Indicator Problem...

[taxidriver]

hi fellas

my indicators recently stopped flashing right (drivers side). left and hazrds were working fine...so today i opened up the relay, gave the contacts a clean plugged it back in and now neither of the left/right indicators work. neither do the hazards.

when i turn the hazards on, the relay (the one under the steering wheel) makes a whirring noise. it was initially doing his when i tried to indicate right and would stop whirring start indicating after a sharp wack!

this problem first occurred when i had to remove and refit the ecu.

any ideas on this one?

[taxidriver]

replaced a 15amp fuse in the fuse box in the engine bay, now the turn left indicator is working.

but if i try right indicator or hazards the relay makes a loud buzzing noise and no indicator lights come on.

wierd

[TOURINGDADDY]

First try another relay if u still havv no right turn then u have a stalk problem mate

[taxidriver]

ive tried two relays...

shall i relpace the stalk then?

cheers

[TOURINGDADDY]

That is the only other thing it could b

[Brianmoooore]

Indicator fault finding is done at the hazard light swich socket. Pull the hazard light switch out of the dash, and unplug the switch from it's socket.-
I think you may have a problem with the right indicator bulbs or wiring.
Take a short piece of wire with bared ends, and use it to join pin 3 (red/white) of the switch socket to pin 6 (blue/black).
This should make all three right indicator lamps light continuously
Move the wire from pin 6 (blue/black) to pin 2 (blue/red). This should make the left indicators light continuously.
If it passes these tests, then link pin 3 (red/white) to pin 5 (green/purple), and use another piece of wire to link pin 4 (green/yellow) to pin 6 (blue/black). This should make the right indicators flash.
For the above tests, the ignition should be off, the indicator switch in the off position, and the hazard light switch unplugged.
That's enough to be getting on with. Perform these tests, and post again with the results.

[taxidriver]

thank you very much brian, ill do these tests and post back here tomorrow

cheers

[orkboss]

Just use WD40 on all electrical connections.

[Brianmoooore]

WD40 is marvelous stuff, and has many uses. Electrical connectors are NOT one of them.

[taxidriver]

hi brian

just done all the tests and it passed all of them. i then cleaned up the contacts on the hazard switch with contact cleaner (not wd40 hehe) and it all started working momentarily. but then same problem after about 2 minutes.

i doubt its the wiring because it passed all those tests. im guessing its a faulty hazard light switch?

[Brianmoooore]

Two more tests - still at the hazard light socket..
Link pin 3 (red/white) to pin 5 (green/violet) and try the indicator switch both ways with the igmition off. Indicators should flash on their respective sides.
Move the link to connect pin 1 (purple/grey) to pin 5(green/purple), and try the indicator switch both ways with the ignition ON. Indicators should again flash on their respective sides.
If it passes both these tests, the hazard light switch is faulty. It's not likely to have been used so many times that it is worn out - it's more a case of under use.
Proper switch cleaner, followed by operating the switch lots of times, and then a final dose of silicon grease spray should bring it back to reliable life.

[gareth]

just out of curiosity, brian, how come you know so much about the nitty gritty aspects of the E30? you are seem to be on your way to E30ZONE oracle status!!!

[Brianmoooore]

I've got a few E30s around in various states, and have come across/repaired most faults on them.
I've always found electrics easy, was putting together electrical circuits at the age of five, and currently earn some of the money I spend on E30s as a sparky (house type).
I've just finished a M50 TU touring, and have just bought a M54 engine for another one. It was on an auction site, standing at Ԛ£50, ten minutes from the end of the auction. I couldn't let it go for that, so I put in a couple of bids and got it.
The electrics on that engine are complicated beyond belief, and I think I may have exceeded my limits, if it wasn't for the help I've had so far (and hope to get) from a couple of people on this zone, especially Ian323isport.

[johnono]

brian is an e30 god . (had to add this ...again )

[gareth]

fair play to you!

when 95% of "professional" garages are too scared of the "electrical wizzardy / black boxes" inside any car made after the mid 80's, it's handy to have a few guys like you around!

i, along with a few (lot of) others on here must owe you about 30000 beers by now!

[taxidriver]

defo owe you a beer dude!

ill try those tests tomorrow and let you know how i get on.

once again, thank you

[nav786]

brian your a genius.

[taxidriver]

update...

done the final two tests and they both passed as well.

so just took the hazard switch apart cleaned all the internal contacts with cleaner, regreased and reinstalled it...all working perfectly now!

[Brianmoooore]

see, test through logically, and you find the problem. No wondering if it was this part or that, or whether the fault will unexpectedly raise it's head again at some inconvenient moment.