Turn signals won't blink?

[Tom FJ55]

Today I cleaned up the grounds at the front left and rear left lights. I used a grinder w/a wire wheel and dremmel to get everything nice and shiny. The left side blinkers still do NOT flash. All the bulbs light up (one @ the front corner, two @ the rear corner and the dash indicator) and stay lit, but do not flash on/off.

Are there other grounds I can clean up that might help?

Once again, the right side blinkers work fine as do the hazards.

Sounds like a resistance issue for me.
When you have bulb burned your rate goes up due to lowering resistance. Slow or no flashing leads to having too high resistance.
I think hazards bypassing this resistance.

All the bulbs in the circuit do light up. . . I've had all the cover plates off to clean and look at them and none looked burned. By your thinking however, if I swapped all the right side bulbs w/the left side bulbs might that make a difference in at least determining if it's a bulb issue? Actually, the one bulb I haven't looked at is the dash indicator bulb. It does light up, but I haven't inspected the socket or wiring etc...

you can find what is shorted to what by the following diagram...

Tim - awesome diagrams & explanations - thanks for posting that! Now, because I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at. . . is this the actual turn signal switch itself? I just went and looked at the wires from my switch. There are 4 (G, GY, GB, GO) I know that the turn signal switch and hazard switch are interrelated, but don't have a good understanding how or why except for looking at the diagrams.

Aside from checking all the connections at the switches etc... what should my next step be?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Fast Eddy]

Next up are the switches. The voltage flows through both the hazard switch and the turn signal switch.

I've taken my hazard switch apart and cleaned it up before. I failed to use dielectric grease in there and it only lasted about a month before it started getting flaky again. You have to bend some tabs to get the cover off, but it's not complicated and it goes back together easy. Do that one first. If you need to dig into the column blinker switch, I'm not the one to help. I've never been in there.

 

[Tom FJ55]

Next up are the switches. The voltage flows through both the hazard switch and the turn signal switch.

I've taken my hazard switch apart and cleaned it up before. I failed to use dielectric grease in there and it only lasted about a month before it started getting flaky again. You have to bend some tabs to get the cover off, but it's not complicated and it goes back together easy. Do that one first. If you need to dig into the column blinker switch, I'm not the one to help. I've never been in there.

F. Eddy - I actually just did the turn signal switch first! I took the cover off so I could see the guts, plugged it back in and left it hanging, and then actuated the switch on the column to see how it worked. Kind of cool to see each side actuate individually . . . it looked like both sides were working fine to me.

I will investigate the hazard switch next. I took a quick look and from the outside, it looks a lot like the headlight switch, which I've already taken apart - so hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to open it up.

I'm wondering if maybe the "flasher" isn't getting proper voltage through the hazard switch for the left side?

Thanks for the continuing help,
Tom

ps - I wrote "R" & "L" on the turn signal switch after watching it operate.

 

[Tim71FJ40]

Tom - I could try to help you if I knew that an FJ55 has the same set up as an FJ40... I'm not sure. Then on the 40s there were different configurations: for instance my 10/70 uses only 1 flasher and everything runs through the hazard switch.
On mine -
Hazard switch: 9 wires (2 for power (IGN, and const), 4 wires for the corners, 1 wire out to flasher, 1 wire back from flasher, and 1 wire providing flashing power to the turn signals)

Turn switch: 6 wires (4 wires for the corners tied together with hazard wires, 1 for flashing input from hazard switch, and 1 for brake switch)

 

[Tim71FJ40]

We'll need to pull a wiring diagram for your year 55 and study it.

 

[Tom FJ55]

We'll need to pull a wiring diagram for your year 55 and study it.

Tim - Thanks. Here's a wiring diagram that is pretty close. I think the turn signals/hazard switch etc... setup is similar to the one you just described above. I added the part names in blue so it'd be easier to read.

