Brianmoore (indicator problem - now solved)

[taxidriver]

hello Brian

I posted a while ago about the indicator problem i have and you replied with some tests for me to carry out. Im still having problems, ill try to explain here as well as i can:

normally:

indicator flash left - ok
indicator flash right - not working
hazard lights - not working

then, if i pull out the hazard switch and carry out those tests you told me about, i.e. when the all the left turn lights light up constantly etc, and plug the hazard switch back in it all starts to work again. sometimes it keeps working for up to a month but usualy stops again after a few days, then i have to repeat the test process and it doesnt always work!

i also checked my glovebox light as you mentioned it another post and i basicaly havnt got an assembly! but i located the wires which connect to the bulb holder and have isolated them well with insulation tape.

ive also replaced the indicator relay, but this is not the problem.

ive replaced the hazard switch with one from ebay, but same problem - maybe the ebay switch was faulty too?

the car had a factory alarm which had to be diconnected by the AA when it started malfunctioning about 2 yrs ago, but the indicator problem started about 6 months ago.

sorry for the long message! and thanks for reading, your help is really appreciated

taxidriver

[Brianmoooore]

Lovely things, intermittant faults.
Take the hazard light switch out, and link pins 1 and 5 of the socket, as I said in my second set of tests.
The indicators should work normally like this, so leave it like this for a while and see if things improve. Fix the link wire in place with a bit of tape, as you don't want it falling out.

[taxidriver]

ok, ill try this tonight and let you know how i get on.

thanks

[taxidriver]

ok, i done this, connected pin 1 to 5 with the hazard switch off, and the indicators are working fine.

just noticed too that my fog light switch is a bit messed up, i have to press it slowly for it to work, if i try just pressing it normaly nothing hapens, could this be affecting things as well?

thanks

[Brianmoooore]

Leave the indicators like this for a few days to be certain.
If they behave, then either your replacement hazard switch is dud as well, or there's something wrong with the switch's plug.
Can't think of any connection between your indicator problem and the fog light switch. Try more switch cleaner.

[taxidriver]

ive left the switch like this for a week now and have had no problems at all. Im going to try another hazard switch if it still doesnt work then ill replace the plug too.

thanks a lot for your help, would have been totally stuck without it, cheers!

[Brianmoooore]

Hope we've nailed it!

[taxidriver]

ok this is wierd, my indicator problem has suddenly come back after about 3 months! and just when my MOT is due

im gonna try a different indicator stalk and see what happens, otherwise im completely snookered on this one.

[stuartgallafant]

WHOA!!! calm down, you still havnt illiminated everything yet!!

i had funky indicators for a few days once, and fortuneatly, through thorough investigation, i found that the one of the wires coming out of the hazard switch had chaiffed (if thats how you spell it) on the radio cage, and was causing a short to earth.

maybe, one of the wires in this circuit is also short/open circuit???

dont just go throwing components in and hoping for the best. thats the best way to waste time, money and patience!!

hope this helps...

[taxidriver]

you know something, this makes sense to me, ive taken my stereo out and put it back in quite a few times over the past, so its quite possible the same thing might have happened.

thanks for the pointer!

[Geeman]

This happened to me too. Hazard wire chafed on the radio cage, and hey presto, no indicators... It bamboozled me for ages too.

[stuartgallafant]

ya see, its only the slightest little thing, and it has grown men reduced to tears...

....women!!!

lol, check the wires dude, good luck...

[taxidriver]

right, had a good look at the wiring and it all seems to be intact.

checked all the indicator bulbs for good contact and they are fine.

one thing i have discovered though, and brianmoore will know about this.... when i linked the blue+black wire to the red+white one at the hazard switch, instead of the all the right indicator bulbs lighting up constantly, it kept blowing the fuse in the engine bay fuse box. i tried this a few times and the same thing happened. the fuse also blew when i tried to turn the hazard lights on, with the hazard switch in its socket.

so it seems like i have some sort of short circuit, any ideas of what i can do from here?

[taxidriver]

any ideas?

really stuck with this, cant get MOT without fixing this

[Brianmoooore]

right, had a good look at the wiring and it all seems to be intact.

checked all the indicator bulbs for good contact and they are fine.

one thing i have discovered though, and brianmoore will know about this.... when i linked the blue+black wire to the red+white one at the hazard switch, instead of the all the right indicator bulbs lighting up constantly, it kept blowing the fuse in the engine bay fuse box. i tried this a few times and the same thing happened. the fuse also blew when i tried to turn the hazard lights on, with the hazard switch in its socket.

so it seems like i have some sort of short circuit, any ideas of what i can do from here?

You have a short circuit somewhere in the right indicator wiring. There's np real short cuts to finding it, although you can unplug the wing repeater near the engine ECU, and you can split the loom further by unpluging the plug and socket behind the glovebox.
Concentrate on getting the hazards working rather than the indicators.

[taxidriver]

hi

i've finally got the problem fixed!

had to take the car to a specialist in the end, he located the short circuit first which he found to be behind the dash and then just ran new wiring to the hazard switch etc.

thanks for all the help, can finally get MOT done