Hi Everyone,

I'm sure, like myself, a lot of MK2 owners will be dissatisfied with how quiet the flasher unit is (lets face it the poor thing is hidden away behind the hinged instrument panel and it wasn't that loud to start with). I rebuilt my MK2 and fitted a brand new Lucas FL5 unit (as standard). Obvioulsy, over the years Lucas have remanufactured these units BUT they are even quieter than the original. I looked at various solutions and eventually fitted a motorcycle buzzer type under the drivers instrument panel. It worked fine but the noise was SO irritating that eventually I removed it.
Doing some research it would seem that this 'Quiet' flasher unit is a common problem amongst most classic car owners, most of which use the Lucas unit. I then came across an American- made unit (Novita) which is meant to be five times louder than standard. Great, I thought, this is the answer to my prayers. When it arrived and was duly fitted it gave out that awful buzzer sound ! Back to the drawing board. No one, it seems, can supply a louder unit - may be due to more modern ones using electronics rather than a heated bi-metal strip internally ?

Eventually, I found the answer. Amongst my various spares I found the original FL5 flasher unit (Lucas number 35010). When wired up it was certainly louder than its later version (but still not loud enough). I then found that by extending the wiring by about 9 inches and mounting the flasher unit under the dash cap (above rev counter & out of sight) the wood acted like a sounding board and amplified the sound !! SUCCESS !! I can now drive the car without being concerned as to whether I've cancelled the indicators. A cheap modification that really improves the driving experience.

 

Interesting, my flasher has been mounted directly under the dash cap in the middle, right around where he map light is.
Maybe Jaguar mounted it there later to deal with this problem. (I have an early 340)
There is no indication that someone moved it there, looks like original and oxidized screws.

 

Hi All,
My 64 Daimler has the flasher unit mounted behind the top timber dash panel and is just loud enough.
David Bruce Australia.

 

are your lighted indicators working?

there are two ways to know if the turn signals are flashing, one is by hearing the flasher relay and the other is by visually looking at the indicator lights in the shifter quadrant.

 

Hello Jose,

My lights (steering cowl) work fine but they're not in the most visible position. My only problem was with the loudness (or otherwise) of the flasher unit itself. The later versions manufactured by Lucas are certainly quieter, which
doesn't help the situation - the earliest versions were embossed with the details (Voltage, Wattage etc) but the newer one are printed. With that in mind it's worth locating new old stock if you can find them.

 

I have a 5L dated May 1964, engraved into the aluminium if that is what you're after.

they were used in the S type too, (1963-1967).

you can see it in my S type parts website:
Home: Classic Jaguar S type Used Parts

 

Thank you Jose. I found an original amongst my boxes of acculated parts (never, ever throw old parts away !). I've also bought another as a spare, just in case.... Situation now resolved. Kind regards