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powderhoundcd
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Turn Signal Intermitance Switch

Post by powderhoundcd »

On my turn signals, the right side works perfectly, but the left side has only a faint glow to it. The right side blinks on and off, and the left side does not.

For the intermitance relay on these cars, is there a threshold current or voltage that the relay will not blink on and off?

I've measured that both bulbs are recieving just about 11.5v, but one is at 380mA while the other is somewhere above 400mA (my multimeter stops at 400). I'm assuming that this has to do with the resistance of the wires.

I've also noticed that the left side has a higher resistance (1.5 ohms) from the contacts inside the combo switch to the contacts at the bulb than the right side (only 0.5 ohms). Would this be enough to cause the problem?

Thanks for the help!
Carson

--edit--

Okay, now I'm completely befuddled. I just did some more tests on the directional lights with the turn signal and the parking lights. These tests are all done without the bulbs in the sockets and are tested at the contacts in the sockets.

For the parking lights, both lights were right around 10.2V and 1.8A. They both lit up with the same intensity when I checked with the bulb.

For the turn signals:
Left: 2.03A and 11.36V
Right: 0.1A and 2.85V

This makes no sense to me at all. According to this, the left bulb should have enough power (almost exactly the 21 watts that the bulbs are rated) and the right one should have about 0.3 watts. I have absolutely no clue what this could mean. Would the intermittance switch cause this to happen? Why wouldn't the left bulb light up with the 21 watts to power it (it's still at a faint glow)?
powderhoundcd
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Post by powderhoundcd »

Well I was thinking late last night about the problem and realized that the measurements that I took were probably way off because there was no load on the wires, so I replaced the bulbs and tested again.

This time, it makes more sense:

Left: 4.9V at 0.215A gives us 1.05W

Right: 13.3V at 1.5A gives 19.95W

According to this, it seems like the wiring for the left turn signal either has a bad connection somewhere or the wiring is shorted or something similar.

Does anyone know any likely places where this could be caused? Thanks!

Carson
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x-rad
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Post by x-rad »

check the grounds
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sh0rtlife
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Post by sh0rtlife »

double check for tightness (and i dont just mean that there pluged in but that the contact points are firmly touching this may require some minor bending)at all connections clean and dielctric grease all connection points..and check the turn signal switch for excessive wear or loose contacts
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Post by powderhoundcd »

Well, I've triple checked the switch for wear and loose contacts, they're fine. I've also checked that the bulbs have good connections (I had to bend the left ones before I took the new measurements).

Do the grounds run all the way back to the cabin before they're grounded? On the wiring diagram it looks like they should end near the headlights, but I can't seem to find where they ground.

Also, my flasher (the cylinder in the fuse box) has three prongs on it. The fuse box has places for four prongs? Is this the correct flasher?

Thanks once again, I'm going to continue searching for loose connections this afternoon after school if I can.
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x-rad
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Post by x-rad »

I think there are a couple of grounds to the trunk metal, near the license plate lights....
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