Hi guys....last night my turn signals gave out on my '55 Fairlane.  By that I mean that they do not come on at all.

So with that I believe the culprit can be narrowed down to to the fuse, the flasher or the switch.  Now, are all three of these pieces up underneath the dash?  Silly question I'm sure, but I'll tell you that I had a heck of a time getting up there to see anything last night .  Should I be able to reach up and grab the wiring, and then all three pieces will come down for servicing, or do I need to work upside down with a clutch pedal in my head .

Now, as far as parts, I don't know what fuse I need.  For the flasher I believe it's part#13350 (or NAPA NF535) and switch 13341, is that correct?

Thanks in advance for any help or insight you guys can provide!!! -Jeff

The flasher and fuse are under the dash. The switch is under the steering wheel. Wire is yellow with orange tracer.

Just call me 'Dick'

On my 58 the fuse is on the back of the headlight switch and the flasher is on the back of the heater switch panel.  Just a few more places to look!

On '55 and '56 car the fuse is inline in a thin metal tube and very close to the flasher can. This is most likely the culprit. The next would be the flasher canister that is clipped under the lip of the dash. Both should be accessible whilst stting in the drivers seat without getting tangled with the clucht and brake laying on the floor.

If this doesnt fix it the problem must be in the coonection to the wire going up the column.

Regards


Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!

1st off, thanks so much for the help so far!!

OK, an update: I'd definitely say it is the flasher. Pulled it out from behind the dash and just out of curiosity then I tried the signals again. Sure enough, they sort of worked again, albeit intermittantly. If they stopped but I moved the flasher unit, then they'd kind of work again. Doesn't seem like a wiring issue though, but the flasher unit.

But of course this wouldn't be quite as simple as just taking one out and plugging the replacement unit back in (NAPA NF535). The old one had two connecting posts, with an orange and a blue wire connected to the flasher. The new one has 3. I don't know that much about auto wiring, and there are no lables on the old flasher and my shop manual, though it has a wiring diagram, doesn't spell it out for newbs like me. Also, the new flasher has a 'P', 'L', and 'X' labeling next to the posts, but I don't know what those mean (I'm guessing P is +, maybe??? but no idea on X and L).

To top it all off, the wiring off the car has two differnt connectors, kind of like a male and female type of thing, while the new flasher has just males. Does it sound right that I'd have to chop the end off one of these wires to splice a new connector on?

Sound to me like you my have gotten the incorrect flasher. Wiring diagram shows only two connectors.

Just call me 'Dick'

It sounds like your flasher is finished.The 3 terminal flasher is wrong part.You need a 2 terminal type for 6 volt system.I just ordered an interesting flasher for my buddies 55.It is an audible flasher that makes a beeping sound for those of us that are getting hard of hearing and dont realize the signals are still on.Company called turnalarm.com.$24.95 mailed.Macs carries similar item but more money.I installed it last week and works very well.The reason I know your new one is wrong is because they carry a 2 or 3 terminal flasher and the one I got was 2 terminal and plugged in to existing terminals.Take yours back and ask your guy to have another look for a 2 terminal one. The Napa # NF 535 is what is listed on their site but it is wrong part.

  

im pretty sure you have the wrong one you need the two prong 6v

X=12VDC feed from fuse

L= Load - to the Turn Signal Switch

P=Pilot - indicator light in Speedo.



......you will have to put the new style connectors on the wires ,depending on the prongs on flasher....





you can use these to replace the connectors on the fords in the future on repairs(sometimes you have to spread the bullets open a little) the are sold at any auto parts store

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=bulle...3qZzDBg&zoom=1

After looking a liitle further I am a little confused.On Ebay there  are a couple of "Ideal 261" flashers which are 6 volt with a male and female spade terminal which makes this flasher correct for what you need.Napa still shows the NF 535 flasher fitting from 51-55 Ford.I guess they want you to change one terminal on the wire and use 2 terminals corresponding to the 2 on your existing flasher.If you want the correct one with no mods to the wire have a look on Ebay for "ideal 261".There are 2 for about $8.00 each.Maybe the Napa guy can cross refence that Ideal # and see what he says.Even  Macs is showing 3 terminal with male spade terminals so I guess its up to you if you want to use the one you have from Napa and change one terminal or buy a NOS one on Ebay.Ebay item is 360379784444

  

First of all, thanks everyone for there help!

Tim - you even took the time to post here and on Jalopy....thanks!

Oldcarmark - you beat me to my response: that although it certainly may be the wrong part, it's what NAPA is showing for a '55 Ford.  That in and of itself still wouldn't haven't sold me on it being the right part, necessarily.  However the MACs catalog is showing the same darn part....a 3 male prong flasher.  So that kind of told me that it was the 'right' part, but of course not just like the original.

If I can get the adapters that Tim refered to easily enough, than at least that takes care of the hole wiring issue.  Then the only problem becomes not knowing what prongs on the NAPA flasher to connect to the two wires that I have.  Anyone have any ideas on that one? 

EDIT: To heck with it....I just went ahead and purchased that IDEAL Flasher you referred me to mark.  Thanks for looking that up for me!  I'd still be interested in finding out how I would have connected the wires to the P, X, L terminals on this flasher, if anyone happens to know.  Just curious at this point, and who knows if someday this will be my only option!!