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[Exile]

.....that you don't have any of that modern "electrickery" in your ancient SII/A.

That's what I thought - until I pulled a flasher relay apart.

I was expecting to find a bi-metallic strip!
Which shows how out of date I am.

And it probably wouldn't have failed so easily as this one did....

[PetrolFour]

Sorry, would think anything bi-metallic strip went out in the early 80s. And then there's S3 voltage-regulators. Those will be a electronic. And there's this idea that such are inherently unreliable. It's not true. eg: a modern TV makes anything from the Series LR era look like a joke. Modern IC are near bullet-proof. . And no less repairable than 'old skoool' equivs. With rose-tints, it seems people have forgotten about TV and radio repair shops, and why they existed. People throw out old brown-goods with it still working.

[Alan Drover]

Usually repairing anything these days is considerably more expensive than buying a new one on special offer.

[PetrolFour]

That is true. What is forgotten is, whilst it's 60s 70s equiv. could be repaired,  we had to. That stuff was so pricey, there was no choice. And/or it required constant maintenance.

Bi-metallic flasher pots are a case. They were never stable, would cost more to produce, use more current and were no more repairable and just as throwaway. From an era of weekends spent under the bonnet of our cars changing such things, they were never good. Modern cars rarely need a flasher-relay, usually last the life of the car. The unwritten consensus to decry modern-tech requires a short memory.

[Craig T]

I took apart my instrument voltage stabiliser not long ago expecting to find a bimetallic strip inside only to find a PCB in there too.
Must have been replaced in the 1980's at some point.

Pretty sure I have the original flasher though as it is very slow, too slow really. I only get about 40 flashes per minute. Should be closer to 60 or one per second I believe.

Craig.

[Alan Drover]

Some modern tech is just pointless junk, others are useful.

[TimV]

Mine had an advisory in the MOT - the flash rate was too slow. Investigated - it was the original dated flasher unit! Now replaced with a modern one that does flash correctly.

[Herald1360]

I took apart my instrument voltage stabiliser not long ago expecting to find a bimetallic strip inside only to find a PCB in there too.
Must have been replaced in the 1980's at some point.

Pretty sure I have the original flasher though as it is very slow, too slow really. I only get about 40 flashes per minute. Should be closer to 60 or one per second I believe.

Craig.

Between 60 and 120 flashes per minute ISTR is the legal requirement.

[w3526602]

Hi,

Try replacing one of the 21W bulbs by a 6W front marker bulb.

It will change the rate of flashing, but I can't remember if it makes it faster or slower. Memory says that if one bulb is "blown" or removed, the other will flash faster, but it's too early in the morning to go into "Logic Mode". I believe the 6W "repeater" bulb can also influence the rate of flashing. Or is the repeater bulb 2.5W? (assuming there is such an animal).

I believe that 18W bulbs were used on Continental/EU cars, which might provide a solution ... or might make matters worse.

602

[PetrolFour]

Modern flasher relays work via a 555 timer or similar IC. They have a set sequence, and unlike old tech, are load independent. Use the correct flasher unit, it's easier.

There's a correct and proper place for PCBs and IC on a classic. Most won’t be visible, And the older tech just won’t be available anyway. Almost certain: voltage-regulators, modern repro dynamos/alternators, and flasher units. Let be Hall-effect, instead of points, this stuff is reliable and stays that way. That is not to say 'tech' is  without fault, yet broadly this stuff didn't just win the battle - and do this near four decades ago - it was a massacre.

In practice it's solid and stable - a true simplification. If this wasn't so, we'd be out there removing those Hall-effect units from Euroboxes,  installing points this very minute.

[PetrolFour]

Along with variants, just about the world's most ubiquitous chip, there's high probability most of us own several, or very similar.  Probable we have one of these on our S2s now. They're everywhere for a reason, and unreliability isn't one of them.

It times a sequence via a trigger. Buy 'em by the 1000 for under 2-3p each.

Almost certain that'll be one in Exile's first pic. Gentlemen I give you the 555.

[Old Hywel]

Aah, IC=integrated chip.
There was me thinking it was something I should have known.

[Worf]

Aah, IC=integrated chip.
There was me thinking it was something I should have known.

The only chips that interest me are the ones that go with my fish.

[Wittsend]

 
The 555 timer

Probably the most universal chip of all time.
I still have a shed load of them.

I prefer salt & vinegar on mine 

[Herald1360]

Aah, IC=integrated chip.
There was me thinking it was something I should have known.

 

Integrated Circuit actually.

The "chip" is the small piece of semiconductor material that contains all the components of the circuit integrated within. It's a "chip" from a larger slice of semiconductor material with many "step and repeat" examples of the same circuit on it.