Tom

 

[Fast Eddy]

I'm wondering if maybe the "flasher" isn't getting proper voltage through the hazard switch for the left side?

That's the only possibility at this point.

We'll need to pull a wiring diagram for your year 55 and study it.

Not really. The circuit within the flasher switch is not even represented on the wiring diagram. You need to pull the flasher switch, clean it and lube it and all will be well.

 

[Tim71FJ40]

Wiring diagram is a little too small to follow the traces, and it gets blurry when enlarged. Here's the principle of how the hazard switch works on a 40 with one flasher (depending on switch position). With the hazard switch OFF it becomes nothing but a pass-thru by internal shorting plates. There are two input voltage sources - a constant hot for hazards, and an IGN hot for turns. In the hazard OFF position, the IGN hot is routed to another wire that goes out to the flasher, another wire comes back into the hazard from the output of the flasher ("flashing voltage"). This is routed on another wire from the hazard switch to the input of the turn signal switch at pin B.

The position of the turn signal switch (OFF, LEFT, RIGHT) determines where the flashing voltage is routed (nowhere, left side, right side).

With hazards ON, the flashing voltage that comes back into the hazard switch from the flasher is routed to all 4 corners by shorting plates in the hazard switch and never gets to the turn signal switch.

If yours operates the same way, and you have one direction of your turn signal working, then the same flashing voltage used for the working side should be routed to the non-working side when the switch is in that position.

 

[subzali]

Tom, have you tried new bulbs?

 

[Tim71FJ40]

Start with the obvious...

 

[Tom FJ55]

You need to pull the flasher switch, clean it and lube it and all will be well.

Eddy - OK, this afternoon I did this and still no joy. . . see below.

. . . Here's the principle of how the hazard switch works on a 40 with one flasher (depending on switch position). . . If yours operates the same way, and you have one direction of your turn signal working, then the same flashing voltage used for the working side should be routed to the non-working side when the switch is in that position.

Tim - thank you for the through explanation. I am almost positive that your description of your 40 matches the system in my 55.

Tom, have you tried new bulbs?

subzali - no, but I may now.


I was able to take apart the hazard switch this afternoon. I cleaned it up, scuffed the contacts and reassembled it. I plugged it back in with my fingers crossed and holding my tongue just so. . . but the same condition exists. While it was dirty on the outside, the inside really wasn't too bad - see pics below.

So, where to now? I guess tomorrow I will do a full left/right bulb swap to see if that helps. Also, I feel confident that the ground on the front left corner is good enough, but maybe I will add a separate/new ground at the left rear. . . after that, I'm not sure what else to check? Unless the hazard switch is fully broken and I can't see it. . .

Lastly, one other thing I have NOT done yet (and was trying to avoid) is to chase each wire individually looking for a short somewhere.

Thanks for the help & ideas,
Tom

 

[Tom FJ55]

Tom, have you tried new bulbs?

Start with the obvious...

OK. I am a dumbass. In the 5 min. between my last post and now, I went into my garage and swapped the rear bulbs right-to-left and . . . PROBLEM SOLVED!

I will be making a trip to my FLAPS tomorrow AM for some new bulbs.

As is usual, I turned a simple problem into a major one - you think I'd have learned by now. . . oh well, better late than never I guess.

I am sorry to have wasted everyone's time and do sincerely appreciate all the help and suggestions offered.

Onward and upward!

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Tim71FJ40]

LMAO!!!

So now you can help someone else... Next time you see an electrical issue on here, the first answer is clean shiny grounds and new bulbs.

 

[Tim71FJ40]

... But both left side bulbs going out at the same time? Still seems sketchy.

 

[Fast Eddy]

I am sorry to have wasted everyone's time and do sincerely appreciate all the help and suggestions offered.

Not a waste of time. This thread will be here for the next dude, which will be in about two days. The pics of the inside of the hazard switch will be helpful for someone in the future too.

I do agree that you're a dumbass though.