Fixing your indicator flasher unit

[river]

Hi,

My indicator/flasher unit (bokka) for my RA28 was broken. Whenever the indicator was selected, the globes would go on and stay on (not flash). Same with the hazard lights.

Toyota don't have any more bokkas in store, and some car places don't sell ones that fit these old cars. Of course, you could try and get one at the wreckers, but these are old units and you cannot guarantee it will work either. Alternatively, you could try and repair your exisitng one - which I successfully did.

I took some pics so others, if their bokka is cactus, can have a go at fixing it.

Here's a pic of what the bokka looks like when you remove its metal case....


It basically consists of two coils, that when energised open and close contacts that makes your lights flash on and off. One set of contacts is normally closed, and will open when the coil is energised, and the other contacts are normally open and will close (ie make contact) when the coil is energised. A resistor and capacitor provide the timeing for the on-off cycle, You can see the resistor on top of the coil on the left.

Here is a pic of the other side, where you can see the capacitor....


Inspect the coils for any worn, rusted or burnt out wire. Usually these things are very robust and the coils should be fine.

Press down on top of the left coil and you should see the contacts touch, and push down on top of the right coil and you should see the contacts separate. They do not move very much - just enough to either make or break contact, depending on the coil. It is possible to bend the arms to provide the necessary make/break connection, but be careful 'cos you do not have to bend it much.

The most usual thing that goes wrong is that, over time, the contacts (within the yellow square in the top image) become worn/corroded due to years of operation, plus its old age. Tear a small strip of fine emery paper and fol it over so there is grit on both sides. You only need a length of about 20-30mm and folded width of 5-6mm.

Gently slide the emery paper between the nomrally-open contacts of the left coil and give it a gentle rub to clean the contact points. Open the normally-closed contacts of the right coil and do the same for this one.

You can connect the bokka to the car without its metal case and put on your hazard lights to make sure it is working before re-installation.

Once it is working you can put the metal case back over the unit and put it into your car.

The actual metal case uses small metal tabs that are bent over the base plate. To get the unit out of its case you use a small flat screw driver to lift the metal tab.


Once the tab is lifted, small pair of needle nose pliers helps to lift the tab vertically. Be gentle when you do this 'cos you do not want to break the tab off.


Once you have cleaned and tested the bokka, you reverse the above procedure to push the tabs back in place. Again, use a small flat screw driver and place it against the vertical tab....


...and gently push the upraised tab down until it is flush with the base of the unit.


Easy peasy... anyone should be able to now fix their old bokka. Now put the assembled bokka back into your car and you should have many more years of trouble free flashing and indicating.

Hope this was helpful.

seeyuzz
river

[Mos]

Did you consider using one of those modern, much more electronic, pin compatible (maybe), literally 1/6th the size, flasher relays?

Mos.

[river]

Hi,

Where's the fun in that? The joy is pulling apart and making these old things work. Besides, fixing it was free, plus good for gaining knowledge.

I thought about installing my home-built programmable flasher unit...



... but it was too hard to put into an inconspicous location.

seeyuzz
river

[mrshin]

Did you consider using one of those modern, much more electronic, pin compatible (maybe), literally 1/6th the size, flasher relays?

Mos.

They just don't sound the same, y'know??

[gerald1]

hey guys, just wondering if anyone knows where i could find my indicator flasher unit in my ta22 :-S??? i looked in my manual and couldnt find any reference to it (i have the ra21 american manual though) so yeah, a photo with like an arrow pointing to it would be awesome.

thanks guys
gerald

[airfireman1]

On the early TA 22 it is located near the right side kick panel. Its a bit of a pain to get to. Also there is a repeater unit located on the drivers side of the engine bay near the wheel arch.
Cheers

[gerald1]

On the early TA 22 it is located near the right side kick panel. Its a bit of a pain to get to. Also there is a repeater unit located on the drivers side of the engine bay near the wheel arch.
Cheers

cool yep i found the one on the right side kick panel and it seems to be working well.

what do you mean by a repeater unit and where do i find it?? could this be the source of my indicators not working? (they work when my hazard lights are on, but when i indicate either left or right they dont work)

included is a picture of my engine bay so u can point me in the right direction thanks airfireman!

[LeeRoy]

I believe he is talking about the rectangle box thingy mounted just behind the radiator overflow. I thought that was the headlight relay?

[airfireman1]

Thats the one. I had a few problems with that one so clean the contacts on that one as well. That is an indicator relay as well, I thnk it is like a repeater. But it definately works in conjunction with the internal relay


Cheers