ELECTRICAL PROBLEM! Any electrical geniuses out there than can help me with the signals?? Fully rotisserie restored 1969 Dodge Dart 340 4-speed. Something wasn't hooked up right or possibly something is wrong at the fuse box. We had power with a test light at the firewall and the test light was flashing. All of a sudden now it's not flashing. Now we are going back from the inside of the firewall to the fuse box. Any ideas? Thanks guys!
Drivers SIGNAL not working
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dano
Evil Handy Man
Bad flasher? Is it solid now or just no illumination?
N
Nothing at the grill light. We were getting the test light flashing at the firewall and then it just stopped. The weird thing is that it shows the power flashing at the power light at the firewall and continuity through the wire to the front of the grill but why is the bulb not flashing? We checked the bulb and the socket as well. So weird
Bad ground at the light.
I have this same problem only at the right front. For me, it isn't a grounding issue. I've tried different bulbs, different housings and even clipped a wire to it for additional grounding. Mine lights up but will not blink.
Fixtures mounted in plastic need chassis ground from base of a known good bulb. Enough current draw caused flasher module to open and close. In some models where there are only 2 bulbs. One fails, other will stand on, no flash. Contact on bottom of a bulb can be an issue. They are softer metal than what they are spring loaded against in the socket so they slowing deform to the point of works, hit a bump, don't work.
Front only or front and rear. If front only likely wiring, AKA bulkhead connector, or at the lamp and as mentioned, ground. Of course the bulb.
Go back in the car and access the column connector out of the signal switch. I cannot remember which is left and right, the fronts are light green and light tan, I believe.
Go back in the car and access the column connector out of the signal switch. I cannot remember which is left and right, the fronts are light green and light tan, I believe.
Nope, not it.
What have you checked?
Dave999
Well-Known Member
if you have 1 indicator out and the other in its pair works flash unit and switch work
check the connector block for the column switch where the pulsing flasher signal is directed to left or right circuits.
in mine its is clipped to an upright in the dash just above the steering column
wires from the switch go to it and it feeds left and right front blinkers and left and right rear blinkers
i had a rear out and it was 1 dark green wire not making contact in the plastic 6 or 8 way connector.
i had no flash with test light at the connector behind the drivers side kick board
but i know the switch in the column worked due to test light at bulkhead and front indicator working.... so just followed wires from the back until i found a flash of the test light. which happens to be the distribution point i.e the connector for the column switch in the dash.
i knew the light housing was grounded becasue all other light functions worked and i could get the blinker bulb to light with 12 volt to the bulb base and the bulb shank pressed to the housing.
Dave
check the connector block for the column switch where the pulsing flasher signal is directed to left or right circuits.
in mine its is clipped to an upright in the dash just above the steering column
wires from the switch go to it and it feeds left and right front blinkers and left and right rear blinkers
i had a rear out and it was 1 dark green wire not making contact in the plastic 6 or 8 way connector.
i had no flash with test light at the connector behind the drivers side kick board
but i know the switch in the column worked due to test light at bulkhead and front indicator working.... so just followed wires from the back until i found a flash of the test light. which happens to be the distribution point i.e the connector for the column switch in the dash.
i knew the light housing was grounded becasue all other light functions worked and i could get the blinker bulb to light with 12 volt to the bulb base and the bulb shank pressed to the housing.
Dave
Mattax
Just the facts, ma'am
It is really really hard to know what the problem is you want to solve.
So the test light was flashing when some connection at the firewall was probed?
Tell us this:
What is the electrical problem you are trying to solve?
Let us guide you on how to narrow it and track it down.
Begin with the most basic test that will indicate power to the main junction and back to the battery.
Does the dome (sidelights on a fastback) light work?
Do the parking lights turn on?
Do the headlights turn on?
Do the brake lights work?
If they turn on, does the ammeter indicate some current discharging from the battery?
If that works, then try hazard lamps.
These all can and should be tested with key off.
Once its been established the full time circuits work, then we can go on to the ones that require the key switch on.
So the test light was flashing when some connection at the firewall was probed?
Tell us this:
What is the electrical problem you are trying to solve?
Let us guide you on how to narrow it and track it down.
Begin with the most basic test that will indicate power to the main junction and back to the battery.
Does the dome (sidelights on a fastback) light work?
Do the parking lights turn on?
Do the headlights turn on?
Do the brake lights work?
If they turn on, does the ammeter indicate some current discharging from the battery?
If that works, then try hazard lamps.
These all can and should be tested with key off.
Once its been established the full time circuits work, then we can go on to the ones that require the key switch on.
