how to wire it up either for it to be illuminated all the time or just when the push button in the centre of the switch is pressed on and then pressed again for off. However it is wired , there is only one terminal for the + wire to attach and one - terminal to go out.
As I have said in earlier posts, I am an amateur when it comes to car wiring, but as I thought it would be a separate circuit for these Hazard Lights which HCA you have clearly shown with your Circuit Diagram, I didn't realise all the implications you have highlighted for me for which I am extremely grateful.
In summary, if I pick up a separate live feed wire and connect it to a separate Flasher Pot Unit and then to my Hazard Light Switch and then split the single output wire from the Hazard Light Switch into two, one of which I " Piggy-Back " into the Green/ White wire and the second " Piggy-Back " into the Green/Red wire, will this work?

[Craven]

Quote:-
In summary, if I pick up a separate live feed wire and connect it to a separate Flasher Pot Unit and then to my Hazard Light Switch and then split the single output wire from the Hazard Light Switch into two, one of which I " Piggy-Back " into the Green/ White wire and the second " Piggy-Back " into the Green/Red wire, will this work?

Can’t do that, you will have made a common connection between Left & Right. In turn operation both left or right will flash probably at twice normal speed.