Question for electrical gurus

[seafeye]

Have a 1971 911E

Problem: my blinker relay continues to "tick" when key is in ON position.
No lights will flash. In this condition.
All lights work as normal when appropriate switch is being used.


I have bare electrical lights hooked up on the car, with LED "R" lights on the rear.
Could it be that there isn't enough resistance?
I have had taken out today the headlight switch, ignition, hazard, and turn signal switch. I have verified that the wiring is correct. Of course I could have made a mistake but everything works.

Ideas???

[T6andT]

Silly thought; is it the handbrake. Mine will cycle the flasher and blink the light when it is applied.

[seafeye]

I’ll go out and check. Good idea.

No. Still goes after brake is released. I did notice that the bulb inside the switch doesn’t work. I changed it. But still no go. Guess I’ll pull the switch again.

[30westrob]

I had a similar problem with my 73. I traced it down to the switch on the side of the master cylinder. When I pulled the 2 wires off the bad switch, ticking stopped.
Rob

[seafeye]

Thx. I’ll look at that. I did have an issue with the switch that the brake light wouldn’t go off. I guess dissconnecting that may have caused another error.

Well I ran out and reached under. Disconnected both wires. Still clicking. I’ll trace the wires in the morning to make sure they are not connected at the other ends.

[porschenut]

Originally Posted by seafeye

Could it be that there isn't enough resistance?

More likely, the LEDs aren't drawing enough current. I'm almost certain you need a different relay that's designed for LEDs. I believe there are past threads on this that you can find with a search.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

47 ohm 1/4 watt resistor for 12 vdc series circuit with 3 led's
100 ohm 1 watt resistor for 12 vdc parallel circuit " "

[spoke]

Originally Posted by seafeye

Have a 1971 911E

Problem: my blinker relay continues to "tick" when key is in ON position.
No lights will flash. In this condition.

So you're saying with the turnsignal stalk in the middle (not right or left) and the 4-way switch off, no outside lights flash nor the tach turnsignal indicators but the flasher relay clicks?

Does it click faster than normal, like normal (about once a second), or slower?

All lights work as normal when appropriate switch is being used.

With ignition on and turnsignal stalk to the left, the front and rear exterior lights flash along with the tach indicator?

With ignition on and turnsignal stalk to the right, the front and rear exterior lights flash along with the tach indicator?

What is the flash rate? About once a second?

I have bare electrical lights hooked up on the car, with LED "R" lights on the rear.
Could it be that there isn't enough resistance?

Not sure what "bare electrical lights" are. Not sure what LED "R" lights are either. Can you explain further or provide a picture?

If the turnsignal stalk is in the middle and the 4-way switch is off, no exterior lights are connected to the flasher and they won't light up.

The light loading of exterior LED turnsignals will only cause the OEM flasher to hyperflash (2x normal rate) and perhaps both tach indicators to flash together.

I have had taken out today the headlight switch, ignition, hazard, and turn signal switch. I have verified that the wiring is correct. Of course I could have made a mistake but everything works.

Ideas???

When did this clicking start? Did it start after you took the switches out?

Below is a simplified schematic of the flasher circuit in the '70-'73 914. The 911 is wired similarly. The only path to the external bulbs is through either the 4-way switch or the turnsignal stalk.

Not sure about the 911 master cylinder safety switch or the e-brake switch like on the 914. These sometimes cause unwanted clicking w/o lights flashing.

[seafeye]

So I found the problem....

The actual switch itself was at fault. It would hang ever so slightly down that it would trigger the clicker but no lights. Pushing and holding the lever in the slightly more than level position stopped the relay from operating. Anyway $400 later a new switch is in the way. Many thanks for all those that made suggestions.

Oh I tried to take out the old switch and tighten things up.. but broken parts just came falling out. Guess it was time for a new one anyway.