Turn Signal Troubles

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RichardJ916

RichardJ916

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Ok I am going to try and explain this the best I can.
The right turn siganl works just fine, in the front and rear of car.

The trouble is with the left turn signal...
So here goes.

When the left turn signal is applyed both of the rear lights light up, like the flasher has been applyed, but the front turn signal works just fine. Now also when the breaks are applyed with the left turn signal on the front light turns brighter not sure what the back lights do and the left turn siganl stops flashing.

Please help.... I am not using left turn signal at all seeing the back is acting weird.

Thanks
 
sounds like the wiring in back left is crisscrossed or someone modified something.

make sure that the sockets are clean, everything has good grounds and no wires have been added/removed.

a brand new full rear wiring harness is about 45 bucks from year one if you want to go that route... it's one of the more reasonably priced harnesses.
 
I had thought of that myself, its new but you never know about China parts. Its almost like the socket has a wire swithched, I plan on looking into this later myself. Thanks...
 
Heres something else, with the rear left bulb removed the front still does the same thing... the front bulb lights brighter like brakes are applied and then stops flashing.
 
Tonight I will try unpluging the rear harness and see if the front acts normal, may be the test to see if rear is the trouble.
 
RichardJ916 said:
Heres something else, with the rear left bulb removed the front still does the same thing... the front bulb lights brighter like brakes are applied and then stops flashing.
Click to expand...

yes it's the connections/sockets in the left rear. clean the connectors really well. you can get tarnish off a few ways, a small piece of emory cloth works well. you can swap the left/right bulbs to see if it's just the bulb.
 
The socket looks great, I am going to unplug rear harness tonight to see what happens...I dont understand why the front do what they do if the buld is removed from rear socket...
Once again both rear bulbs flash when the left turn signal is applyed and when you step on the break the front lights up like you are appalying power to the stop light, the flasher turns brighter and stop flashing.
 
There have been some who pull a rear lamp socket to replace a bulb. They install a questionable bulb that has rolled around in the glove box for ages. So rather than put the socket back in the fixture, they lay the bulb socket in the trunk and start testing.
They get similar results. The ground path begins at those 2 tiny tangs that hold the bulbs base in the socket. They should shift the bulb enough to create a connection between the bulbs base and the socket interior wall. Then the socket exterior to fixture, and fixture to car body. A daisy chain of parts for a ground path. A break the chain anywhere is equal to a broken wire.
We all understand that you don't want the fault to be in the signal switch but... If you don't find the fault at a fixture, Manually operated switches are always suspect. The wiring harness is last on the list, unless of course there is anything aftermarket like a trailer harness involved.
 
If we are working on an A-body, Im guessing its a problem in the turn signal switch itself. And in front left a possible wrong bulb or wrongly installed bulb, or bulb with bridged filaments. In post #4 you say the front stops flashing: does it stay on brightly or go out all together? Also, are all these test done with the park/clearance lights off? Does the vehicle have a trailer plug? Electronic or standard flasher? Hazzard flasher?
The signal switch has several functions. Its supposed to keep the fronts separated from the rear and the lefts from the rights. If you have a bridged filament in the front left it would send power into all the clearance filaments thus turning all the bulbs on.This would explain the rears on and the front going bright. However since all this power is coming through the flasher, it should be flashing frantically. Unless its electronic in which case it would be flashing normally. For the bulbs to remain lit the power has to come from a non-flasher source. That leads me to suspect a cross-feed in the switch itself, either from the brake circuit or the hazzard circuit.
Since all the bulbs light to normal brightness, I believe all the chassis wiring and grounds are ok.
I would check all the leftside bulbs for correctness and correct installation, then swap out the left front, and disconnect the brakeswitch, then retest with parklights off. If problem persists I would inspect wiring on column and finally the T-switch itself. If the problem goes away with the brakeswitch disconnected, test with parklamps on.If the problem returns, check the wiring. If the problem doesnt return go to the t-switch.
I think this is right. But check that left front 1st for bridged filaments(you could swap it to the right front to see if anything changes).I really hope this helps.
I have had funny things happen when the t-switch melts inside.
 
Manually operated switches are always suspect.
Click to expand...

