Oval Flasher

[MeeferMadness]

My 56 oval has the OG flasher unit that refuses to flash. I have read John Henry's post on these flashers and even wired up a test device. My flasher flashes very fast with no light on for the dash. Not being a electrical genius I need help getting my turn signals working.
Does anyone rebuild these or is there a source for rebuilt/working units??
Bruce Ebling

[scotty timmerman]

first take some sandpaper to the contacts. you need to hook up 2 6v bulbs to it in order for it to flash. K is the ground for the dash light.
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71 ghia coupe: Build thread http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=511738&highlight=
71 type 3 fastback auto
71 type 3 fastback manual
73 super beetle
57 oval: build thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8616563#8616563
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2332cc engine build: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8608429&highlight=#8608429
84 vanagon westfalia wolfsburg edition

[MeeferMadness]

I Wired it using two bulbs and a dash light bulb as per John Henry's diagram. I will try sanding the contacts
Thanks for your help
Bruce

[splitjunkie]

Use very fine sandpaper. About 400 grit. If they are heavily pitted then a contact file would be best. You want the contact to be clean and smooth.
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Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[splitjunkie]

I don't know if John is still repairing these but if he is then his site says $35 as long as it not physically damaged inside. If you don't know what you are doing you could ruin it and make it un-repairable so you might want to consider reaching out to him if you don't feel confident in your abilities.
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Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[MeeferMadness]

I would love to send it to John but I have messaged him and sent a email to Zarworks with no reply. Any idea of how to reach him??
Bruce

[MeeferMadness]

So it appears that Zarworks closed shop back in 2013. How are you Oval owners dealing with broken swf flasher units??
Bruce

[BulliBill]

No worries, John is around! He's blissfully retired up in the northeast from the normal work-a-day world, still playing with his VWs! I'll leave it up to him to reply and offer his services if he's still doing that.

Bill
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[*Darren]

I bought a couple from John many years ago. I'd PM him through thesamba. I will pop into the split forward from time to time. The other suggestion if you can't repair yourself, is just upgrade the inside to more modern technology. Not a perfect solution, but will give you a functional flasher with the external look. There is a thread on this forum on how to.

[MeeferMadness]

I did finally get a hold of John and He has agreed to fix my flasher! Thank goodness there are people like John to take the time to help VW freaks out!! Is there a 6v solid state upgrade for my flasher?

[don1357]

[EVfun]

[jason]

I think John did mine years ago. Looks perfect. Had it done in 12V.

[ZENVWDRIVER]

… when my old-VW flasher died, I just went with a 3 wire newer cylindrical shaped one - not a 2 wire, but a 3 - left the old one for looks - sure was a practical upgrade and i'll bet the current owner (whomever that is) is thankful to replace a normal flasher - all my old bugs have semaphores now - z
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5/50, pastel green 11G - SOLD
8/50, gray 11A Beetle
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11/4/52, black Zwitter - SOLD to my little bro.
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1962 SO33, with SO 42 interior
9/63 Pacific blue, Ghia
'87 Toyota MR2
'02 WestFORDia E-150, GAVE TO OUR SON

All super-heroes, wear a MASK

[Rome]

Related trivia: The blinker unit is marked "SWF", which we also know from windshield wiper motors. German Wikipedia has details on SWF, which stands for Sonderwerkzeugfabrik (special tool factory) and founded in 1923 in the Stuttgart, Germany area. As of 1939 they developed and sold semaphore turn signal units that worked up to speeds of nearly 90 mph (!). After WW2 they developed turn signal ("blinker") units. In 1954 replaced the foot-operated high beam switch with a steering column stalk control and integrated "flash to pass" feature. In 1955 windshield washer system which was adopted by 80% of the German auto manufacturers, and wiper blades with springs to conform to curved windshields. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWF_(Automobilzulieferer)

[dieseltdi]

I just sent mine to John Henry to get rebuilt. price was nice.

[Dan22]

I just got mine from my '55 working again. I think it had corroded contacts, and had been dropped such that the contact points were out of position.

A note for others in the same boat of trying to get theirs working. On mine, the main contact arm could not touch the main contact because it was tight against the magnetic core. Once it actually could make contact, I found that bending the contact ear would dramatically change the behavior of the cycling on and off. Too close to the magnet and then very slow response, move it slightly away and the response is faster. This is of course after adjusting the hot wire tension to optimum.

I also had to adjust the preload on the dash light contactor as even with two bulbs, it was not being pulled in to contact. That is an adjustment by bending the arm that holds the tension spring. I noticed the metal cover has an access slot so this step can be done while it is assembled. This bendable arm is seen on the lower left of the picture by MeeferMadness.
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1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[Dan22]

Found this 6V version electronic flasher. Has 4 wires like the original SWF.

I bet it could be packaged inside the old SWF case like the other examples.

https://www.memotronics.com/6-volt-neg-ground-3-pr...y-elf33-6/

A modern component at least that works with our old gals, and works with LEDs.
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1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[MeeferMadness]

Just got my flasher back from John Henry. Looks awesome! So glad that people like John are there to help us enthusiasts put together OG cars
Bruce Ebling