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MG TD TF 1500 - TD Flasher Unit position

Can somebody tell me where the factory put the turn signal flasher unit on later TDs. Mine was retro-fitted, it is on the bulkhead just below the fuel pump I think this is incorrect, also what was the fixing hardware? I suspect that it should have rubber grommet on the lug.

John Scragg

52 TD
John Scragg

Mine is on the firewall below the fuel pump....

http://www3.sympatico.ca/gordonblawson/td/td94.jpg
gordon lawson TD 27667

John,

I believe the flasher unit and the relay box should be on the rear of the tool box - up under the dash board. That's where I've put mine.


Jan T
Jan Targosz

My flasher is om the right side under the pump and the relay is under the dash on the firewall.
I did some digging into the flasher location and a fellow MGer showed me photos of two 1953s one had it on the right one on the left . Both photos were taken back in 53 or 54 when the cars were " factory fresh".
My car has no hole for the wires to come out of on the left side .
I think it depends on what day your car was made .

The flasher should have a small metal -L- shaped bracket built onto the flasher for mounting .
Abindon and Moss sell flashers with the bracket .If your has no bracket it may not be the right one and some one made it work by fooling with the wireing .Good luck.
A.L. Gerstle

My 53 had the flasher in the same place as Gordon, However, the mounting tab was attached to one of the horm mounting bolts.

I mounted it under the dash during restoration for a neater look. I also used a heavy-duty flasher to compensate for the higher load of halogen rear lights.

Evan Ford - TD 27621

The earlier cars with factory turn signals had the flasher and relay under the firewall as Jan pointed out. However, the last few cars had the tab-mounted flasher on the engine side of the firewall with the relay still under the firewall. Have to dig into my archives to find the numbers.
Bud Krueger

Evan - If you are using a heavy duty flasher, be sure to check periodically that your turn signals are in fact working. The heavy duty flasher is not current dependent for it's flash rate and will therefore flash at the same rate whether you have two bulbs in the circuit or no bulbs in the circuit. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Thanks to all for the responses. I like the idea of putting it under the dash. I think I will go that way.
John Scragg

John,

Do you have a relay box? I can send you a diagram on how to make one up using modern relays.

Jan T
J Targosz

Dave,

I bought a thermal flasher. Do you think it will have a problem? I have not tested it yet, but I will keep a close eye on it.

Thanks,
Evan

Evan Ford - TD 27621

Not all 3-wire, heavy duty flashers are alike. The turn signal system in our cars requires that the P terminal is normally open. Otherwise the indicator lamp will always be on since power is always supplied to the X terminal. If you come across a flasher that works, at a reasonable price, buy a few. They're hard to find.
Bud Krueger

I like the idea of having it inside the car...although i will leave mine where it is as i think it is stock for this one... I find on a bright day i can't see the flasher warning lights and don't hear the "click-click" as loud as i would if it was inside.
Of course, i'm old and a bit hard of hearing...so i'm told!!!!!!
gordon lawson - TD 27667

Evan - The heavy duty flasher and be "thermal" or electronic, the same as the regular flasher. The difference is that the regular flasher is calibrated to flash at a fixed rate for a set amount of current (equal to the current required for two 21 watt bulbs). If there is greater current through the system (such as a short or additional light bulbs) the flasher will flash rapidly. Conversely, if there is less current through the system(such as when one bulb is burned out, the flasher will flash very slooowly or not at all. They are designed that way to let the driver know that something is wrong with their turn signals. A heavy duty flasher is designed to flash at a steady rate regardless of how much current is being drawn by the system. This way additional lights (such as on a trailer) can be added to the system without changing the flasher rate. This is accomplished by having a heating element that is not in the system current path, that will cause the bi-metal switch to open and close and the system current is routed through the switch only, whereas the system current in a regular flasher is run through the heating element and then through the the switch, so that system current controls the opening and closing of the flasher switch.

I hope that all of the above makes sense. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Bud and Dave,

Thanks for the heads up. I will report back when I test this setup. incidentally, I found the flasher at Pepboys. I believe it was around $5. (3 prong, heavy duty, thermal)

Evan Ford - TD 27621

For those of us with terminal hard hearing just go to radio shack and purchase one of their many small 12V horn-buzzer for about $5.00. I put one on a friends car and he thinks it is fantastic. If you are really hard of hearing mount the horn to the back of the instrument panel with a solid bracket. This ,then will drive you insane. For me it's way too loud. As they weigh next to zero I just let it hang down.
Sandy Sanders
conrad sanders

This thread was discussed between 22/03/2005 and 23/03/2005

MG TD TF 1500 index

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