turn signal lights

after replacing a bad wiring harness on the trafficator now all of a sudden when I turn the signal either left or right both lights on the dash flicker any suggestions what to try first before I take it out we all know its such a hassle

That area has a couple wire color changes in it. HERE is a link to an early version of a BJ8 wiring diagram I did. I'll have to talk to Basil about putting the updated one on BCF again (anyone remember the wiki?). It's to large to upload normally.

My car is a BJ7 and the wiring is different but I would start by pulling the control head turn signal wires from the connectors just under the bonnet (hood) catch. Connect up a test bulb and see how the circuit fairs to the control head, try both wires one at a time for both left and right turns. Clearly if only one side of the circuit is live at each signal position then the control head is doing it's job correctly.

Regarding getting into the control head, if you have the adjustable steering wheel, it is possible to do it all from the cockpit, by releasing the grub screws and pulling up the control head using the slack in the harness. There are some photos somewhere on here ( I think) of a guy doing just that.



Bob

I know very difficult to do it in the car had a hard time doing it out of the car maybe its some kind of short

Hi Ralph,

If you rewired the signal switch and horn button in the steering wheel, I would expect you already reviewed your bullet connections against the wiring diagrams regarding the wires emerging from the steering box. Have you touched the flasher in your process of replacing the harness? Both panel indicators are joined through a connector to the “P” (Panel) terminal of the flasher and a problem with this contact (or the flasher itself) could possibly cause your problem.

Bob, doesn’t this seem similar to having LEDs installed without resistors or an electronic flasher and feed from the flasher ensues?

Good luck,
Ray (64BJ8P1)

Ray let me explain alittle better when I turn on the signal light they flash very fast then when I turn them off and turn them on again they slow down but stil both indicator lights flash bought a new relay but their made in china now is there a way to test it

By indicator lights do you mean on dash or actual auto lights.

rjc157:

Are you using LED lamps in you car???

Hi Ralph,

The flasher is a relatively simple component with 3 tabs at the bottom. I have checked very few as the mechanical units are inexpensive and, if their operation was in questioned, I bought a new one.



To check the flasher, I would place a 12volt “+” on the horizontal tab and “-“ on ONE vertical tab and listen for the click. If no click, I would switch the “-“ to the other vertical tab and listen. If no sound, chances are the unit was bad. When testing, there should be no problem with the polarity orientation of the power leads just as long as you do not apply power to both vertical tabs at once.

Some mechanical flashers are extremely simple and perform with only the use of a bimetallic switch. However, others are more of a relay and use a coil triggered by the bimetallic to provide sufficient power for high draw units.

The appropriate dash indicator is provided with power from the “P” terminal on the flasher and routed to the ground of the opposite (non-selected) external signal lights. Since the dash indicators are cross-connected and only one dash indicator is supplied a ground, only the dash light represented the side selected will light.

If both dash indicators are lighting, a ground is being provided to both lights. This can happen if a wiring cross connection is taking place in the Trafficator head or good ground contact is not being made in the circuit not selected. If a stable light is not experienced, I would guess that a solid contact is not being made with one of the connectors that rout the circuit from the dash indicator.
Hope this helps,
Ray (64BJ8P1)