10
A blinker relay uses a thermal switch which is a piece of curved, spring steel and a thinner piece of spring steel near it that has a wire coiled around it with a resistive property.
When current is applied to the relay the coil of wire heats up and expands the small piece of spring steel until it pushes it to make contact with the larger piece of spring ...
10
Yes, they are related. Changing the burnt out light will rectify the problem. When one of the lights is burnt out less current passes through the flasher unit and it flashes faster. I don't remember the precise electronic reason for it... it's been a while.
8
Traced this problem to a fuse under the dashboard, located in the middle horizontal row right most fuse. Turns out this fuse is the indicator fuse and when this fuse is blown the indicators won't work but the hazard lights still work.
This was the solution in my specific instance but there are two other possible faults which could be to blame for indicators ...
8
After much deliberation on going to repair shop, I figured I would at least poke around as it could not make anything worse.
Here was the problem. The negative terminal wire soldering point was loose.
I fixed it this way:
Unplug the LED array. (Pictures to come) Video of removal process here on youtube
Remove the rear plastic shroud(with a few upward ...
8
The fact that the light bar lights up means that it works. If the fault is consistent, I'd be more tempted to look for the fault at the brake pedal - where the switch for the light is.
As your existing brake lights work correctly, next step is to see whether they use the same switch, as per @Brian's comment. It may be that the LED bar has been wired in ...
8
Yes, they are related.
Replace the rear bulb and all will be fine.
In most cars, now, the access to change the bulbs is from the inside of the car i.e. the back of the lamp. Usually removing a panel and pulling out the bulb holder is the plan of attack. Some bulb holders are twist (1/8 or 1/4 of a turn) and pull, that depends on the size and manufacturer.
6
I found a copy of the owner's manual here. Pages 284-285 have a diagram of the instrument cluster, where this light appears as #17. Page 294 says that this is the Vehicle Security Light and explains:
This light will flash at a fast rate for approximately 15 seconds, when the vehicle security alarm is arming, and then will flash slowly
until the ...
5
Three major reasons why they were used so long:
1. Cost - Even today a thermal flasher units cost about $2-2.50. The cheapest equivalent electronic flasher unit, which happens to be a direct replacement, costs about $6.50 (NOTE: Prices shown are USD found through a quick internet search).
2. Simplicity - They work until they don't.
3. Longevity - I can ...
4
A good service manual will have extensive wiring diagrams and possibly troubleshooting procedures and connector locations. With that and a multimeter, you can easily track the problem down. I prefer factory service manuals over Haynes / Chilton / etc, but they're not cheap. Looks like the one you would need would be $150 from Helm.
If you can verify the ...
4
I think you have a problem
The photo's of your harness and various components are not OEM. The wires are too new looking, as well, your turn indicator relay is definitely aftermarket.
Here is what a stock 1972 CB750 turn signal relay looks like.
As well, your headlight bucket is matte black. I worked in Honda dealership working on these bikes and can'...
4
The level mechanism is an arm on a pivot attached to the top of the fuel tank and capable on moving to touch the bottom on the fuel tank. To the other end of the arm is attached a hollow plastic float. The plastic float is buoyant enough so that, even with the weight of the arm, it floats on the surface of the fuel. As the fuel level changes, the arm goes ...
4
Since it is occurring on both sides with the same result, your problem lies with the switch on the column. There is an outside chance that the wiring harness connection which attaches to the switch might need reseated, so you could attempt that as well.
4
The hazards still work OK
This rules out that the indicator bulbs are not working.
When I indicate right my headlights come on ... when I turn the left indicator off the headlights go off
Based on the image below, the headlight control is on the indicator stalk.
One possible explanation is that the the switches are not functioning as they should, ...
3
In comparison with a flasher built with a few semi-conductors: They're bigger in size,
No, not really. Electronics were pretty big until recently. In 70's a transistor that could hold enough current for a blinker alone was bigger than the entire flasher, not even talking about cost.
and probably more expensive, considering their relatively complex and ...
