Burned out blinker

[Chris142]

In the old days if you had a bulb burn out the other light on that side would come on steady. On today's cars if you have a bulb burn out the other one blinks real fast.

When did they change this and why?

 

[E365]

Seems like a good 20+ years that I've been seeing that.

 

[ekpolk]

I have no idea what the actual answer is. That said, isn't it what remains on THE BAD SIDE that blinks fast when either the front or rear bulb is out? It's been a couple years since I had one go, so my memory may be faded. . .

 

[555]

Make it annoying so that drivers would get it fixed or at least notice would be my guess.

 

[dishdude]

I think the old thermal flashers wouldn't blink because there wasn't enough current flowing through it to warm it up enough to blink, so the signals stayed on steady. The new electronic flashers will blink faster to alert the driver a bulb is out while still providing some blinking action.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted by dishdude
I think the old thermal flashers wouldn't blink because there wasn't enough current flowing through it to warm it up enough to blink, so the signals stayed on steady. The new electronic flashers will blink faster to alert the driver a bulb is out while still providing some blinking action.

This is the answer.

 

[csandste]

I may be delusional, but I can swear I've seen fast blinks since the eighties or early nineties.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by csandste
I may be delusional, but I can swear I've seen fast blinks since the eighties or early nineties.


Yep, I remember them in cars of the 70's and 80's. Either the light was bad or the flasher was bad.

 

[KneeGrinder]

Mid eighties for Japanese autos. Why, shrug's, IDK... I think its a good warning system.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by dishdude
I think the old thermal flashers wouldn't blink because there wasn't enough current flowing through it to warm it up enough to blink, so the signals stayed on steady. The new electronic flashers will blink faster to alert the driver a bulb is out while still providing some blinking action.


Thermal Flashers will slow down with age, Then the lost load will render it inoperable. A new Eaton/Bussmann No.575 will blink all day long on the bright side of a single 1157 bulb.

 

[Silk]

There is a compliance rule that there must be visual warning of a bulb out....and this is it.

 

[Andy636]

They changed the blinker fluid specs...







Sorry...It was just too good to pass

 

[mk378]

The old thermal flashers were calibrated for exactly two bulbs. Plugging a trailer in would make it blink fast. You needed to change to a "heavy duty" one which is heated by voltage instead of current. Being insensitive to current, that type would not warn you when a bulb is out though.

The "electronic" blinker, which seems to have first appeared on Japanese cars, is just much better.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by Andy636
They changed the blinker fluid specs...







Sorry...It was just too good to pass

 

[exranger06]

On both my 94 Bronco and my mom's 94 Explorer, the turn signal will just light up and not flash when you have a burned bulb.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by Chris142
On today's cars if you have a bulb burn out the other one blinks real fast.


On today's cars you get a message saying a bulb is burned out.

 

[meep]

^^^ depends on the vehicle.

-- my '57 used a thermal flasher, and it'd definitely go from sluggish to nothing if a bulb was out.