Super fast blinkers

What would cause the blinkers on my car to blink about a thousand times a minute? I have a guide turn signal, 3 prong flasher and all of the lights work properly.
T

 

Check your grounds

 

May be just the flasher is weak or there is more load than it is rated for..An electronic flasher cures all..

 

Any chance that you have a 'trailer' type flasher in there?

 

On old bi-metallic flasher types they blinked slower with a bad bulb. Or too fast wih too high of a load like incorrectly installed bulb, for example.
On newer solid-state flasher types they blink faster with a bad bulb. Or bad connection or ground.
But check bulbs first.

 

There are different flashers, they are based on the load. Could also be just a bad flasher.

 

Are any of your bulbs LED? They will cause the flasher to blink much faster.

 

No LEDs here, I'm still running the old 6volt system. I've got double filament bulbs and they are all working. Still trying to wrap my head around all of this electrical crap, learning as I go. I have the 6 volt 535 32CP-Max 6 flasher. If there is a bad ground (which chances are, there is somewhere) where should I start looking?
Thanks for the help.
T

 

You need more of a load on the flasher. They are made to flash fast when a bulb bruns out to let you know there is a problem. If you have LEDs they draw less amps and flash faster.

 

I put in a brand new flasher and had the same problem
T

 

I never could understand on a US made car you loose a bulb and they won't blink but on foreign cars you loose a blub and they blink like crazy.

 

Add another bulb and see if it slows it down.

 

Where?

 

Just something temp. Add it where it is easy.

 

Think of the flasher as a circuit breaker that is designed to reset itself quickly after the current load is removed from the circuit.

To keep the math simple let's say the flasher is designed to open when there's a 5 amp load on the circuit. And lets assume that the park lamp and tail lamp bulbs each draw 3 amps. You hit the turn signal switch and the flasher sees a total load of 6 amps. The circuit breaker in the flasher opens the circuit temporarily turning off power in the circuit and the bulbs go out. With no load on the circuit the breaker resets itself and restores power to the circuit and the bulbs go back on. Then the whole cycle repeats itself until the power is cut off at the turn signal switch.

If a bulb is burned out in the circuit then the flasher may only see a 3 amp load when the turn signal switch is on. As a result the breaker may never open and the bulb will never blink. Or it may only blink less frequently depending on the actual amp rating of the flasher.

Now consider what happen when you add another turn signal bulb to the tail lamp or connect trailer light wiring to the circuit. You end up with three bulbs in the circuit and a total of 9 amps load feeding thru the flasher. As a result the circuit breaker in the flasher opens more quickly and frequently to deal with the increased amps. A short to ground in the circuit will also affect the amps.

 

Excellent explanation ClayMart.

 

Check and clean all your grounds.

 

did you check to make sure the blinker fluid is not low?

 

ClayMart is 100% correct, current draw with traditional flashers sets the pace. Too fast could also mean a partial short


Later,

 

Are you using the right bulbs for the turn signals. Switching 1156 & 1157, sometimes made them blink faster. I had an old Mustang that would do that. Damnedest thing I ever saw.

 

I did and it was full until I spilled it all over the grill......... If by blinker fluid your referring to a tasty frosty PBR tallboy

 

hmmm I have no idea, I will look into that. Thanks
T

 

actually check the double filament bulbs to make sure a filament didn't break and is shorting out against part of the parking light circuit in the bulb ( creates a high load as it completes the other circuit and try to feed its lights ) . we have this happen alot with trucks

 

Flashers will do it to, try throwing a one in

 

If a filament breaks, will the light still work? They all four work with running lights as well as "high" beam for the signal, all flash at the same time, just super fast and the indicator light on the switch is working as well.

 

the filiment can break and part of the filiment can drop down and touch the other filiment in the bulb and it would complete a circuit , and make the bulb work like normal as found its circuit ground to complete the power loop. but would act like a ghost ground and not light some of the other bulbs and creat e a high amperage situation from the resistance of the other bulb filiments if they do not or light up .

ussualy when this happens the dash turn indicators if it has any would lightly glow when the lights are on signals off .or you get a slight buzzing from the flasher can.

 

The Drunk Man agrees! And it's always been my policy to never argue with a Drunk Man!

 

Possibly one of the turn signal bulbs is burnt out. HRP

 

Other than a bad ground, HRP is right!

 

OK, checked the grounds, good. Tried adding a bulb inline, no change, put in brand new flasher, no change. It is reading 2.5-3 volts at the bulbs as it blinks, also seems to have an intermittent super fast blink to kind of fast blink, with no pattern or rhyme or reason. Still stumped here.
T