My rear turn signals are not working correctly. Selecting left results in a very high speed blinking. Stepping on the brake pedal with left selected results in the signal going out completely. Selecting right brings a correct flash rate that is uneffected by the brakes. The emergency flashers work correctly.
I removed the circuit board and cleaned the connectors, the board, the bulbs and the sockets with a small file and/or a wire brush on my Dremel tool and then applied dielectric grease with no improvement (well the bulbs might be a little brighter).
Next I removed the board and cleaned all the rivets and soldered them and checked for shorts. I reinstalled the board and found the flasher not working when selecting left but OK when selecting right. I removed the flasher, recalled that it had buzzed a couple of times earlier in the year, tapped it, reinstalled it and got it to work a little bit, but the brake pedal still killed a left signal.
I have now installed a new flasher and am back to where I started. Unplugging the connector that goes to the right light (the one that is on the right side of the left taillight assembly) has no effect on the flash rate or the fact that flashing stops when the brake pedal is depressed. I can sometimes get the stop lights to flash dimly if I wiggle the left connector. Unplugging the connector to the left assembly (which is on its left side) causes the flash rate to remain fast but depressing the brake does not interrupt the flashing.
My next move will be to wash the connecters with detergent and water and then tackle things with a voltmeter.
Could I have a wrong bulb in the wrong socket? It is possible that I changed a bulb during my January "winterizing" service, something I would not write in my service log and don't remember. All the bulbs look OK and are clean now. Hey, maybe one of them is shorting? How do I verify that I have the correct bulbs in the correct socket? Also, could the board be damp and causing this problem? I did not detect any shorts with my VOM after soldering the board. Oh, it was very damp the last few weeks here but the car is in an air conditioned garage. Any advice on how to proceed?
Tail Light Problems
Scott Shure
Ellicott City, Md
85 GTV-6
Ellicott City, Md
85 GTV-6
Scott, I had a similar problem on my '84. I also tried the same cleaning/checking/soldering exercise you did. Even soldered some external wire along the board.
I now believe the problem with mine is the turn signal switch in the steering column. Why?
1) I have this problem only with right turn signal
2) When I signal for a turn by not passing the lever detent (i.e. as one might do on the highway vs. sitting at a light) most times the light will not flash
3) There is no problem when using the hazard light switch.
Failed solution:
1) I tried spraying liberal amounts of electronic cleaning aerosol into the turn signal switch with much switch movement without removing anything. (Hey I admit I'm lazy!)
Successful end-run solution:
1) I bought and installed the higher voltage voltage-regulator from IAP (about .5 volts higher, something like 14.7 vs 14.2, but I am going from memory). That seems to have overcome any ground and/or connector resistance I was facing. (Also, headlights are brighter and wipers seem to be faster on a given setting!)
New column switches are about $150. Seemed like a lot for an intermittant problem that was likely ground and/or connector related.
Someday I'll go through and clean all the grounds. (Someday...)
Hope this helps.
--Bill in Rockville
I now believe the problem with mine is the turn signal switch in the steering column. Why?
1) I have this problem only with right turn signal
2) When I signal for a turn by not passing the lever detent (i.e. as one might do on the highway vs. sitting at a light) most times the light will not flash
3) There is no problem when using the hazard light switch.
Failed solution:
1) I tried spraying liberal amounts of electronic cleaning aerosol into the turn signal switch with much switch movement without removing anything. (Hey I admit I'm lazy!)
Successful end-run solution:
1) I bought and installed the higher voltage voltage-regulator from IAP (about .5 volts higher, something like 14.7 vs 14.2, but I am going from memory). That seems to have overcome any ground and/or connector resistance I was facing. (Also, headlights are brighter and wipers seem to be faster on a given setting!)
New column switches are about $150. Seemed like a lot for an intermittant problem that was likely ground and/or connector related.
Someday I'll go through and clean all the grounds. (Someday...)
Hope this helps.
--Bill in Rockville
'84 GTV6 3.0L
'81 X1/9
'81 X1/9
Switch as the culprit?
I have tackled almost every ground in the car over the last two years. I clean them with a file and/or sandpaper and then reassemble with either dielectric grease or silicone sealer if they see weather. Regardless, I did hit the bundle near the tail lights at the same time I soldered the board and it still had a little film of grease on it. Good point though, it occurs to me that I can do a voltage drop test to be sure I have a good ground.
Now, about the turn signal switch. How do I test it? My thought is that it should not be affected by the brake light switch. Also, this is almost not a intermittant problem, it happens almost all of the time.
Now, about the turn signal switch. How do I test it? My thought is that it should not be affected by the brake light switch. Also, this is almost not a intermittant problem, it happens almost all of the time.
Scott Shure
Ellicott City, Md
85 GTV-6
Ellicott City, Md
85 GTV-6
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grantleyrich
- Silver
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2005 5:02 am
- Location: Surrey, UK
Scott,
I have had a similar experience with my indicator lights that progressively drove me mad(der) over the last year or so. The thing with my problem was that when the indicators were operated without the motor running they worked fine (this got ot through our MOT test a couple of times!), the problem only occured with the motor running. Sometimes they would function correctly when the brake lights were on, sometimes not. Bizarrely, the problem went away when the electric windows were moving or the radiator fans were running.
Fixing the earths helped a lot, particularly the ones on the sills. I know this because when the sills were replaced this improved the electrics a lot- rusty bodywork does not act as a good earth path. This did not prove to be a permanent fix.
The next step was to dismantle and clean the fuse box to fix faulty supply connections or earths. After 20 years, the connectors were a bit marginal in some cases. If you trace the wiring diagram you will find that there all the accessories and lights are supplied from one bus-bar that sits behind fuses 1-5 that is fed through a couple of red wires, I think that this is a major weakness in the design of the loom. Again this yielded a general improvement in the electrics but not a total fix.
What has cured it is a new flasher unit, something that I thought was OK as the hazard lights worked fine and the indicators would sometimes work. I suspect that the old one could not handle enough current to work properly.
The good news is that it has been fine since and the overall performance of the electrics has improved as a result of all this (considerable) effort.
It is worth persevering, and don't eliminate the obvious before you have checked it thoroughly!
Good luck.
Grant Richardson
I have had a similar experience with my indicator lights that progressively drove me mad(der) over the last year or so. The thing with my problem was that when the indicators were operated without the motor running they worked fine (this got ot through our MOT test a couple of times!), the problem only occured with the motor running. Sometimes they would function correctly when the brake lights were on, sometimes not. Bizarrely, the problem went away when the electric windows were moving or the radiator fans were running.
Fixing the earths helped a lot, particularly the ones on the sills. I know this because when the sills were replaced this improved the electrics a lot- rusty bodywork does not act as a good earth path. This did not prove to be a permanent fix.
The next step was to dismantle and clean the fuse box to fix faulty supply connections or earths. After 20 years, the connectors were a bit marginal in some cases. If you trace the wiring diagram you will find that there all the accessories and lights are supplied from one bus-bar that sits behind fuses 1-5 that is fed through a couple of red wires, I think that this is a major weakness in the design of the loom. Again this yielded a general improvement in the electrics but not a total fix.
What has cured it is a new flasher unit, something that I thought was OK as the hazard lights worked fine and the indicators would sometimes work. I suspect that the old one could not handle enough current to work properly.
The good news is that it has been fine since and the overall performance of the electrics has improved as a result of all this (considerable) effort.
It is worth persevering, and don't eliminate the obvious before you have checked it thoroughly!
Good luck.
Grant Richardson