Yup.

I had the same weird operations going on in my Dart Sport. It was the turn signal cam itself. Swapped it out and everything is as it should be.

Richard, if you narrow it down to the signal cam, try and find an OEM one, or a good used one. The aftermarket ones I tried were junk.
 
Yeah, What Badsport said about quality. And please, when you get it sorted, let us know what the fix was so we (esp.me ) can all learn.I hate giving bad or incomplete advice. I wasnt going to respond at first. But thinking this was a complicated problem, I know Id have wanted help, so I jumped in. I really hope I didnt steer you wrong.
 
Lots to read here so give me a few hours to check tonigjht. But I will for sure update all thanks for input.
 
Not sure what normal or electronis flashers means. Flashers do work. I will replace
All bulbs tonight. The front is an 1156. Only one fillament, not sure how bulb could be
Crossed feed. All test were done with parking lights off. Will check all few more things tonight. It could for sure be the switch. Replaced for testing a few years ago not sure if things have change all I know is left is acting weird now. If I don't have a bulb in rear should front be don'tng weird things like it does.
 
How is the front turn/park lamp an 1156??? Is that what's supposed to be there, got me curious now.
 
In would bet dollars that it is in the signal switch itself! Remove the steering wheel, remove the canceling cam and get to the contacts! Clean them, bend the tangs up a bit to make sure there is good contact, and coat them with a light coat of dielectric grease! 9 times out of 10 the problem is in the switch!
 
I had an extra set of front turn signal sockets....it was worth a try, still the same thing....I need to get my wheel puller back from my buddy and then i will try that. I am try to swap the two rear sockets later but if i dont I will post new findings when i remove the wheel this wekend. Thanks again for all the help... I sure hope I get this fix once and for all.

Thanks Guys
 
RichardJ916 said:
I had an extra set of front turn signal sockets....it was worth a try, still the same thing....I need to get my wheel puller back from my buddy and then i will try that. I am try to swap the two rear sockets later but if i dont I will post new findings when i remove the wheel this wekend. Thanks again for all the help... I sure hope I get this fix once and for all.

Thanks Guys
Click to expand...

I had mine apart three or four times trying to get it right, it would work for a bit and malfunction.

I finally just got a good used complete assembly from here on the board and switched it out.

Best thing I could have done.
 
[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Plymouth-A-B-E-Body-Turn-Signal-Switch-4293102-70-71-72-73-74-75-76-OEM-/181441524096?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ADuster&hash=item2a3ec1f180&vxp=mtr"]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Plymouth-A-B-E-Body-Turn-Signal-Switch-4293102-70-71-72-73-74-75-76-OEM-/181441524096?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ADuster&hash=item2a3ec1f180&vxp=mtr[/ame]

Does this like the right one....It new OEM from Mopar Direct....
I dont mind geting this part if we think it will fix the trouble...
Fingers crossed
 
Richard are you working on the duster? In the front, it has the running light and the signal in the same fixture and using one socket. This requires a bulb with with 2 filaments. That means in your case a #1157 (clear) or a #1157A (amber). These bulbs have 2 pins on the base. The pins are offset vertically to help install them correctly, as the socket is similarely keyed. Its very difficult to install them wrong, but not impossible.Im going on the assumption that you didnt know this. This not a personal attack on you. Now the 1156 bulb IIRC is a single contact bulb. If you install a single contact bulb into a dual contact socket, its possible for the contact on the bottom of the bulb to straddle both contacts in the socket, leading to a crossfeed ;ie, power going to both circuits.
Now at the back, there is a similar situation, with the running light and brake light sharing one socket and requiring a dual contact(1157) bulb.
A single contact bulb is keyed differently than a dual contact bulb. This is supposed to prevent incorrect installations. Again, difficult but not impossible. Your Duster should have 1157s out back and 1157 or1157A in the front.The 1156s are for reverse.
The signal switch interrupts the brake circuit to the side you are signalling to and replaces it with the flasher circuit. Thats why I suspect that you have 2 problems as per my previous post. Its also possible that one or more bulbs at the rear are wrong or bridged filaments. Bridged filaments are rare. Again, just trying to be helpful.
 
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