car trouble again

[atgcpaul]

On the way to work yesterday in my wife's car (my old one, the one with the dead battery from this summer), I noticed when I used the left turn signal (yes, some people still use turn signals), the internal indicator flashed about 2-3x faster.

In the reflection in the car in front of me, I could tell the front flasher was working. When I got to work, I confirmed that the rear one was out. Bought a new bulb on the way home and replaced it this morning--had to take out the whole housing, though. Anyway, I confirmed it was working before reinstalling it and drove to work again. I did not re-check after installation, though--doh! The old bulb did not appear to be burned out.

There's only one left turn from my house to get to a divided highway, and I know it worked fine there. Then on the road as I changed lanes, fast flashing again! I confirmed at work that it wasn't working again.

So what's going on? Loose connection somewhere? I replaced this whole tail light assembly last year after someone backed into the car and broke it. The OEM wasn't a complete replacement because the old wire connectors would not fit onto the back of the new lights and the old sockets wouldn't screw into the new assembly so I used wire splices made for the job to connect the new lights to the old wires. Been working fine till now.

Thanks,
Paul

[twistsol]

Not sure if cars still have this or not, but it could have a flasher unit, usually part of the fuse box under the dash or under the hood that can cause the same issue. I haven't had to replace one since the early 80's so my information may be completely out of date. Find it by turning on the signal and listening for the sound.

[cabinetman]

Is the right turn (front and rear) directionals working OK? You may have a bad ground, or the flasher may be bad.

.

[Stytooner]

I think it could be any number of things. Sometimes a new bulb is just a bad one. If it was a dead short, I would expect the fuse to blow.
It sounds more like a loose splice to me. You can usually tell if a bulb is actually blown. You not being able to see physical evidence of a blown bulb tells me it is loose somewhere. Jiggling the wire would probably confirm this.

Consider using better splices or even twist and then solder the wires and then tape. Soldered splices won't wiggle loose.

[atgcpaul]

Is the right turn (front and rear) directionals working OK? You may have a bad ground, or the flasher may be bad.

.

Yes, the right blinker works fine.

Consider using better splices or even twist and then solder the wires and then tape. Soldered splices won't wiggle loose.

I'll look closer at that splice.

Not sure if cars still have this or not, but it could have a flasher unit, usually part of the fuse box under the dash or under the hood that can cause the same issue. I haven't had to replace one since the early 80's so my information may be completely out of date. Find it by turning on the signal and listening for the sound.

Not sure. This is a 2003 Mazda Protege 5. Not sure if the lights are like the Christmas lights where they flash on their own or if the flashing is controlled by a box sitting somewhere else. There is an audible clicking sound in the dash that follows the flashing of the arrow. Not sure if this is the sound you're talking about.

I'll check the fuse box, too.

[eezlock]

car trouble again...

I agree with cabinetman....bad or loose ground wire connection. Newer vehicles
have some much plastic in them that it is hard to establish a good, solid ground
connection anywhere on the car. Most all electrical problems that cars have
can be traced back to a bad ground somewhere, check that out and most likely
that will cure that headache for you.

[cork58]

Solder the splices, that's your problem, then check the voltage at the socket before reinstalling.

[cabinetman]

This problem is more than likely a bad bulb. I would put in a new front and rear bulb. If that doesn't solve the problem there are other things that may cause it. If the bulb is a dual contact bulb, it's likely that it's on the same circuit as the brakes, with which the brake light operates when the turn signal is activated. You also have the parking light (could be from the same bulb).

You could have a fault in the turn signal switch, or in the flasher, or there could be a bad relay. I'm not familiar with that car's electrical configuration. If you have an owners manual, it may be covered in a "trouble shooting section".

.

[LinuxRandal]

Bad bulb (it happens, try it on the other side), loose ground (you said the tail light was replaced, sometimes a bolt will loosen over time), or corrosion in the socket (or the socket going bad) are the first things I would check.

[JSUPreston]

Something like this may do it for you:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

Heat shrink and solder all in one. One of the car forums I visit has a guy that just did a 4 year build on an '86 Trans Am, and he used these wherever he had to splice. I think he's pretty happy with them.

[atgcpaul]

I was near the house during lunch so I stopped in and took it all apart again. I squeezed the splice with a pair of plyers and it started flashing again. So it's working and back together. I never solder so I have no idea where my iron is. Been meaning to buy a new one so I could get into electronics. I guess this is enough impetus.

Thanks,
Paul

[JSUPreston]

That's the nice thing about what I posted. It solders and heat shrinks at the same time...just need a heat gun.

[atgcpaul]

That's the nice thing about what I posted. It solders and heat shrinks at the same time...just need a heat gun.

For me personally, I think I'd get more mileage from a new soldering iron. I thought about getting a heat gun some time ago to do the heat shrink to stop window drafts, but then we got new windows instead. Much nicer to not have to repeat that process every winter and take them down in the spring.

[Black wallnut]

IME the biggest problem with most crimp connections is improper crimping due to cheap tools and or cheap crimps. OEM connecters rely on crimps and seem to last just fine. Soldering if done wrong can lead to other problems. Even with heat shrink tubing over a soldered connection you have the chance of corrosion due to capillary action.

[Stytooner]

Ahh. There is a trick to making reliable splices on vehicles.
You can use heat shrink tube, but I like the tape that actually bonds to itself. It stays gummy and doesn't dry out. Either way though, I solder the twisted wires well. Thoroughly! Then dab on a bit of silicon over the exposed soldered joint. Then either tape or heat shrink tube. You won't be having any more issues out of that joint.

I recently bought myself a solder station. Works much better than the old iron I have.
http://www.allspectrum.com/store/low...96f-p-354.html