NAPA Signal Flasher

[rallyace]

Has anyone else found that the pilot terminal of a NAPA 535 signal flasher does not work. I have been through two of them. The pilot terminal, the one in the middle that is angled 90 degrees to the other two, is the feed for the dash indicator lamp. 

[Mark D]

Love to know the answer to this myself. I’ve had 2-3 new ones do the same. 

[Young Ed]

I went through many new 6 volt flashers. From napa and other retailers like oreilly. I finally gave up and went to the junkyard and grabbed as many old used 6v flashers as I could find. I put one in my coupe probably 5 years back and it's still going strong!

[Jerry Roberts]

ebay is another good source for nos 6 volt flashers . 

[Silverdome]

Has anyone alerted NAPA of the problem? That would at least give them the opportunity to correct it for future purposes because NOS won't last forever.

[Young Ed]

1 hour ago, Silverdome said:

Has anyone alerted NAPA of the problem? That would at least give them the opportunity to correct it for future purposes because NOS won't last forever.

I told the guys at my store but I doubt it went any higher. The ones I bought at I think OReilly had a guarantee so I did warranty out a few replacements. Eventually gave up on that too

[Dodgeb4ya]

All new stock 6V flashers are import junk sorry to say.

That happened at least 10 years ago. None of them anywhere being sold are any good.

[Silverdome]

I tried a little diplomacy. Let's see how far this gets.

 

This is what I sent to their technical department.

 

It has come to my attention from several members on different antique auto forums that the pilot terminal of a NAPA 535 signal flasher does not work.

From what i have read they are having trouble with the middle post losing connection. I am not sure if it is burning out which could indicate a too small of wire gauge being used. Or if it is losing connection due to faulty soldering or crimping.

This is a six volt flasher which needs to be able to carry twice the amperage of a twelve volt flasher.

Your cooperation in fixing this problem would be greatly appreciated by many people who enjoy these antique cars.

[Young Ed]

32 minutes ago, Dodgeb4ya said:

All new stock 6V flashers are import junk sorry to say.

That happened at least 10 years ago. None of them anywhere being sold are any good.

Yup you can feel it just from picking them up. I bet the old or NOS ones weigh 5-10 times what the cheap new ones do. 

[BobT-47P15]

I have a vintage  flasher unit I found somewhere in my travels (or maybe bought from eBay).......it has a little green

indicator light that does flash, but somehow not quite at the right time.   So I put a small square of electrical tape

over the lense and added the two red lights using a home made housing.  Wired the bulbs in where things connect

to the flasher can under the dash.  Kinda odd.....not quite correct......but it works for me.   

My flasher has rubber wheel that contacts the back edge of the steering wheel in order to cancel the signal

after making a turn.  It works part of the time which is ok.    I first used one of those cheap chrome housing

signals .....and the arms inside eventually bent and it would not work......tossed it.  Have never tried the

signals mentioned above.

     In regard to the cancelation rubber wheel........they are at different angles for different brands of

vehicles.  I think the Plymouth one has the wheel at a more upright angle than one for a Chevy.....due to

the shape of the steering wheels on the back side.  I went over and looked on eBay.....there were a few

older items but, as usual, it is hard to tell very much about them.  You need to make sure one is the

seven wire style and not the four wire.  

 

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2018 by BobT-47P15

[rallyace]

3 hours ago, Silverdome said:

Has anyone alerted NAPA of the problem? That would at least give them the opportunity to correct it for future purposes because NOS won't last forever.

I made this post so I could collect data and inform NAPA of the issue. The local NAPA gang has reported the issue but told me they doubted it went anywhere. They suggested that I collect a lot of complaints and pass it along to NAPAs Atlanta HQ.

[Silverdome]

1 hour ago, Silverdome said:

I tried a little diplomacy. Let's see how far this gets.

 

This is what I sent to their technical department.

 

It has come to my attention from several members on different antique auto forums that the pilot terminal of a NAPA 535 signal flasher does not work.

From what i have read they are having trouble with the middle post losing connection. I am not sure if it is burning out which could indicate a too small of wire gauge being used. Or if it is losing connection due to faulty soldering or crimping.

This is a six volt flasher which needs to be able to carry twice the amperage of a twelve volt flasher.

Your cooperation in fixing this problem would be greatly appreciated by many people who enjoy these antique cars.

 

The response so far.

 

Mark,

We're glad you got in touch with the information below. Our team of experts is reviewing your issue and we'll be back in touch within two business days.

Reason: Automotive Technical Issues     If you have additional questions please contact us at 1-(877) 805-6272 or 1-(800) LET-NAPA between 8AM and 5PM ET, Monday through Friday. Thanks, NAPA Know How Team

[rekbender]

1 hour ago, BobT-47P15 said:

I have a vintage  flasher unit I found somewhere in my travels (or maybe bought from eBay).......it has a little green

indicator light that does flash, but somehow not quite at the right time.   So I put a small square of electrical tape

over the lense and added the two red lights using a home made housing.  Wired the bulbs in where things connect

to the flasher can under the dash.  Kinda odd.....not quite correct......but it works for me.   

My flasher has rubber wheel that contacts the back edge of the steering wheel in order to cancel the signal

after making a turn.  It works part of the time which is ok.    I first used one of those cheap chrome housing

signals .....and the arms inside eventually bent and it would not work......tossed it.  Have never tried the

signals mentioned above.

     In regard to the cancelation rubber wheel........they are at different angles for different brands of

vehicles.  I think the Plymouth one has the wheel at a more upright angle than one for a Chevy.....due to

the shape of the steering wheels on the back side.  I went over and looked on eBay.....there were a few

older items but, as usual, it is hard to tell very much about them.  You need to make sure one is the

seven wire style and not the four wire.  

 

 

 

 

 

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I had the same problem with two identical canceling NOS Pathfinder 35768, 7 wire directional signal switches. One on a Ford and the other on my P18.  I have a box of NOS 6V flashers that would flash the lamps, but none would flash the green indicator correctly - the green light would either stay on all the time or flash all the time the ignition was on. I gave up using the 3rd indicator terminal on the flasher and instead, soldered a 6 amp 50 volt diode to the wire to the right front and the wire to the left front directional lamps (positive diode leads to the lamp wires) and soldered the negative diode leads together, along with the wire to the green indicator. Now either directional lamp flashes the indicator correctly, with no feedback to the other side. It's work great for over a year. You could use the same set up to flash the factory indicator in the speedo as well. The correct 6V flasher for this Pathfinder (Auto Lamp 9000) switch is Pathfinder (Tungsol) 229D. I found one on eBay, but haven't needed to try it.

[DrDoctor]

   Hmmmm . . . .  Based upon what I’m seeing here, I must be living a charmed life, at least as far as 6v flashers are concerned. When I rewired our car with a Ron Francis Wire Works “Get It Runnin’” 6v harness, I purchased the flasher for the aftermarket turn signal-unit (not a Ron Francis component), at my local auto parts store, who’s a CarQuest affiliated store. Short story—it worked right out of the box, and is still working. All I did was follow the instructions for the turn-signal unit, and Chris Laythem’s (Ron Francis tech advisor) advise.

[Silverdome]

Here is NAPA's latest reply.

 

Greetings,

 

We thank you for your mail. Unfortunately, the service desk you have reached does not have access to this information. We suggest that you reach out to the NAPA Flashers at 800.272.9562 x 2.

 

 

Best Regards, 

Napa 

 

So if anyone wants to call there's the number.