Turn signal issue

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ThinLizzy13
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Turn signal issue

Post by ThinLizzy13 »

My hazard lights and cigar lighter had no power from the fuse panel. So to get them to work I spliced an inline 20amp fuse to the blue-white wire for them from the ignition post. At this point everything is good. The cigar lighter and hazards work now.

I then go to take the truck down the road and when I activate the turn signal both my turn indicator dash lights flash in unison. I get out of the truck and both of my front turn lights are flashing in unison also. In the rear, though, the turn signals work as they should. The turn signal relay is clicking, not the hazard one. I figure the line I put in must have messed it up. So I unhook it and the lights still function as I have described. It seems odd that this problem would be coincidental with me "fixing" my hazards and cigar lighter though...

The relay fuse is new. I took the steering wheel off and the turn signal switch/contacts all look good and they move as they should. And the problem persists when I unhook what I put in. I traced all the wiring in the dash and under the hood and it all looks as it should. I'm at a total loss :hm:

I'm going to retrace all the wiring again and make sure it all lines up with the factory diagram to make sure I didn't miss anything the first couple times. Anyone have any ideas on something obvious I may be overlooking?
'63 F100 223 3OT
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Toyz
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by Toyz »

Trace the front turn signal circuit back to the emergency flasher output. It appears you have the front circuits connected, most likely at the emergency switch. It may be defective, or lacking a good ground. Make certain that switch is not activated. It is obviously picking up power somewhere if both cigar lighter and flashers still work. Since you did not mention the emergency flasher cycling, it would appear to be on the output side. Without knowing the year of your truck, I am unable to provide a more specific diagnosis.
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ThinLizzy13
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by ThinLizzy13 »

It's a 66 F250. The hazard lights work correctly through the hazard switch. If I cut the power to the cigar lighter/hazards, the turn signal still activates the two front trun signals.
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by Toyz »

Custom Cab or regular?
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by ThinLizzy13 »

Regular
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by Toyz »

I knew that after rereading! Assuming both lamps are equally bright, there has to be something between the t.s. switch and the bulbs cross-feeding. Probably the easiest diagnosis is going to be disconnecting one front t.s. wire at the column connector. If the problem remains, it is likely further downstream, or the other side's circuit. Reversing that process to the wire feeding the other front lamp should give an indication as to whether the problem is in the column area. Hope this helps!
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Last edited by Toyz on June 15, 2015, 1:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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longcabjohn
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by longcabjohn »

Replace both front bulbs, one is bad and is feeding the other.


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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by ICEMAN6166 »

longcabjohn wrote:Replace both front bulbs, one is bad and is feeding the other.


Johnny


i agree with that and its an easy cheap thing to start with
but when you remove the bulb make sure its tight and no corrosion in the socket
i recently changed the both front bulb sockets as they were no longer holding the bulb in place properly, that took care of my ts issues
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by Toyz »

What Ice said! An improperly installed or loose bulb CAN backfeed to the other side; usually there will be a difference in brightness, however, since the shorted path would involve the park lamp circuit. If both sides work in the same manner when activated, I would not expect it to be at the bulbs. A worn t.s. switch can also work in this manner; this often happens on the Custom cabs when adding LED bulbs without ballasts. The un-resisted LED's will not use nor pass enough amperage, so the path is thru the single dash indicator bulb to the other circuit.
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by ThinLizzy13 »

Didn't have as much time to get into it as I wanted last night. I took apart the turn signals to get at the bulbs and the passenger side one was pretty crusty. Also noticed that the ground for that side had came unhooked. Hope to get new bulbs/passenger side socket in tonight and reground it.
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by ICEMAN6166 »

the lighter and signals or hasards should not be on the same circuit.

signals are hot only when key is on

hasard and lighter work anytime
lighter has a fuse in the fusebox
hasard should have an inline fuse on a fat orange wire
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by Toyz »

Circuit 40 (blue/white) feeds two separate inline fuses, one for the hazard switch, one for the lighter. The hazard switch outputs tie into the turn signal wiring after the column connectors. As you stated a highly corroded socket (or mis-installed or wrong bulb) can cause a cross-feed, especially when lacking a ground. This usually will cause a lower level of brightness on the opposing circuit. The front bulbs are certainly a good starting point, and certainly sound as if they need attention. It may be strictly coincidental that the problem manifested after powering up the flashers; I'm more inclined to believe there is, as Mopar people say, a "direct connection" in more ways than one! This sounds very much like the scenario when the turn signal is activated while emergency flashers are also activated. Since I am a few wet and windy miles from my factory manuals; I am relying on (weak) memory and what info I can locate, but I believe the rear hazards both operate thru the stop lamp feed wire, again, at the column connector.


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ThinLizzy13
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by ThinLizzy13 »

Well I replaced the bulbs, grounded the TS, went through all my dash wiring. Nothing. Accidentally bumped the hazard switch on the dash, and POOF! Fixed. The hazard switch wasn't totally grounded to the dash. Happy it's figured out, mad it was something so simple I didn't even think of it :cussing:
On the plus side I figured out a lot of my wiring. Instead of a orange wire for my hazards it's red and white. There is still a blue and white wire for the cigar lighter, but for some reason the cigar lighter and hazards are both drawing power through the yellow wires the hazards are spliced to. Even though they're separate in the fuse box...
Anyway thanks for the help everyone. I definitely learned a lot about the magic that is electricity and wiring and what 50 years of shade tree mechanics can do to a harness.
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Re: Turn signal issue

Post by ThinLizzy13 »

Toyz wrote:Circuit 40 (blue/white) feeds two separate inline fuses, one for the hazard switch, one for the lighter.


Paul


Ah that explains it!
'63 F100 223 3OT
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