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turn signals not working... need to fix by the end of the weekend

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Old 08-25-2012, 04:28 PM
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Default turn signals not working... need to fix by the end of the weekend

Ok short story:
Yesterday was a humid/overcast/crappy day and i washed my car.

After i washed my car i drove out of town and got on the highway and noticed my turn signal lights on the dash werent blinking when turned on. so i got home and checked them and this is what i have...

On the dash the blinker lights work but they dont blink

my front turn signals come on (for the corresponding direction) but dont blink

my rear turn signals dont light up or work at all.

rear hazards dont work either.

turn signal fuse in the side of the dash looks good.

currently have the cylindrical relay below the steering column out to check it... how do you check it?

My head lights and tail lights work so it has nothing to do with that.

I make a habit of spraying down my tail lights when i wash the car because dirt gets up in there pretty badly when you drive down gravel roads.

Last edited by englundjd; 08-25-2012 at 05:03 PM.
Old 08-25-2012, 11:49 PM
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You need a flasher, lemme find a link..

6.99$ fix, enjoy!
(also its up under the dash, to the right of the steering wheel)

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par..._132997_11714_
Old 08-26-2012, 08:46 AM
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Originally Posted by englundjd
rear hazards dont work either.
Do the front hazards work? I assume this implies that they do. (This would be very odd...)


Originally Posted by englundjd
turn signal fuse in the side of the dash looks good.
I'd spend the $0.35 and replace it anyway.


Originally Posted by englundjd
currently have the cylindrical relay below the steering column out to check it... how do you check it?
There's no easy way to check it. BTW - There are two flashers. One for the turn signals and one for the hazards. Hazards is on the left of the dash and the turns are on the right. If your turn signals AND hazards do not work, its probably not the flashers.


Originally Posted by englundjd
I make a habit of spraying down my tail lights when i wash the car because dirt gets up in there pretty badly when you drive down gravel roads.
This shouldn't make a difference unless the seals on the bulbs and housings are bad. They will take a lot more punishment from driving through a bad rain storm.



This may be a quick easy fix:
- Check the bulbs. The flashers require the bulbs to be good in order for the flash to happen. If you have some bad bulbs, (more than one here probably) then that could explain both the turn signals and hazards not flashing.
- If it is the bulbs, check for water in your lenses. Lenses take a beating from road debris and can crack. When they crack, they let water in, which will take out the bulbs. If you washed the car, water got in, and then you lit up the bulbs during a drive, they could blow or even explode.
Old 08-26-2012, 02:39 PM
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I would definitely check the bulbs first as if one goes out it will prevent the flasher from working
Old 08-29-2012, 11:43 PM
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all you need is the bulb. When your signal light stays solid, thats the indicator that you buld is bad.
Old 08-30-2012, 10:59 AM
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Originally Posted by STBZ28
all you need is the bulb. When your signal light stays solid, thats the indicator that you buld is bad.
This is not entirely the case. Checking the bulb is the first thing to do when this happens, but the same behavior can also be caused by:
- A bad flasher
- A bad socket
- A bad DRL module
- A cut wire or short
- Gremlins
Old 08-30-2012, 10:53 PM
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I'm having this very same problem in my 97 WS6. The front and rear right passenger side turn signals wont flash but are lit solid. When the hazard switch is on all the lights flash, except the front has a very dim almost non existent flash on the front signal but is faintly flashing. Do I fall in the bulb or flasher category?
Old 08-31-2012, 06:34 AM
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Originally Posted by 97ncws6
I'm having this very same problem in my 97 WS6. The front and rear right passenger side turn signals wont flash but are lit solid. When the hazard switch is on all the lights flash, except the front has a very dim almost non existent flash on the front signal but is faintly flashing. Do I fall in the bulb or flasher category?
Sound most likely to be a socket issue or corrosion in the socket.
Old 08-31-2012, 10:16 AM
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Originally Posted by wssix99
Sound most likely to be a socket issue or corrosion in the socket.
Damn, that entails cut and splice., Wiring is NOT one of my strong suits.
Old 08-31-2012, 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted by 97ncws6
Damn, that entails cut and splice., Wiring is NOT one of my strong suits.
I just did mine and it was pretty easy. If your not good at soldering by any means just use a connector and cut some insulation from around the wire.
Old 08-31-2012, 03:07 PM
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Originally Posted by 97ncws6
Damn, that entails cut and splice., Wiring is NOT one of my strong suits.
NO NO NO NO!!! You don't need to splice and you shouldn't. See the end of this thread: https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...-up-water.html

All you need to be able to do is:
- Be smart and have your electricity off when you do this.
- Be able to use a screwdriver.
- Be able to build with Legos.

These sockets are in a very wet area and splices are problematic in themselves - even if you are skilled and doing them. To fix these sockets, all you'll need to replace is the body and insert.


