Turn signals not working - 1985 Carrera
 

Hi
Just recently, I was out for a drive in my 1985 Carrera coupe and noticed that the indicator lights for the turn signals in the dashboard gauge were not working.
Upon further inspection, I've found that the blinkers do not work.

The hazards do work....so I know the bulbs in each corner lamp are working.
I checked the fuse and it looks fine.

I'm guessing that the culprit could be a flasher unit that has gone bad after 40 years?

If so, does anyone have a strong recommendation against using aftermarket parts or shall I stick with OEM: Part#: PCG-953-227-OEM.

Any other suggestions on what to check, I'm happy for your help.

Thanks,
erik.

Did you change any bulbs to LED? If so, you need an aftermarket relay that can handle the reduced current from the LED bulbs.

No, I haven't changed any lights on the car....

The vast majority of electrical problems come from poor grounds.

Go find all the ground points on the car, and open them up and clean them. Especially the ground strap from the transmission to the body. It is impossible to have too good of a ground, more is better.

Also pull the rear light housings and check for corrosion.

The flasher is shared between the hazards and turn signals, so if it flashes for either its ok

If all fuses are fine and all bulbs are working, the column switch is where i would look.

That is what I was afraid of....stalk switch issues!

Yes, I can confirm that when I switch on the hazards that all blinkers flash appropriately.
When I use the stalk switch for the blinkers only one indicator lamp lights up out of all four (passenger front), but does not flash.

Is this typically a replacement fix or can the stalk switch be repaired?

Thanks,
Erik.

One thing you can test pretty easily on the switch is what it does with the ignition off.
With ignition off, if you move the stalk, the parking lights (markers & signals) should come on and stay on for that side and not blink. The switch is 2 sections; one lights up the parking lamp filamenta and the other lights up the brighter “blink” filament.
If that doesn’t work either, the switch is probably not happy. You may be able to clean up the contacts or bend them a little to make better contact, I haven’t had to work on the switch but I'm pretty sure someone here has.

Mine were working intermittently, ended up changing my flasher, ten minute job and fixed. May be worth trying, a lot cheaper than your new stalk.
Thanks
Mike

I had corrosion and after cleaning all my grounds everything seemed better. I did inspect and clean my turn signal switch. Good luck

I just cleaned the terminals for the turn signals on the flasher . .they were rusty . . solved my problem

For the '85 911, LED-compatible flasher relay EP36 is a drop in replacement. Will light all incandescent bulbs or LEDs. Many online stores have it. Just make sure it is manufactured by Novita and says 'LED...' on it. Apparently EP26 and EP36 were old p/n and are still available but are not LED-compatible.

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this discussion thus far and sorry to belabor the point, but I wanted to provide an update....maybe this will help someone in the same situation in the future....

I cleaned all of the turn signal contacts and re-installed all of the bulbs (non-LED).
(Applied superglue to the end of a pencil (eraser side) and glued some 220 grit sandpaper to it, then spun that on the contact areas to get clean metal.)

I also purchased the Novita EP36 turn signal relay from AutoZone.

This is the positive news: accessing and replacing the turn signal relay was really easy!
I popped out the two leftmost dashboard gauges just using my hands - no tools required (in my case)....then I opened the hood and with a flashlight shining from the dash into the front trunk, I was able to reach in from the front trunk and pull the old relay out and install the new one.

Current status:
All turn signals flash brightly when the Hazard switch is activated.
Turn signals for each side light up when the stalk switch is activated for that respective side - but no blinking.

My deduction is that this isolates the stalk switch as the faulty component in the system.
However, if someone has a better idea or alternate approach to attempt, please let me know.

Note: I also purchased/received, from Pelican, another relay (Wehrle WES 54 237 012)....probably unnecessary now.

Thanks,
Erik.

I would reinstall the original flasher and see if that solves your problem before you went further.

^^^ Ditto.

If the turn signals light up for the side you have activated the lever, then the lever/switch IS working. I suspect the flasher is not working.

Thanks very much to all for your help in troubleshooting this issue!

It is resolved; all turn signals work now.

It must have been slight corrosion on the contacts on the fuses.

I cleaned and re-installed the original flasher relay and tried the signals again - no joy.
Then I decided to clean all of the fuse contacts for the turn signals - I had only checked that the fuses were still good originally. A bit dumb on my behalf, I'll admit.

That seemed to be the trick!

Thanks Again!!!