Greetings All: Hello I am new to the forum although I have visited frequently over the past month since I picked up a 72 cutlass. I have a turn signal problem that is driving me crazy!! Every time I turn the ignition to on or start the car the signal fuse blows. I have checked all the bulbs and they are ok. The flashers work fine, but as soon as I hit the ignition the fuse pops. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks - Jim

 

Unplug the cluster connector for the turn signal switch near where the t.s. harness enters the steering column. Odds are the fuse won't blow instantly with this disconnected. If it doesn't, look for the bare spot in the wiring in the column.
Good luck.
DW

 

Pull the turn signal flasher (not the hazard flasher on the fuse block).
-If the fuse does not blow, check for shorts in the turn signal switch or connectors.
-If the fuse still blows, check the following:

Check for bad wiring mods done by former owners. Often these are problems waiting to happen (I had my share of them with my '72.)

Next, the turn signal fuse also supplies power to the TCS solenoid at the front of the engine by the oil fill tube. The connector will (should) have a big black resistor on it. Make sure the green wire is not shorted to ground anywhere.
Also make sure the former owner did not put on a wire shorting out the resistor...

Also, the signal fuse supplies power to the seat belt buzzer circuit through the neutral start switch.

Hope this clues you in to the problem!

 

Thanks for the info! I will chasing it down tonight hopefully without the fire department involved!

 

Problem solved!! Checked the TS flasher - ok. Fuses were still popping on startup. Next hunted down the TCS solenoid, or what was left of it and found a black mass of molten wires & plastic fused to the intake manifold. pried it loose and i could see where the short was occuring. Thanks a bunch for the help! Now next question what is this TCS solenoid for and should it be replaced? Thanks again - Jim

 

What is the tcs solenoid and where is it located? I'm having the same problem with my 72 cutlass.

 

Its an early emission control system, it limits vac advance, its located on the intake manifold on the passenger side, replace it if you want for correctness, if all the vac lines are closed up and holes are plugged you dont need it.

 

OK,Where is the turn signal flasher?

 

It is on the front of the intake manifold right behind the oil filler tube.
It stands for Transmission Controlled Spark. In high transmission gear, it limits vacuum advance to the disty to supposibly reduce NOx emissions.
Also at engine temps above 210 it applies full manifold vacuum to the disty to give full advance, thus helping the engine to run cooler at the expense of more NOx.
Most people leave this on the block but disconnect the hoses and plug the unneeded ports. They either run the disty directly to either ported vacuum or manifold vacuum...
I have heard to use ported vacuum, although many use manifold. Personally, I would like to know the pros and cons of using either...

 

Good question!
I have not even seen it yet, despite the countless times I have been doing wiring work under the dash!

I do know the flasher in the fuse block is for the 4 way hazards...

 

I have usually found them near the steering column or perhaps to the left of it toward the driver's left foot, under the dash, hanging on a wiring harness, sometimes clipped to a ledge of the dash or part of the steering column itself. It usually looks like a round, silver can.

 

I had a little problem with a surge during slow cruising with my 425 4-speed 328* cam with the vacuum advance hooked directly to the manifold. Connecting to ported vacuum helped it a lot.
DW