3
Often your type of problem is caused by a loss of ground to the dash. I'm not familar with your vehicle but you might try jumping a good ground to the dashboard when the problem occurs.
3
At the time your mg was originally made, the thermal flasher unit was cheap and effective. The use of electronics in most cars came along later, such as electronic ignition only became common place in cars in the 80's and those were with ballast resistors which was a common fail point.
And as for wasting energy - well they may do, but it is a fraction of ...
3
This problem will not affect the performance or safety of the car so please don't worry about that.
The likelyhood is that it is vacuum related. There is a vacuum pipe which I'm pretty sure goes to the back of the instrument binnacle and the other end will be attached to the inlet manifold which may have become disconnected or holed. That's the first ...
3
The hazard lights in every car I've ever drive work whether the engine is turned on or not. The turn signals (indicators) work when the engine is turned on. It sounds like something is interrupting the power going into the turn signal switch when the engine is running.
One possibility is that the alternator isn't working and so the engine is lowering the ...
3
It certainly used to be possible to damage the mechanism. .
Years ago, on my 1979 Renault 5, I managed to break the self cancellation mechanism just as you describe. A small nub on the steering column snapped off and the indicators never self cancelled again. The nub in question released a spring clip on the indicator stalk to enable it to return to the ...
2
There's a chance the relay needs to be replaced. There's a couple steps you could try beforehand though.
Check resistance between all the wires from the light controls to the relay to the light bulb itself. As long as there's zero to very little resistance you know all your wiring is ok.
You can clean the contacts. Use some steel wool and/or sandpaper to ...
2
A rundown on the basic self-cancelling mechanism can be found here. Depending on how modern your car is, the mechanisms will have been engineered with materials that are malleable enough to withstand any treatment the mechanism will encounter in normal service.
As such, it seems this problem has been all but eliminated in modern commercial vehicles. After ...
2
It is true.
According to the Owners' Manual, page 202;
This light monitors various brake functions, including brake
fluid level and parking brake application. If the light turns on, it
may indicate that the parking brake is applied, that the brake fluid
level is low, or that there is a problem with the anti-lock brake
system (if equipped).
...
2
A good way to find the issue is to put a bulb in place of the fuse - while it is lit the fault is there, then you can disconnect items or gently move the wires until it goes out - hopefully then the fault is apparent...
Use a bulb that takes less current that the fuse you are trying to test a 55W headlight bulb is about 5A... So a small side light bulb 5W ...
2
Yes, modern vehicles do this. They can also activate the hazard lights in an emergency braking situation, so even before/no impact.
I experienced this firsthand when attending a driving seminar where we practiced emergency braking, skidding etc. - where another attendee had a newer Mercedes, which kept blinking away at those exercises.
In the future EU-...
2
Sounds like a poor ground, when the headlights are off then the 21W can get to ground via the headlamps but if the headlamps are on then that does not happen.
Check the ground connections and for breaks in the ground wires.
1
Fixed it. Took the Light Control Module out (a five minute job, as it's part of the headlight knob assembly) and noticed some damage to the PCB. Swapped it out for another one I got at the local scrappers for £5 and all problems have gone away. I assume that there was a short on the PCB that drained the battery.
The only minor annoyance is that the LCM also ...
1
In case your car has only one brake warning light (some cars have two: one for e-brake, one for the brake system), it also could be a bad contact in the e-brake switch. If you are able to reach it (located underneath the e-brake lever), take it out and clean it.
1
This could be either a wire rubbing somewhere on the body or it is a pad warning sensor - the wire is just starting to come into contact signalling low pads.
You should check the pads for wear.
1
No it isn't possible, there are many configurations and things that can be activated on the Instrument Cluster but displaying the current gear on manual vehicles isn't possible.
I know you probably don't want to hear this but there is really no need to have a gear display on a conventional manual. If you ask any experienced driver they will tell you that ...
1
Most likely a short-circuit somewhere. Did you do any work related to indicator, horn, etc. recently?
Start by doing a visual inspection of wires. Pay special attention around narrow bends and where wires move (between frame and steering column.)
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