Turn signals not blinking

Hi all, got an electronics question.

I recently gave my electronics an unhealthy jolt while working on my '82 XJ550 Seca - I lost brake lights, neutral light, headlight, turn signals. I replaced the 10 amp fuses and all was better, except for the signals.

The right side signals behaved normally, but on the left the rear signal would go on, the front would not, and it would just stay that way. I tried fiddling around, switching light bulbs, etc, and eventually the right side started misbehaving the same way!

Anyone ever seen this? Does this sound like I blew out my flasher, or should I investigate the wiring first?

Thanks in advance for any help, and a BIG thanks to Chacal for the write-up on parts - it's a real life-saver!

 

Front and rear bulbs are wired in parallel... The flasher will not cycle (or cycle very slowly) with only one bulb drawing current. I'd check bulb sockets for corrosion and make sure all the bullet connectors are secure inside the headlight housing.

 

Aha! It may be incredibly mundane.

All of my fuses are blade-style fuses - except for one, which I hadn't noticed before. Those wacky previous owners!

I'm betting that one non-blade fuse is the fuse for the front signal lights. Will update you all tomorrow, after the hardware store is open...

 

Stereo is right check all of your connections and check your ground wires. If the brass connectors are turning green you'll need to change those connectors. Best possible connections are a must to get that electrical system to work right. Update your fuse box to new style Chacal has nice ones

 

There isn't a separate fuse just for the signal lights. Check bulb wattage, some replacement bulbs are less than 27W and if the bulbs aren't drawing enough it won't flash. You might have killed your flasher but I doubt it. You really ought to get yourself a book, "I guess" can lead to disastrous results...

 

I had the same problem with mine and it turned out to be a bad connection in my wiring harness under the seat.

 

Thanks to all for the help so far. You guys really are lifesavers.

I *am* getting a book - I'm supposed to have it already but no luck so far. If I don't hear back from the guy by the end of the day, I'm ordering one online.

Anyway, bigfitz was right - the fuse didn't help.

I checked the bulb sockets with a multimeter and they seemed fine, then tried checking the bulbs again. This time I found that switching the right-side bulbs (front to back) got the right side blinkers working. It looks like I do in fact have a dead bulb on the left side which is causing trouble - though last night I could have SWORN I saw it light up!

I'll fill everyone in when I get the new bulb...

 

Well, replaced the bulbs on the left side and no change. I noticed eventually that the multimeter shows 5 v through the left front socket and 10 v on all the others, so it's probably the wiring somewhere in there...

 

I had similar problems on my original turn signals. In my case it was the left rear not making good contact. I had to open the housing and pull out the internals of the socket. There's a setup in there where the current needs to flow through a spring that makes contact with a flat conductor in the socket base. IIRC, there are a couple of small screws to be removed so you can take the socket base apart.

Mine was oxidized, and cleaning it with a wire brush and a bit of sandpaper fixed it right up (I sprayed in a bit of WD-40 afterwards to help prevent future oxidation).

Cheers,
Paul

 

Thanks for all the help, everybody!

The solution was a corroded y-connector that yokes the two grounds coming from the front blinkers. I had a lot of trouble diagnosing because it would occasionally work.

The only other complication was that I wore down the battery while working, which (I think) caused the blinkers to stop blinking *again* after the fix. Once I got the engine running, they started blinking again. I push-started, rode a while to charge up the battery and everything was golden.

 

If you need another speedo/tach cluster, there are two up on eBay right now, and I SHOULD have enough parts to build one from "extras" once I get the one (from two+) for my '83 rebuilt.

 

Pazuzuzu,

That's funny. After installing a fog light to replace the missing one on my bike, my signals did the EXACT same thing. Since I had the headlight out of the bucket so I could route the wires, I'm sure I loosened something.

On top of that, my hi-beam indicator is now on all the time, and the main headlight only comes on in the hi beam setting. Sigh...at least the fog light works right.

I'll have to go into it tomorrow to figure it out.

 

That happens all the time. The headlight traps moisture in there and it has bad effects on those connectors. Glad it worked out for you. Good Luck

 

Here's a tip: You know those dessicant packs (they say "do not eat" on them) that come in the box with everything from electronics to shoes these days? Capture a nice big fat one (or a couple of medium sized ones) and pop it in your headlight shell. Keeps everything nice and dry in there; just replace it occasionally.

 

Excellent thought.
:!:

 

If I could only quit eating them that would be a good idea.