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Been troubleshooting turn signals and need some help.

mdemars03

Member
254
0
16
Location
El Paso, Texas
My turn signals won't flash. I have swapped relays and still nothing. The only change that has been made is LED headlights. Will LED headlights cause turn signal problems? The signals still light up when I activate the turn signal switch but won't flash. I have checked my connections.
 

lindsey97

Member
738
14
18
Location
wynnewood, oklahoma
1) check your grounds.

2) Isn't their an application specific flasher that has lower internal resistance to work with LED's?

I installed trucklite LED's on my M923 A1 and had no problems with function.
 

infidel got me

Well-known member
1,685
32
48
Location
Newberry, Florida
I read a post that said the turn signal bulb was back feeding power somehow? I think he took that bulb and changed it, I don't recall exactly. Will it be to hard to unplug your led lights and try it?
 

dmetalmiki

Well-known member
5,523
2,026
113
Location
London England
If the flashers worked perfectly before the change over, then the LED = Low resistance. = no signal. Put a resistor in the circuit or get a suitable flasher unit to suit the lower resistance. (or what happenns when you replace the LEDs back to the original lamps?)
 

mdemars03

Member
254
0
16
Location
El Paso, Texas
Here is the thing though, the turn signals are not LED. The LED's are only the headlights and when I changed headlights (not turn signals or tail lights) that is when the turn signals stopped working. I'm trying to figure out if changing to LED headlights will cause an issue with the turn signals. I know changing the turn signals and the tail lights to LED's will require a resistor, but my problem came up after changing headlights only.
 

99nouns

Member
816
17
18
Location
Ocala, FL
Ok I had the same exact happened to me turn signals not flashing just staying steady and it happened when I has a head light went out so it was confusing as .........(you can fill in the blank)

So after trouble shooting and circuit testing for entire week with a volt and ohm tester according to manual between head lamps and turn signal bulbs, flasher relay and hi beam switch and all that I figured this out and fixed.

The turn signal switch it self has 4 screws to open and get into it and there is no million parts fall out, so as long as you don't force it it wont brake, also it is water tight so you have to jiggle it a bit, but once inside, you will see copper plates with grooves and there is a plastic disk part of the switch arm which also has groves, after short inspection you will see what position pushes where on the copper plate to connect what.

But what I found out happen to be my problem was that BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO BEND THE COPPER PLATES, but you will see that where those copper plate grooves make contact with each other had some kind of black oxidation being built up, so I took a 600 grit sand paper and gently cleaned those black spots WITHOUT BENDING THE COPPER PLATES then put thin layer of spark plug grease between copper plates with a Q-tips, mine is still working for 1 year now, if you get stuck you can always post pics and I will try to help as much as I can.

If its broken you can brake it, if aint broken dont fix it.
 
Last edited:

tbar123

Member
691
24
18
Location
enon,oh
I had somewhat of a similar problem. I had a headlight blowout and before I replaced it my hazard lights wouldn't work. Both turn signals did, but not the hazards. So checking into the ground on the headlight I found the ground was definitely faulty,So I fixed that and the hazards and new headlight installed= no problems.
 

Swamp Donkey

The Engineer
Steel Soldiers Supporter
1,450
119
63
Location
Gray, GA
Do the turn signals work when the 3 way switch is in the Stop Light position or do you get the same thing? Are all the turn signals doing the same thing or just the fronts? Does the green light on the turn signal switch flash even though the signals themselves don't?

Easy test first. Turn on headlights, remove bulb from behind green lens on turn signal switch, then try the turn signals. Do they work now?

If not, check the grounds.

The turn signals and head lights are all grounded to the hood/grill.
The hood/grill is grounded to the frame by a ground strap near the harness in the front of the driverside wheel well.
The flasher module is grounded to the mounting studs in the firewall. The firewall insulation can interfere with making a good ground and promote corrosion of the studs by holding moisture.

The 3 way light switch, turn signal switch and flasher module are all connected. A problem in one can cause problems down the line. Since the LED headlights draw less current, a faulty ground in one of the three parts can cause issues down the line. A sketchy ground can appear fine with more current running through it.

A screenshot from the back of the Repair Manual TM -23-5 showing how things are interconnected.

Screenshot_2015-11-21-18-25-36.jpg
 

mdemars03

Member
254
0
16
Location
El Paso, Texas
I will check the grounds again and if not get into the turn signal switch itself. Can't do it tonight since it's already dark and I have to work tomorrow but as soon as I get up Monday I will check both and report back as to any results or if the problem persists. Thank you for the input everyone!!
 

acesneights1

Member
1,449
21
20
Location
CT
Did you ever resolve it ? I am having the same issue. My green light stays lit when turned on , doesnt flash but I have no turn signal lights.
 

mdemars03

Member
254
0
16
Location
El Paso, Texas
The issues was resolved and it was a bad grounding point on the truck. I had to run the ground wire from the flasher relay to a better ground point on the frame.

With my issue I had lights when I turned the signal switch but they would not flash. If yours is not lighting up you may have another issue as well.

Definitly check your ground first though. It is a very quick and easy fix.
 

daytonatrbo

Member
320
3
18
Location
Tricities, TN
Ok. Yeah my inidcator stays steady green but I have no light lit at the turn signals themselves.
I'm having the exact same issue on my M35. I'm going to try swapping the blinker box (fender mounted on my truck) and see if that changes things.

If not, it'll be lots of testing for bad grounds, though I may tear into the blinker switch first as 99nouns suggested.
 

acesneights1

Member
1,449
21
20
Location
CT
I fixed it tonight. it was a bad ground. The flasher box has two bolts holding it to the firewall and has two ground wires on one of the bolts. Those looked fine but as soon a I turned the bolt the lights started blinking so they need a cleaning but it's working for now. I would have snapped a pic but it was dark.
 
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