OMG man.... I feel like we've checked everything! Haha. I have not checked the signal switch because obviously that's a pain in the *** but I'm betting that's it. The grounds are good. The bulbs are good. We almost think that some wires are crossed. We have power at the passenger ground wire. Drivers is the the one that's not working. I cleaned the hazzard switch as it was pretty ugly looking but we tested it and it's in working order. Flashers are fine. Weird thing is that when I took all the fuses out, we still had headlights. Also the top left wire on the firewall plug should be ground and it's got power. The Tach is also flickering when the car is running and the tach needle clicks with the passenger signal. So fu*ked up.
The driver's signal is not working. No brake lights now either. Signals and parks work at the tail lights.
Brake lights are hot at all times. Turn signal switch interrupts 1 or the other, not both. A working signal switch will interrupt rear lights but should not interrupt front. I understand your not wanting to go there.
Well I told you to access the TS connector where it comes out of the column. That is not difficult. You can check the voltages there. Don't you have a wiring diagram/ service manual? You can download those, free, from MyMopar.com
What do you mean "power at the ground wire?"
What top left on what plug are you talking about? Grounds do not go through the bulkhead connector.
The tach action is indicitave of either crossed wiring or a grounding problem.
Follow the path. Look up which front output is which coming out of the ts switch connector. See if you have it there. Look up the bulkhead connector. Same wire colors there, should have same power there. If you have that and it does not work, it is either a grounding problem, a bad bulb or a socket problem
69 Dodge manual, 8-99, figure 7, "Front end lighting"
Notice Tan, right side, goes to "V" in the bulkhead connector. Left side, Light GreeN, goes to "S" at the bulkhead. These then go direct to the TS swictch connector coming out of the column
then go to fig 11, page 8-103, instrument panel Notice the same Tan and Light GreeN these feed out to the instrument panel indicators and out through the bulkhead as noted above
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Yeah, I've forgot a lot but could not recall a ground wire in a bulkhead terminal.
Mattax
Just the facts, ma'am
OK. we'll break this down in a bit since its only is useful in conjunction with the rest.
By driver signal I assume you are refering to the instrument panel turn indicators.
Does this car also have fender mounted indicators?
I'm going to be the hard *** here. It really seems the frustrating is from not understanding the system. That's making it much harder to narrow down.
I agree its likely something is crossed.
On our end, one frustration is being told something is "good". It means nothing. The filaments look good. That's informative. We tested the bulbs off the car and they work. That teslls us something. We did a continuity test on the bulbs and there is x resistance on each. That tells us something.
Now lets go through this systematically.
Weird thing is that when I took all the fuses out, we still had headlights.
The headlight switch is a really a multi-switch.
The headlight circuit gets power from the main splice to the B1 terminal on the headlight switch. There's a 15 amp breaker inside the switch.
The parking and tail lights get power from the alsways hot side of the fuse box. That wire goes to B2 on the headlight switch. They remain seperate from the headlight circuit. Inside the switch, there is a branch from B2 to the dimmer for the instrument panel lighting.
Flashers are fine.
Does the driver's signal work with the flashers on?
Hazards are powered from the always hot side of the fuse box. They a share a fuse with other items.
Signals and parks work at the tail lights.
These are seperate circuits.
Their bulbs share a ground.
No brake lights now either
Brake lights share some of the same circuit as the turn signals.
But there is no power to the turn signal flasher with the key off.
We have power at the passenger ground wire. Drivers is the the one that's not working.
Also the top left wire on the firewall plug should be ground and it's got power.
There are NO ground wires to the multi-connector on the firewall.
In fact there are hardly any ground wires on these cars at all.
I'm emphasizing this because it very easy to damage something not knowing this.
Do you have a Dodge or Plymouth shop manual for '69 ?
It shows exactly what each connection is for, along with the wire color and size.
The Tach is also flickering when the car is running and the tach needle clicks with the passenger signal.
The needle clicks? Moves?
That seems like a good clue too.
Where is the tach power coming from?
Is this aftermarket or factory?
jbc426
Well-Known Member
This happened to my '68 Convertible. Turned out to be the turn signal mechanism itself. The wire for the contact for that light had melted into the nylon on the mechanism itself and stopped making contact leaving the circuit open for the flash.
I swapped in a new one and used a dab of synthetic disc brake grease to lubricate the pawls etc. That specific grease is wonderful, doesn't harm plastics or rubber, and made the new switch much smoother in operation.
You're sort of talking French to me as I am not good with this kind of stuff. My father-in-law was helping me as well as my buddy who is a Red seal mechanic but he's not here now.
