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Blinker Problems

green55

green55

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Got a couple different blinker problems going on. I've got a theory for one of them. Here's what's going on

Right Blinker: Turn it on and neither the front or back have a blinker. The dash green arrow just stays solid green. This just started today after I went through an auto car wash...knew I shouldn't but wanted to get the salt off it and was crunched for time :doah:. I tested the hazard lights and all of them work, except for the right rear I get nothing. Doesn't work with brakes either. Right rear side marker does work though when headlights are on. Other than that, the right rear seems totally dead at the moment.

Making a big guess here, but I think this might be related to where the trailer wiring harness is spliced in. I hooked it up to a trailer the other day for the first time and only got marker lights, no brake lights, no turn signals. I think that was happening because of the splices. They're 1) old and 2) not the best way to splice from what I've read. I think the high pressure water from the wash may have shorted something out? I think the hazard lights situation further points to those spliced wires. The attached pictures are the splices for the trailer wiring harness. I'm fine with ripping out the trailer wiring harness and replacing it with something like this. But my concern with taking those splices out is that there doesn't seem to be much wire between the connector and the splice...

What other stuff should I check for this? Am I way off thinking it could be the spliced in trailer harness?

Left Blinker: Works, but doesn't automatically turn off after the steering wheel comes back to center when completing a turn. This is lowest priority, I can live with turning it off myself as long as it works, but if its an easy fix then why not fix it.


Of course my blinker would stop working today because my state inspection expires today :D

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I would start with new bulbs then definitely check resistance of the wires and check for corrosion...
 
Thank you for reminding me to do simple things before doing complicated things!

Took the working left tail light out, put it in the right side, it worked. I thought great, must just be the bulb.

Put the previously not working right tail light back in just to drive to the parts store, it worked. Must've just wiggled itself loose and the jostle of the car wash was the last straw on the connection.

Very glad I'm not going to have to deal with that wiring at the moment because I don't tow often!
 
How would I go about diagnosing the issue where my left blinker doesn't get switched off automatically with the wheel turning?
 
The way the blinkers actually work still eludes me, what with the way everything is tied together.

I'd inspect the bulbs first, then swap them from side to side just to make sure they are good before doing anything else.

There is a ground at the taillight, under the housing, if you pull the housing off you should be able to see if that ground connection is corroded enough to cause a bad connection. They are pretty problem prone due to the location and how stuff gets thrown in there from the tires.

As to the trailer wiring, I'd remove that junk and start over. Once you get that stuff removed I think you'll have enough to reconnect them. I use the design you linked to, they are sealed and that's important.

No idea your plans for the rig and trailering but I recently converted both my trailer and the truck over from the flat four to round 7 pin design, as that seems to be the standard anymore. Something to consider. Much easier for others to use my trailer that have new rigs, and eliminates needing adapters for the most part. (I still carry one just in case) I cut the flat four connector off the adapter you linked, and ran the wires to the new 7 pin socket. There are some nice 7 pin sockets with metal brackets, I welded the bracket to the trailer hitch...it's easily accessible and still out of the way from getting damaged. Kind of thinking I'd like reverse lights on the trailer too...

Blinker not shutting off is probably a broken canceling cam in the turn signal switch. I'm guessing those arent really replaceable, need a new switch assembly.
 
Yeah I don't tow often. The main thing that I tow at the moment has the flat 4 connection. I actually just rewired the trailer last week with a new flat 4, I should've switched it to the 7 pin design...didn't even cross my mind.

I'll probably do what you did on my Jimmy -- remove what's there, replace with that plug & play adapter I linked to, and connect a 7 pin socket to that. I'll need to carry around an adapter for 7 => 4 pin, but I already do that for my truck. Then I'd be able to hook up to any trailer if necessary.

The trailer wiring is definitely falling down the priority list now that the Jimmy's tail light is working again though!
 
Let me tell you the proper use of crimp-on splice connectors underneath a vehicle - DON'T! The sad thing is that they often work temporarily, leading the chump to think they did something right. It's basically vehicle vandalism. A nice factory harness that would have been fine for decades to come is now ruined in weeks or months.

Plus, they sell adapters for this that literally plug-in in 1 minute without wrecking anything. And the idiot who did that one placed it so close to the connector that you may have to cut it off and get a new one. If they could have just left some room, the wires may have been repairable. You can probably cut near the splices, put on new weatherpack terminals and re-use the same connector body.
 
yes the inventor of those scotch lock should be staked out on an ant hill in the middle of the Arizona Desert in July.

Ok 1st and foremost,
Did ya check the blinker fluid ????


Sorry had to.
Remove the scotch locks and that crappy ground. Get the correct pig tail that will plug into your loom.

Check all the bulbs, the dash indicator not blinking is a sign of an incomplete circuit. Either open elements in the bulbs, or bad grounds.
Your left turn not canceling is probably going to be a new switch. Could be a broken spring, at one time you could get the spring from GM not sure any more. I always save them when I do a turn signal switch. Sometimes the plastic arm on the cancel breaks.
one I have to list but probably not your issue is the steering wheel straight ? this will mess up canceling.

The side marker lamp should light with just the park lamps, only working with the head lights on, makes me think there is a ground not doing it's job.
 
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Yeah got the right blinker working again. Just the bulb not having a good connection, bulb wasn't even bad. Thanks everyone for pointing out the logical order of doing things that I was not following (checking a bulb before messing with wiring).

The blinker just literally stopped working on the right turn leaving the car wash, so I was convinced it was something more than the bulb and I had just seen the mess with the trailer wires a couple days before when trying to figure out the trailer lights not working.

Thanks @Blue85 for using the term "weatherpack". I wasn't sure what those were called, so couldn't find the correct parts. Going to wait til after I get my inspection done so I don't break the blinkers again, then tackle cleaning up that trailer wiring. Hopefully just cutting those wires back a hair to before the splices, new weatherpack terminal on the ends, and insert into the original connector.
 
In the pic you can Screenshot_20220131-173405_Chrome.jpgactually see corrosion in the green wire thats cut in the weather pack, it would leave to believe you will be needing new wire in the loom also....
 
Weather pack is the factory connector with the silicone seals. The blue crimp on junkers you have most people call scotchlocks.
 
You can probably look on eBay and find the weather pack terminals and seals, but IMO you will also want the ~$20 tool to crimp them properly.

Be a bit careful, I suspect many of those being sold are Chinese ripoffs. I know for a fact some of the connector bodies being sold are not Delphi, the terminals would be hard to know. The weather pack connectors are pretty easy to de-pin with the proper tool (basically a hollow tube), so easily reusable.
 
dyeager535 said:
You can probably look on eBay and find the weather pack terminals and seals, but IMO you will also want the ~$20 tool to crimp them properly.

Be a bit careful, I suspect many of those being sold are Chinese ripoffs. I know for a fact some of the connector bodies being sold are not Delphi, the terminals would be hard to know. The weather pack connectors are pretty easy to de-pin with the proper tool (basically a hollow tube), so easily reusable.
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Agreed. But if you don't have the correct tool, you can get by with a generic one and then solder - as long as you know what you're doing and don't wick too much solder up.

I've also had problems with taillight bulb sockets before, where they work in the driveway and then give out somewhere along the way. Replacing the bulb seems to fix it until the contacts aren't touching anymore. So it's worth checking out the bulb sockets, especially if the problem is intermittent.
 
Also had bulb socket issues. Just one position. Intermittent. Finally got sick of it, bending the spring metal contact out seems to have fixed that.
 
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