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Car: Ford Focus Mk II 2010 Diesel TDCI 1.6L

When I push either turn signal, it lights up the appropriate light on the dashboard and flashes the corresponding turn signal VERY briefly -- about a tenth of a second, and then it clicks off. No matter how many times I push the lever, it does exactly the same thing.

The same behavior arises with the hazard lights, but if I do it three or four times, it'll actually start blinking properly. When it fails, either left or right will blink on its own very briefly.

Note that the turn signal switches off in the dashboard too.

As far as I can tell, nothing else is acting up. Heaters, radio, windshield wipers, etc all work as before.

Please, how do I diagnose this bizarre behavior? There are no DTCs.

I should note that this happened shortly after I programmed a new additional key.

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  • The hazard lights should operate without a key in the ignition. If you have an original key, I suggest starting the engine with it, and checking. Then remove the key, and try the hazards. You might be able to pin it down to the newly programmed key.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Dec 29, 2020 at 20:10

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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Hazard lights and blinkers are controlled via ECU outputs into a module called a FLASHER RELAY , if this relay fails then you will not get flashing (Can you manually index the flasher to simulate flashing(repeated on and off of the signal stalk).

You can try to reset the ECU by removing the battery cables for a period of time and reconnect them, otherwise you might need to replace the flasher relay and or flash module.

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  • Sadly, battery cycling did not work. I cannot really manually flash because the signal is very, very short -- only the hazards work okay if I cycle them many times. The normal turn signals simply do not.
    – lericson
    Commented Dec 30, 2020 at 17:56
  • I think the weirdest part is how the turn signals stop flashing in the console.
    – lericson
    Commented Dec 30, 2020 at 17:57
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I fixed my problem by finding a circuit diagram of the entire car, or at least a very similar model.

It turned out the flashers, blinkers -- or their technical name, the turn signals, are controlled by a microcomputer in the fuse box at the passenger's side footwell. The technical name is the PJB, or "passenger junction box", it's basically the fuse box for everything not related to the engine.

I tested the turn signal switch with a voltmeter, and there was nothing wrong. By my symptoms, it seemed unlikely to be a grounding issue too -- but nevertheless I provided an alternative ground to the PJB, and still no dice.

So, I figured it must be something wrong with the PCB. Modern electronics do have a shelf life, mainly because of the capacitors -- they dry out and lose capacitance. Capacitors are also commonly used to drive timing chips...

Anyway, long story short: I replaced the PJB with a junkyard one, and it works fine.

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    Wished I would have noticed this questions,I may could have helped you figure it out sooner. I repair a lot of ford fuse boxes for blinker failures. They have some very failure prone IC's that need replacing. Don't be surprised if the junk yard one goes out soon too but at least you will know where to start. Here in the states around that year they call them SJB (smart junction box). Its basically fords version of the body control module. they have gone back to calling them bcm's now at least.
    – narkeleptk
    Commented Jan 7, 2021 at 0:45
  • @narkeleptk Interesting, do you know what component(s) in particular tend to fail? It seems like it should be a pretty simple circuit, but I guess not...
    – lericson
    Commented Jan 7, 2021 at 15:19
  • Also, it's called a smart box in some places in the schematics too.
    – lericson
    Commented Jan 7, 2021 at 15:19
  • Sure, I know many of them. Usually it is indeed a pretty simple circuit.
    – narkeleptk
    Commented Jan 7, 2021 at 22:22
  • I think the weird thing is that it would work intermittently but reliably only with the hazard lights. Very odd.
    – lericson
    Commented Jan 8, 2021 at 15:40

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