Turn Signal Electrical Problem, wtf?
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: RiVA
Turn Signal Electrical Problem, wtf? Okay so for the longest time I thought I had a water problem in my drivers side DRL/turn signal. Replacing the bulb fixed this but ive had to replace the same bulb 3 times in the past 2 months.
I went to work on my turn signal today and found that it will not blink at all (tail light bulb is NOT burnt out, so its not that). So I tried the quick fix, filled the socket with bulb grease. No dice.
When I turn my headlights on (switch all the way to the right) both passenger and driver side DRLs come on. Great! But not so fast...clicking my turn signal, the bulb goes off and does not blink. Dashboard has a solid green arrow indicating something is screwy.
So what is going on here...how do I fix this, its really annoying me that it turns on with the headlights but will not click or blink with the turn signal. I was tempted to mess around with the wires, but my total lack of electrical experience caused me to second guess that seeing as I didn't want to electrocute myself or something stupid. Can anyone help me out here?!
I went to work on my turn signal today and found that it will not blink at all (tail light bulb is NOT burnt out, so its not that). So I tried the quick fix, filled the socket with bulb grease. No dice.
When I turn my headlights on (switch all the way to the right) both passenger and driver side DRLs come on. Great! But not so fast...clicking my turn signal, the bulb goes off and does not blink. Dashboard has a solid green arrow indicating something is screwy.
So what is going on here...how do I fix this, its really annoying me that it turns on with the headlights but will not click or blink with the turn signal. I was tempted to mess around with the wires, but my total lack of electrical experience caused me to second guess that seeing as I didn't want to electrocute myself or something stupid. Can anyone help me out here?!
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 85
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From: Prosperity SC
check you ground i know when my turn signals and brake lights and running lights started acting all crazy it was a bad ground. everytime that i hit the brakes my reverse would actually light up like i was backing up. come to find out it was a bad ground. get you a test light and start tracing out the grounds to make sure it has a solid ground. this is where i would start. good luck
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: RiVA
I have absolutely 0 tools to work with and no place to really work on my car unless its a random parking lot (Im in college, not at home). Is this something I can take to a shop to get fixed in no time? Would this be expensive?
Anytime you take a car to a shop for electrical its not cheap. I say invest in a $10 set of cheap tools for a auto parts store and crawl under there and clean the connection. Get some contact cleaner and spray it in the connection. Should clean it out.
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 48
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From: BAMA
Ever since i got my 02 i have alot of probs with this...first i got new marker lights and bulbs when the moisture was seen. Then i got new bulbs when they melted...YES MELTED! then new marker lights,new bulbs and new sockets....the bulbs still melted and i got water in the marker lights. I am perplexed about this....if anybody has a idea or suggestion it would sure be welcome! This is getting old with me. I am almost wanting to put a new design of light........or one that the bulb does not go into the top of the marker light?????
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The blinkers normally only stick when blinkers bulbs are bad. Check your fronts also. Theoretically it could also be a fuse or wiring, but thats rare.
It keeps blowing because of moisture getting in there. There are several ways to fix it. You can do the DRL mod listed above (do a search to find more) but you drill a small hole in the BOTTOM of the light housing so the water will drain out.
And/Or, what i did and prefer is sealing the system. Use plenty of die-electric grease in the socket and right before placing the socket and bulb in the housing wipe the bulbs to get the oil and grease from your fingers off (dont know if this actually helps, but ive heard it can reduce the tempature of the bulb). There are supposed to be rubber pieces on the blinker light sockets that are supposed to seal it to the housing. Sometimes these are missing, so water gets in. If you dont have them, make something to replace them or try and buy some. You can probably get something at GM. On top of this i applied RTV (gasket maker)... on both sides of the rubber piece, and i used quite a bit to seal it. I pretty much had the additude that i didnt want to do it again, lol. So i applied alot and then put the socket and bulb in (dont forget to wipe), cleaned up the excess RTV and was done. I used to go through 3-4 bulbs a year, its been a year since ive done it and havent replace a single one (knock on wood).
It keeps blowing because of moisture getting in there. There are several ways to fix it. You can do the DRL mod listed above (do a search to find more) but you drill a small hole in the BOTTOM of the light housing so the water will drain out.
And/Or, what i did and prefer is sealing the system. Use plenty of die-electric grease in the socket and right before placing the socket and bulb in the housing wipe the bulbs to get the oil and grease from your fingers off (dont know if this actually helps, but ive heard it can reduce the tempature of the bulb). There are supposed to be rubber pieces on the blinker light sockets that are supposed to seal it to the housing. Sometimes these are missing, so water gets in. If you dont have them, make something to replace them or try and buy some. You can probably get something at GM. On top of this i applied RTV (gasket maker)... on both sides of the rubber piece, and i used quite a bit to seal it. I pretty much had the additude that i didnt want to do it again, lol. So i applied alot and then put the socket and bulb in (dont forget to wipe), cleaned up the excess RTV and was done. I used to go through 3-4 bulbs a year, its been a year since ive done it and havent replace a single one (knock on wood).
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: RiVA
fantastic, well thanks for the advice. i was going to replace the socket because its got a lot of heat damage. I think the problem is the wire connections in the socket itself are corroded because the DRL comes on when i turn the headlights on, but its not as bright as the passenger side. I think a good cleaning of the connections, some bulb grease to fill the socket, and either a drainage hole or sealing the housing will be the perfect solution to this problem. I was actually contemplating going with some blueish white sylvania bulbs over the standard 3157 amber ones, but I guess thats a chat for another thread. 
Thread Starter
Launching!
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From: RiVA
MORE PROBLEMS.
Went to change the socket after cleaning the connections.
Gauge lights and fog lights no longer come on when I turn the headlight switch to center or all the way on (full right) -- DRL/Turn signals actually turn off when its on any other position other than all off (full left). Fog lights, turn signal flash when I press the lock and unlock buttons on my wireless keychain. The SES light was on before this because I needed to change my oil but now it no longer shows up.
Whats goin on here?! All I did was follow the turn signal socket change-out directions that you can read here: http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread...threadid=15143
Went to change the socket after cleaning the connections.
Gauge lights and fog lights no longer come on when I turn the headlight switch to center or all the way on (full right) -- DRL/Turn signals actually turn off when its on any other position other than all off (full left). Fog lights, turn signal flash when I press the lock and unlock buttons on my wireless keychain. The SES light was on before this because I needed to change my oil but now it no longer shows up.
Whats goin on here?! All I did was follow the turn signal socket change-out directions that you can read here: http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread...threadid=15143
Wow you got all kinds of problems. I'd probably start checking fuses and just inspect the connections. If you can't figure it out, i'd probably try and find anyone that knew what they are doing, then maybe take it to the shop if that fails.
Teching In
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 10
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From: California
I was told that there is a Turn signal switch inside the steering colum that goes bad on these cars often. I'm not sure if you've ever fixed your problem. But, thats what I'm trying next on my 99TA. I've lost all turn signals and cruise control. I checked all grounds, replaced front light sockets to no eval.
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts?
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: RiVA
I'm not sure about the steering column, but I did fix the problem. I replaced the actual turn signal socket and then found that the tail lamp fuse had blown inside the dash control panel so I replaced that as well. Electrical problems solved.
