This is my first visit so I hope I'm doing the correctly........anyway....when I turn on my blinkers on my 1978 450SL I hear a fast clicking noise. My husband told me the blubs were out so this a.m. I replaced all 4 blinker blubs (this is not my forte by the way). Still the fast clicking noise - I noticed my hazzard lights weren't flashing either and that's where the noise was coming from. Any ideas? I sure hate to take it to a dealer and I'm new in town and don't know who actually knows how to work on this car. Thanks
Ah, very good. I've made the correction for you and will move your post to the R107 section, where you're more likely to receive some helpful responses. Sounds to me as if you may just have a bad flasher, BTW.
when I turn on my blinkers on my 1978 450SL I hear a fast clicking noise. My husband told me the blubs were out so this a.m. I replaced all 4 blinker blubs (this is not my forte by the way). Still the fast clicking noise
In your car the hazard light flasher is also the blinker flasher. If it goes out, none of it works.
There's a chance you have no bad parts at all. These plugs can get grime and corrosion down in them and that has to be cleaned out. Disconnecting the plug and using a q-tip with some gentle solvent like Isopropyl alcohol can salvage it. If you'd like, I can post directions to remove the wood in the center console so you can try it. You'd need to do this anyway if you bought a new flasher. It's more involved than changing blinker bulbs, though, and I don't know how deep you want to get into the car.
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When I die I want to go quietly, in my sleep, like Grandpa.
Not screaming, like the people in his car.
So you don't think it's "just a fuse"? I just located the fuse box and see that those pesky fuses manage a lot in this car. I've been "taken" so many times by "shifty mechanics" I'd really rather try and solve this problem on my own. So before I start taking my car apart I'll wait for your reply. Thanks for your input.
So you don't think it's "just a fuse"? I just located the fuse box and see that those pesky fuses manage a lot in this car. I've been "taken" so many times by "shifty mechanics" I'd really rather try and solve this problem on my own. So before I start taking my car apart I'll wait for your reply. Thanks for your input.
If you're hearing the flasher unit click, I don't think it's a fuse. If it wasn't getting power (blown fuse) there wouldn't be any sound at all.
To remove the center console wood is pretty straight-forward if you just take your time. First, take out the ashtray. To do that you just pull it open. Once you have it open, push down on the metal tab that runs down the middle of it and pull it further out of the opening. Notice how the bottom of the ashtray hooks into the frame because you'll need to reinstall it. Once it's pulled all the way out, just set it aside. Then look in the back of the opening where the ashtray was and you'll see two screws. Take those out and remove the frame for the ashtray. You'll have to pull the passenger side out first, and it can be tricky to work it out. Just have patience and don't be afraid to apply a little elbow grease to it. There's a very large power connector on the driver side of it to supply power to the cigarette lighter. Once you have the passenger side out, pull it out on an angle so that will clear. Pull the connector off - it's just two pins holding it in place. Then you'll see two more screws in the wood itself. Take those out. Lift up the edge of the wood that was under the ashtray frame (just enough to clear the shifter) and then slide the wood straight back, toward the trunk of the car. There's a pin you need to slide out of its slot. Lift it up and you're looking at the wires for your window switches and the emergency flasher unit.
Disconnect the plug from the middle flasher - it's stuck on there hard and it may be easier if you use a flat blade screwdriver to start prying it off - and you'll see that the back of the flasher has a lot of pins that plug into sockets on the plug. The pins and sockets are where you'll use the q-tips and alcohol.
Once you've got them cleaned up and the plug back onto the back of the flasher, you can leave everything hanging while you test it. If it still doesn't work, try removing and reseating the plug again, but if that doesn't do it you'll probably need a new flasher. Ron, the guy who moved your post, sells them and he delivers his parts pretty fast. I ordered new brake calipers from him yesterday and they're sitting behind my office chair right now.
Put everything back together by just doing the reverse of how you took it apart and you should be set.
ScottinSoCal - You have been so helpful I don't know what to say. I do know that I will be busy tomorrow as long as it's not 100 degrees - better get out my mechanics outfit!! "Patience" is my middle name so I think I can do this. But, if it turns out I need a new plug do I just ask Ron "GermanStar"? My husband's going to be so proud of me! Thank you again. I'll let you know if I succeed and maybe you can help me with another problem.......the odometer doesn't work. But that's another day. Again, thank you.
"Patience" is my middle name so I think I can do this.
Perfect. Start on the little things and get comfortable with them, and the bigger things come with time and experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pschlink
But, if it turns out I need a new plug do I just ask Ron "GermanStar"?
Just click on the GermanStar graphic in his signature and it'll take you to his website. It has an 800 number you can call. Let him know who you are and he'll help you out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pschlink
I'll let you know if I succeed and maybe you can help me with another problem.......the odometer doesn't work. But that's another day. Again, thank you.
Odometer is a little more tricky than the emergency flasher but if you feel confident when you're done with it, come on back and we can get that working, too. They all seem to stop working somewhere around 140K-150K miles. Mine did, and I got it fixed one night in my dining room with the parts on a TV tray. The only tools I needed were a pair of needle nose pliers and a couple of screwdrivers.
This is my first visit so I hope I'm doing the correctly........anyway....when I turn on my blinkers on my 1978 450SL I hear a fast clicking noise. My husband told me the blubs were out so this a.m. I replaced all 4 blinker blubs (this is not my forte by the way). Still the fast clicking noise - I noticed my hazzard lights weren't flashing either and that's where the noise was coming from. Any ideas? I sure hate to take it to a dealer and I'm new in town and don't know who actually knows how to work on this car. Thanks
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