Originally Posted by DNTBJELOUS
I just did mine and it was pretty easy. If your not good at soldering by any means just use a connector and cut some insulation from around the wire.
Soldering car wiring is generally a bad thing. There is a reason why the cars (and airplanes) come from the factory without solder on the wires. The vibrations will crack solder joints and cause them to arc. Crimp terminals are almost always the way to go.
Old 08-31-2012, 06:10 PM
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Way too many technical posts.

Replace the bulbs, if that doesn't work replace the flasher it's under the kick panel in the dash
Old 08-31-2012, 10:06 PM
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Originally Posted by wssix99
NO NO NO NO!!! You don't need to splice and you shouldn't. See the end of this thread: https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...-up-water.html

All you need to be able to do is:
- Be smart and have your electricity off when you do this.
- Be able to use a screwdriver.
- Be able to build with Legos.

These sockets are in a very wet area and splices are problematic in themselves - even if you are skilled and doing them. To fix these sockets, all you'll need to replace is the body and insert.




Soldering car wiring is generally a bad thing. There is a reason why the cars (and airplanes) come from the factory without solder on the wires. The vibrations will crack solder joints and cause them to arc. Crimp terminals are almost always the way to go.

Cool. Check THIS out. So I go to change the bulb with a new one, turns out the bulb socket was already changed out and re wired. This replacement socket is using a 1137 bulb! Im like WTF, what happened to 3157. To make matters worse, there is some burns like a previous bulb burned out and extended to the socket but no physical damage was done, just cosmetic. Burns are on the inside of the socket and extend a bit to the outside. So I went along with it, changed the bulb and long behold it worked, lit up and everything. Tested the hazards and at 1st it came on, but when I went to do a right turn, it didnt light up. Now when I put the hazards on that front passenger side corner light wont come on, but the back one flashes! Digging thru the car I found a turn and stop socket w/ground tab by dorman part # 85881.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...ier=18625_0_0_

Should I wire this up? I would just do like the thread below and pop out the inside;

https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...p-water-2.html

but I have a feeling that the car is blowing bulbs because of the improper socket. What do you guys think?
Old 09-01-2012, 09:01 AM
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^ Sorry for so much info, I like to be thorough!
Old 09-01-2012, 11:00 AM
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Originally Posted by 97ncws6
What do you guys think?
Ugh. I think you should post some pictures.


Originally Posted by 97ncws6
Cool. Check THIS out. So I go to change the bulb with a new one, turns out the bulb socket was already changed out and re wired. This replacement socket is using a 1137 bulb! Im like WTF, what happened to 3157.
Lovely. What does the socket look like on the other side of the car? Were both changed out? Are they different?

Originally Posted by 97ncws6
Burns are on the inside of the socket and extend a bit to the outside.
This is normal. Don't worry about it. GM used the low temp plastic on the sockets and they all get this way.

Originally Posted by 97ncws6
Burns are on the inside of the socket and extend a bit to the outside. So I went along with it, changed the bulb and long behold it worked, lit up and everything. Tested the hazards and at 1st it came on, but when I went to do a right turn, it didnt light up.
Did the bulb blow, then? Do you have water inside the lens?

Originally Posted by 97ncws6
Should I wire this up? I would just do like the thread below and pop out the inside;
I'd only replace the stuff you need to.
Old 09-06-2012, 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by wssix99
Ugh. I think you should post some pictures.

Sorry, didnt mean to frustrate you or anything. Pics below

this is of the passenger side


Driver side looks fine.





Lovely. What does the socket look like on the other side of the car? Were both changed out? Are they different?

Driver side socket is stock and untouched

This is normal. Don't worry about it. GM used the low temp plastic on the sockets and they all get this way.

Ok because it looked fubar.


Did the bulb blow, then? Do you have water inside the lens?

I thought the bulb blew out but its still lit, perhaps cuts off when its time to signal? No water inside the lenses.


I'd only replace the stuff you need to.
Gotcha.

I have the right bulbs and the connector on stand by if I need to swap out.
Old 09-06-2012, 10:47 PM
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I'd replace the socket. The issues you have could be due a bad wiring job.

If you do replace it, I'd be sure to use sealed crimp splices for the wires since they take so much abuse from the elements. (The crimps shrink and melt a glue from the inside of the butt splice, which seals things up.
Old 09-07-2012, 12:00 AM
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Originally Posted by wssix99
I'd replace the socket. The issues you have could be due a bad wiring job.

If you do replace it, I'd be sure to use sealed crimp splices for the wires since they take so much abuse from the elements. (The crimps shrink and melt a glue from the inside of the butt splice, which seals things up.
Good deal, tnx. I'll make sure I get some crimps and do a clean install, then post progress.



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