Funk-u-dent turn signal problem

[green71]

Hi yawl,

Something's funky with my turn signals. Seems that occasionally when I flip the stalk down for a left turn, both indicators on the tach will flash, the left front turn signal will flash, and the left rear won't. I *think* similar things are happening on right turns, but I can't make it happen, so it's hard to pin down.

So far I've cleaned the contacts on the bulbs & sockets front & rear. Didn't clean the side markers, don't know if that matters. I've also installed a new tranny ground strap & cleaned up those connections.

I'm sure this is a fairly common problem. Any ideas?

TIA

[mike95125]

clean the fuses and connectors in the car. it will likely help your prob.
HTH

[Zeke]

And the grounds. My trailer did some really weird things like that until I got the lights well grounded.

[Toast]

I had a similar problem in my VW. I cleaned the male and femal spades on the fuse panel, replaced any females that were questionable (know some guys that wish they could do that that easily--he he), and repaired any iffy wires. Also check and replaced any blown fuses.
That seemed to do the trick.

Also one time I had a right rear bulb that was tweaky....didn't work sometimes. Seemed to cause the driver front signal to not work too. I replace that rear bulb, and didnt have any problems with either afterwards.

(ok, so my Bug had wiring issues!)

Good luck.

Mark; I don't have an answer but I have the same problem. Both of my indicators light up on the dash for both right and left turns. All of my signal bulbs are working. I'll try cleaning some ground and fuse contacts.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

You may also want to remove the steering wheel, and clean the tracks for the turn signals as well. I had this same problem, this solved it.

[green71]

Toast, I'll drink one to you tonight.

I began troubleshooting by methodically disassembling the entire vehicle. (Well, it seemed that way.) After cleaning the entire electrical system with the caul of a virgin chamois (which didn't work), I decided to swap the bulbs in the front turn signals. Presto, the problem moved from one side of the car to the other. It was a "tweaky" bulb after all.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Hmmm... Maybe not "tweaky" so much as "single filament"? Look to see if there is only one filament in the "tweaky" bulb. This sounds suspiciously similar to a problem I had when I put the wrong bulb in the rear turn signal housing...

Take a look and let us know; it would be a useful thing to know the symptoms!!

--DD

[green71]

Dave - both bulbs are double filament. The sketchy bulb must have just had it's cage rattled 'til it wouldn't seat properly or make satisfactory contact in the socket anymore.