The turn signals on my 1949 chevy stopped working. They look original although I think they weren't offered as an option until later. I was checking the connections of all of the wires that feed down from the turn signal lever and found this loose and not connected to anything. Anyone know what it is and what it connects to ?

Chevrolet offered accessory turn signals from 1940-1952. ....there were severa different versions. One way to ID the 1949 version is the housing, was the same dark brown color as the steering column and lever was all chrome.

That is a condenser that would be used to filter out the noise caused by the blinker. Considering the age it is a good Candidate for the trash can. On the other side you might find the value in mfd.

Thanks guys. Appreciate the feedback. I thought it may be something like that. Do you know where it connects? Will the turn signals work without it?

So the power feed for your blinker would normally have one of those connected between the feed and ground. It is there to stop the clicking sound on the radio when the blinker is operating. It had no effect on the operation of the blinker. You could use the same condenser that you use in your distributor if you prefer.

Thanks. I'll keep checking to find the problem.

If all the operations quit , it is most likely a power failure, maybe at the fuse or a blinker unit gone bad.

John, I am looking at the picture of the condenser you posted and, to me, it is scary! Not the condenser - the wiring!! If the wiring throughout the rest of the car looks like the wiring in this picture I would suggest that you consider replacing the entire harness before you go any further. Just saying!

Thanks guys. I have changed the fuse and the flasher with new ones and still nothing. I know the flasher base is getting power. Got more wires to check out today. Already replaced the brake light switch and brake lights work. All this started after I had a local Chevy dealer replace the speedometer cable. Plan to rewire entire car and upgrade to 12-volt someday but for now just need to get inspection renewed.

Back in the day, part of a radio install, part of the kit included one of those "cap's".

The power wire for the radio had a spring loaded clip that attached to the ammeter for power. The cap in the picture also attached to the ammeter on one end and the other end to ground. See in real life in one picture of a "48 I took years ago.

Thanks. That helps!

I want to thank everyone for the prior feedback. I fixed my turn signals today. About 2 months ago I watched a video on You Tube about how to replace the brake light switch. The You Tube video guy said that it made no difference which wire fit which side of the brake light switch. Well, if you have the original factory option turn signals, it does. Once I switched to two wires around (just a last ditch guess on my part), everything worked as it should. I suppose that if you do not have the original factory turn signals, it may not matter. Anyway, per above I also used good condenser from a previous points replacement on the power feed line and now the radio also works. What an experience. Maybe someone else can benefit. Thanks again.

John, thanks for the follow-up. Glad you got it figured out. Happy motoring!

That is exactly the reason to post the finished results so that other people who may have a similar issue can try something that worked for another member. It also gives a little closure for the people who actually spent the time to research and respond to a problem. THANK YOU.