I am no longer getting any power or flashing from the bulkhead. I can hear it clicking inside the car but the left signal light in the cluster is not blinking. I get the rear left tail light flashing. No brake lights. Also the dome light flickers with the right signal, the one without the problem. That actually happens irregularly though. Sometimes it fluctuates, sometimes it doesn't.
When I turn the park lights on, the right signal which is working, slows down in speed. Maybe we've hooked up the tach wrong and it's screwing everything up? I also get ticking in the distributor, is that normal?
I have the steering wheel open now with the signal switch exposed but can't even get it out. The wires won't let me pull it out. Am I supposed to unclick it somewhere? Jesus this is insane.
And yes, I guess we were wrong about the ground wire in the bulkhead clip. I thought that might be the case.
Sorry, the dome light dims and pulses when I turn the hazards on.
Oh yeah, I definitely don't understand it. I'm no mechanic. I did a four-speed swap on my last dart by myself and have been around cars my whole life. I just haven't really cracked into it myself much. What I mean by The signals aren't working, is the light in the grill but yes, the one in the cluster doesn't work as well.
The bulb is good. I have swapped it with the working bulb and I also have other bulbs here. Tried them all. Nothing works.
Yes, both grill signals are working when the hazards are on. The dome light is also pulsing with the hazards/ flashers. Weird.
Yes, the needle is moving rapidly when the car is idling. It will also flicker but only with the passenger side signal. The tach is an Auto-Meter. We wired it in the way it was wired in when I bought the car. We didn't really trace where the wires were going. That might be part of the problem.
Also, I'm assuming I have the wire on the back of the hazard switch correctly? It will go on either way.
Thanks so much for the help!
I don't know why you got into the column. It is not clear to me what electrical checks you have made. I cannot make this much clearer. You need to go back and re-read my post. EG, for each turn signal, not the parking but the turn, there is ONE wire that comes out of the column switch DOWN UNDER THE DASH, goes through a specific bulkhead terminal, which I talked about earlier, then the harness from there goes up to the lamps. You need to see if you have power at the proper color wire, with it flashing on the "bad side" so left front will be Light GreeN LGN.
I'm just going to take it to an electrical guy I was referred to. I'm out. Too much for me. The brake pedal sensor wasn't adjust so I got that done. After I got done that, now I have no signals anywhere. Also only my passenger rear brake light works. I changed the bulb on the drivers side and it still won't work. Unreal. I told this electric guru about the dome light pulsing with the hazards on the phone and he said to take out the left bulbs, front & back.... then try it again and there shouldn't be pulsing. It still pulsed. He said I must have a short somewhere. The wires to the hazard flasher started to smoke. I'll take it to him on Friday. Thanks for the help.
Mattax
Just the facts, ma'am
Even if you take it to an electrical guy, you guys need a '69 Service manual so know what wires are what, and where they should connect.
You can download a digital version from www.mymopar.com and its free.
Yes the tach wiring may be part of the problem. See where it is getting power from. It may simply be showing the effect same as the dome light is.
Since the turn indicators in the cluster both work with the hazard switch on, that narrows down the scenarios.
Do pay attention to the ammeter. The needle shows 40 amps charge to 40 amps discharge. Anything over 20 amps either way is getting into problem territory.
Use your own common sense too. Since your noticing smoke, I agree soemthing is wired poorly or wrong.
Another resource for routing and connecting the wires is to buy a copy of the assembly drawings from Faxon. You can find threads here discussing those and decide if its worth it to you.
You can download a digital version from www.mymopar.com and its free.
Yes the tach wiring may be part of the problem. See where it is getting power from. It may simply be showing the effect same as the dome light is.
Since the turn indicators in the cluster both work with the hazard switch on, that narrows down the scenarios.
Do pay attention to the ammeter. The needle shows 40 amps charge to 40 amps discharge. Anything over 20 amps either way is getting into problem territory.
Use your own common sense too. Since your noticing smoke, I agree soemthing is wired poorly or wrong.
Another resource for routing and connecting the wires is to buy a copy of the assembly drawings from Faxon. You can find threads here discussing those and decide if its worth it to you.
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Mattax
Just the facts, ma'am
One reason is the system voltage has dropped. In other words this may be normal.
Say the engine is running at 650 rpm. The alternator providing power to run the engine, recharge the battery (amount seen on the ammeter), plus power the turn signals, and then run the parking lamps.
With all those things drawing power, voltage might drop from say 14.4 V to 13.9 V. That would result in less current though the flasher unit and therefore a slower flasher.
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