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Another electrical gremlin


Quinten

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:yes:  :yes:  :yes:  :yes:  :yes:

 

If you hurry up you can have it sorted by 10pm....

 

Lol!

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You don't want to add load (current draw) to the flasher, so 1K gives I=V/R or 0.012A. For 12V that's P=IV = 0.144W, so a 0.25W (or 0.5W) resistor will be fine without overheating.

I'd try anything between 1K and 10K for a test, if that doesn't work try a bulb (very low resistance) and if that works then an led ballast resistor should also work if OK for your flasher...

 

Right, finally got rid of the family, and into the garage.  Tried the 1K Ohm resistor, but made no difference.  Then tried 10K Ohm, then 100K Ohm, but neither made the difference I was hoping for.  Then put the 21W bulb from the old indicators on, and sure enough, solid white DRLs.  So now I am doing the maths, and with 21W, I would require a 6.8 Ohm resistor?  Much less than I am expecting!  How does this magic work then?

 

And does it now logically follows I need one of those 6 Ohm/50W load resistors?  Or is a 3 Ohm/50W enough?

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Hmm, well good that you've found the answer, but shame it needs such a small resistor. What is your indicator flasher rated to?

I wouldn't go less than the 6 Ohm because that resistor is already going to get quite hot at 24W...

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By the way, in case it isn't obvious, the 50W resistor refers to the power it can dissipate as heat, so for 6 Ohm it should live at up to 17.3V. (V= sqrt(PxR))

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:yes: 2x 6 Ohm/50 Watt resistors ordered... £2.36 is not the end of the world ;)

My flasher is one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350801749725 0.1W - 150W allegedly... What I find odd is that I have each indicator side on it's own relay (using common flasher and the westfield self cancelling unit), so by my reasoning, there should not be any voltage on the indicator circuit, but when I measured across the indicator and ground, I got 2 to 3V... I may just revisit my wiring in the winter...

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These young guns are far better than us old uns using a slide rule :yes: .       

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Am going to give this a rest for a while  :down:

 

Load resistors arrived, so when I got back from work, I tested them on the rear of the car (easier access, and since it doesn't matter where in the circuit they are as long as they are on the indicators) but they made f all difference.  Don't understand!  As a last resort I tried the bulbs again, but same thing, so I need another weekend to dismantle the front and try one more time.

 

If that is not going to work, then I am at a loss and will probably have to wait until winter so I can take scuttle off and re-visit indicator wiring....

 

It should have been so easy  :cry:

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Feeling your pain........

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:( something very odd going on here, especially if you really have 2-3V with indicators off- was that really a voltage test or a diode voltage drop test?
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Yeah, I've already decided that I'm going to 'rip' that part of the wiring underneath the dash and re-do it...

I measured that voltage with a multimeter set to 20V and with the red probe on the indicator wire, and the black probe on the ground wire.

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  • 1 month later...

Pfff, can't believe it's been over a month  :cry:

 

Spend two weekends back to back to redo the wiring and just as I was ready to throw in the towel and set fire to the DRLs I got them to work.  Completely baffled as to why they now work and not in the way I had them wired up, but I no longer care.  It works.  /End of thread

 

If anyone is looking for these units... just don't!  :down:

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