I was riding with Bilbo the other day and was amazed to find that his add-on turn signals worked like later model turn signals in that they used the same filament in the rear lamp for both brake and turn. Mine use two different lamps which is bad because when you are pressing on the brakes (one bright filament) and turn on the turn signals the second bright filament flashing makes very little difference to drivers behind you. I must take some responsibility for this condition. When I bought my '52 the turn signals were installed. They used separate lamps in trailer-type assemblies for the turn signals, both in the front on top of the fenders and rear (bolted to the frame under my flat bed. I didn't like the look (plus the rear lamps hung down way low) so I moved the turn signals into the stock lamp housings by modifying the front to take a dual element bulb. In the rear, I installed a dual contact socket, rewired it to be brake and running lights and used the previous running light socket as the turn signal. Today I looked under the dash and found the turn signal control device has 7 wires, one of which is not connected. Wire colors are: Red...........Not connected Blue..........To middle terminal on the 3 prong flasher Black........To 3rd terminal on the flasher Yellow, Brown, Orange and Green go off into the trucks wiring. I haven't tried to follow them yet. One more wire that is not connected to the turn signal control, +12v, goes to the 1st terminal on the flasher. Given other screwed up wiring I inherited, who knows if this thing is connected correctly. Below is a picture of my control unit. The red knob turns on the 4 way flashers when pulled outward from the base. 4 way is cancelled by pulling the turn signal lever to the left turn position. It has NO identifying marks at all, including inside. Anyone out there have one like it along with wiring instructions, a schematic or other intimate knowledge of this beast?
The grasshopper gets to help the Master? Your truck the exact same setup my GMC has, Bill! I went out and checked and found that I have a black, blue, and red wire that goes to the flasher. The red wire is fused in line. I will be more than happy to help any way I can! I will be home around 5 tomorrow night, so give me a call and I will check whatever you need.
Paul: Thanks for the offer. "red wire that goes to the flasher. The red wire is fused in line." Does this mean that the red wire that comes out of the turn signal switch goes through a fuse and then connects to the flasher? My red wire from the turn signal switch if not connected to anything. Press on your brake pedal. Both brake lights should come on. Turn on the key. Continue to press on the brake pedal and turn on left turn signal. Does left rear lamp blink on and off while right rear lamp stays on bright? If yes, let me know and I'll call tomorrow with more questions.
Does left rear lamp blink on and off while right rear lamp stays on bright? Yes. Nice and bright. The red wire that comes out of the turn signal switch goes to the white wire on the brake switch. The fused red wire that goes to the flasher comes off of the headlight switch. I have a diagram that I could take a picture of and post it if that would help any. Just let me know, or give me a holler.
One of the guys on the stovebolt site a turn signal wiring article that identifies mine as a Signal Stat 900 clone. Different color wire assignment, but I should be able to figure it out. Stovebolt Tech Tip -- Antique Chevy / GMC Truck Restoration Help
Spent some time under the dash and I've got this thing pretty much figured out using Charlie's tip. Difference between his real Signal-Stat 900 and my completely un-marked clone appears to be all in wire color. I'll describe the 3 prong flasher I'm using as a |_| with prongs being left, bottom and right as you look at them. It has nothing to do with the 900 or my clone, but the left prong of the flasher connects to switched 12 volts through a 20 amp fuse. My red wire was not originally connected. It is the input to the turn signal switch from the brake switch and is now correctly connected. The blue wire was connected from the bottom prong on the flasher. I left it there, although the turn signals and brake lights work the same with it connected or not. It is the input for the indicator lamp inside the Signal-Stat 900 clone turn signal mechanism. In my case (painted steering column) I had to run a wire from the case of the clone to a ground to make the lamp work. The black wire connects the right prong on the flasher to the turn signal switch. The yellow wire connects to the left front turn signal lamp. The green wire connects to the right front turn signal lamp. The orange wire connects to the left rear shared brake and turn signal lamp. The brown wire connects to the right rear shared brake and turn signal lamp. Originally, all but the un-hooked red wire were connected to my truck's wiring harness using the strip, twist and wrap with black tape method. I cut all seven wires to the same length, added a wire for ground, ran the wires through some heat shrink tubing and then installed them into the male side of a 9 pin Molex connector that I bought at Fry's Electronics for under $3. I connected the appropriate truck's wiring to the female side of the Molex connector. Now I can remove and troubleshoot the turn signal switch without cutting wires. I also added a beeper I found in my electronics junk to help with Old Guy Syndrome (driving along for miles with your turn signals on, due to lack of audible indication from the Signal Stat 900 and an abundance of noise inside our old trucks). I just connected the beeper red wire to the bottom prong of the flasher and the black wire to ground. Here is an example of a beeper that would work. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Piezo-Electronic-Buzzer-Effect-Tone-Alarm-3-24VDC-12V-Continuous-Beep-Arduino/311180723832?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3Deb6a88177aa64cb99013ae1aab1328fe%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D22%26sd%3D231693671528
If your 12 volts And you end up not liking the beep. Beep beep. From the buzzer Try a PM-557 It's the loudest clicker I've found PM 557 3-Prong 10-Lamp Electro-Mechanical Flashers | FoxTail Lights
I used a motorcycle t/s set up on my 37 Buick so didn't have the option on a combo brake and t/s bulb in the rear. The tail light housing had room for a second socket (barely) so I used another 1157 bulb with the pig tails tied together to light both filaments at the same time. This overwhelmed the tail light so the t/s shows good even with the tail light still burning.
Mine was like yours Evan, but I found that the turn signal was hard to see when the separate brake light bulb was on in the same housing.
That's a mighty cool way of hooking your wires up, Bill! I guess I would expect no less from you. So Tubby, That looks like the way to go if it makes a loudish clicking sound. I finally got it in my mind to be smarter than my turn signal and win that battle at least 90% of the time now. However! If my wife starts driving my truck, this could only help. I assume NAPA or whomever would be able to order this? Thanks!
I picked mine up online, from the link I posted above Rockauto.com might have them for a few bucks cheaper. You could try your local auto parts store. Just to be clear. This is a 12 volt, 3 prong flasher. I tried the beeper. It was the loudest , but I didn't like the beep beep sound. Wanted the traditional click.
