Turn Signal Whoas (1 Viewer)

[sandrat62]

Cruising down the street in my 71 40 when I applied the brake. Surpised to see my turn signals light up. when I let up on the brake they went off. But now my turn signals don't work at all. My father-in-law and I spent the better part of the day tracing every wire and fuse. WE CAN'T FIND THE SOURCE of the problem I thought It might be a short issue, but I'm not so sure now. I even replaced the large 12v two terminal BUSS flasher thinking it was burnt out. Everything else works. (headlights, brake lights , dome lights, stereo...you get the pic) . This bugs the hell out of me...and humbles me too, because usually when it comes to simply electrical issues I can solve them. Now I need help Thanks- Matt

Ps. My 40 has a 350 v if that makes a difference.

 

[Cruiseralive]

Mine did the same thing after I installed a trailer plug. I removed the plug and now none of the flashers work. Not a big help but I will be watching to see what others recommend.

 

[Leroyg]

Have you checked your emergency lights to see if they work? If not check the switch behind the console and check for plug to make sure it is making good contact. Just one more idea of many that could be your problem. good luck

 

[jm599]

I had similar problem last year, where the wires went thru the fender, the metal had cut through the insulation and there was short circuiting. did both of the turn signals come on, or just one side?

 

[ColonelMustard]

Whoa is me.........Oh Whoa is me. Poor little sandgerbil.

 

[Buckwheat]

Stock wiring harness intact?

If it is, it sounds to me like a short in the turn signal switch. Best I can tell with a cursory look at the wiring diagram is that the stop light switch is powered through the T/S switch.

 

[sandrat62]

BuckWheat thanks! - Where might this turn signal switch be located?

 

[tlcruiser66]

On the column.

 

[sandrat62]

I figured that . So I have to take apart the steering colum? mines not stock either.

 

[FARMAN33]

I am in the process of tracing a similar gremlin. Signals don't work but running lights and break lights etc. all function. Traced the problem to the flasher unit under your dash. Did this by rigging a jumper around the flasher and the corresponding indicator would come on. Anyway got a replacement flasher from Toyota $34.00. Still does not work however. I'm currently moving on and awaiting a flash of brilliance.

 

[sandrat62]

yes it's very frustrating. I'm waiting for the god of signal circuts to magically fix it for me...but untill that happens I'll take any and all advice on this forum....except from CRWLNRX. He barely knows how to plug in phone let alone wire a vehicle!

 

[ColonelMustard]

I know how to plug in a phone.

 

[Rocky_LC]

I just found / fixed a similar problem (right turn signal would come on (solid) when the headlights were turned on).

What was happening was the turn signal (hot side) was shorting to the headlight circuit. This was in a set of "bullet" connectors on the fender. So when the headlights came on, so did the turn signal. This voltage available on the output lead of the flasher would prevent any of the flashers from working (either the turn signal or the emergency flashers).

It sounds like a similar problem, but the short could be just aboout anywhere in your wirring harness / switch / connectors. I was lucky and found it pretty easily. Good luck

Rocky

 

[Eric_FJ40]

Check your grounds. Not sure what year you have, but on my '78 the turn signals ground to the fender through the mount. This mount gets rusty and looses contact - makes all kinds of wierd symptoms. I installed a jumper from the lights to the fender and cured the problem.

Edit: Duh, it's a '71 - says so right in the first post!

 

[73lndcrsr]

disconnect the brake switch and try it again. I have seen one bad one act similarly.

The brakes and blinkers in a '71 are tied together.

 

[sbechtold]

I have a similar problem in my 1970 40 and I think it's in the emergency flasher. The reason I say that is when the emergency flash switch is pulled and the brakes are pressed the turn indicators light up. I was able to get my turn signals to work last weekend after cleaning all the ground connections on all the light sockets on the entire truck. But, when I pulled the emergency flasher switch again to test they stopped working. I'm going to pull the switch and clean it up and see if that works.

 

[sandrat62]

sbechtold- I wish you posted earlier.. . I found out after hours of tearing apart my dash and checking every single wire leading to my turn signals , I found that it was a short in my emergency switch. I guess when I was driving I accidently push the switch in with my knee. When I popped it out my turn signals worked again .
So now I just need to find out why it does it. But atleast everything works now....except the emergency lights....

 

[sbechtold]

Today I pulled the emergency switch out of the dash and disconnected it from the wiring harness. I used a screw driver to bend back the small metal tabs and opened up the switch. The contact points inside the switch were completely corroded which explains why the switch did nothing when it was pulled out. I used a wire brush and a little emery cloth to clean up the contact points and all other connections. I put it back together and connected it back up to the wiring harness and it works great. My turn signals and emergency flashers now work.

 

[JGM]

I have the same gremlin. Used to bug me, bought a EZ kit 'cause I want to re-do the whole truck. Haven't gotten to that yet, but in the meantime, my fix is to stick my hand out the window - straight if I need to turn left, up if I want to turn right.....

 

[Fast Eddy]

I am in the process of tracing a similar gremlin. Signals don't work but running lights and break lights etc. all function. Traced the problem to the flasher unit under your dash. Did this by rigging a jumper around the flasher and the corresponding indicator would come on. Anyway got a replacement flasher from Toyota $34.00. Still does not work however. I'm currently moving on and awaiting a flash of brilliance.

Grounds from the front headlights to the fenders. Remove, clean, file and replace. There are multiple places in the housing where the reflectors ground to each other that have to be clean and have a good connection. The flasher units are more sensitive to bad grounds than the wire around them.