Turn Signal Intermitance Switch
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 5:08 pm
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)?
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)?