gabe442

Me turn signals don't work when I use my blinkers I can here it click when I use left or right Blinkers and my fuses are good what are my next steps to fixing this problem. Thanks

Allan R

1. Test your emergency flasher circuit - if all is good,
2. Check your flasher for turn signals. These old cars have 2 flashers - one for turns and one for 4 ways. Start with this and see what happens. Do you have the CSM or AM for your car?
3. If you turn on your right or left signals, do the signal clicks go really fast? That's a flasher problem. If the dash indicator stays on solid indication? You have a burnt out bulb.
4. Also check to make sure your turn signal lights are all 1157 (double filament). If you have 1156 (single filament) bulbs they will not flash.

firefrost gold

Turn signal selector switch can cause this .

MDchanic

Are your bulbs burned out?

- Eric

gabe442

The.bulbs in the dash back/front of car don' t light up.where are the flashers located at?thanks

Allan R

The emergency flasher is plugged into the fuse block. The turn signal one is plugged into a harness connector under the dash by the steering column.

Question: Do your park lights work? Pull out the light switch to the first détente and check all 4 corners. (BTW, the front side marker lights are part of the running light AND signal light system on the 72 cars) Here's a .pdf file that shows the location, see pages 12-100 and 12-104 (bottom right side of page for section/page) http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/membe...12__Part-1.pdf

gabe442

I didn't. Have a flasher I went the auto parts got a 12v flasher plugged it in there is a clicking noise coming. From flasher the rear stay flashing and the front nothing

Allan R

If you pull the headlight switch out, do you get front park lights? If you do, that's good. They should be fairly bright. If they're really dim you have a bad ground, bad connection or corroded sockets.

Check the connections on the front signal light electrical connectors. Also check and see if the front side marker lights flash. They're supposed to when the signal lights are flashing. To check the front sockets you need to take out the 3 lens screws and gently pry the lens off. Pull the bulb and check the socket base. If it's in good shape, check the connector to the main front harness could have rusty connector pins or not done up tightly.

gabe442

I found the flasher under the dash took the one out of the fuse box plugged it in to the other one and turn on my blinker nothin happened?thanks for the guide on the dash really good stuff

Allan R

Nothing happened at all? Did either of the dash signal lights go on and stay on? That indicates burnt out signal lights. Do all 4 corners of the car have park lights working? Are any of them really bright and some barely on?

Highwayman

I like to test turn signals and 4-ways with the park lights on. Weird things can show up if you have ground problems.

Allan R

Which is why I've been asking him on several post to check the park lights......I agree with you 100%. Also would prefer that he had a flasher for the emerg and the turn stalk instead of swapping them back and forth.

Highwayman

Right on Allan.

The flasher for a turn signal and the one for a 4-way are not necessarily interchangeable. A wrong flasher can give you all kinds of grief. And you're going to need the correct ones eventually anyway.

gabe442

when I first bought this car it had no grill or front bumper but it did have headlights I'am not see the blinkers wiring I do have the side lights the bulbs are black I need to get some new bulbs can I get a kit just for the blinkers only or should I get a painless wiring kit that is alot of money?The wiring already hacked up but remember I have a chevy motor and when u do that swap the battery is on the passenger side not the driver side

Allan R

Chevy and battery position aside - You say that the front end was basically missing. Does that mean the front signal lights were also missing? The are attached to the bumper by 3 screws, but are also attached to the front harness by a short wiring connector. Is the harness cut off or is there an empty connector for the signal lamps?

Changing the battery to the right side means someone would have needed to install the battery tray there. But the + wire to starter and - to block shouldn't affect your headlight harness. That's a separate harness that runs from the left front across to the right front of the car under the rad support plate. Can you post a photo showing the problem areas? Might be easier than typing all this stuff

leroycjr

Sort of off topic but similar. When I push on the breaks the rear lights work as expected BUT on the speedo the left turn signal arrorw lights up till i let off the break. WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT???

Allan R

Is your harness original at the tail lights or has it been cut and played with? You should also check the bottom of your steering column to see if you have any exposed or damaged wiring. What you're describing is usually associated with a short in the system or improperly hooked up wiring.

jaunty75

Well, shiver me timbers, matey, an' me turn signals don't work, neither. Avast there, ye swab, and run that Jolly Roger up the mizzen before I make thee walk the plank!

gabe442

here are some pictures of the front.How do the check the turn signal switch I tried to test the turn signal wiring lamp and got nothing.I did test the fuse behind the dash it has power I still could not find the blinkers wireIMAG0598.jpg

IMAG0599.jpg

IMAG0600.jpg

IMAG0626.jpg

IMAG0609.jpg

Allan R

gabe - that wiring on the first pic looks nothing like the original should. The blinker wires should come down through that hole by the side fender brace. There should be 2 sets of wires - 1 for the side lights, 1 for the front. The 3rd pic looks like the wiring harness for the lights running across the front from side to side. The wires that come out of it there are for the horns.

Tomorrow I'll take a picture of the front signal connector and wiring in my car. I still have the front inner fender liners out from last year so it should be easier. Then you can make some comparisons of what to look for.
The front signal lamps and connectors should look like this

MDchanic

I'm glad someone's not as well behaved as I am!

Fetch me me cutlass, matey, an' I'll run the landlubber through!

- Eric

Allan R

Hey Eric, you got anything I might have missed? This is like going on a fishing expedition ...sign...again...only this guy is actually making an effort.

MDchanic

I still don't really understand the problem, and I'm not confident that communication is clear enough that I would be able to find out.

While I applaud your valiant effort, I am sitting this one out until the silt clears and I can see more than an inch or two through the water.

Until then, I'm just checking this thread once a day to see what develops.

- Eric

Highwayman

Oh boy. Gabe, you have a heck of a mess. Hack jobs always are.

Black bulbs, not good. Crimp connectors, not good. Wires rubbing on the radiator core, not good.

The good news is, it can be fixed. Just don't give up. A replacement harness is an option to put on the table. But since the battery was moved, a new harness would have to be cut into unless they make one for that modification. You can fix anything that was butchered in the old harness but you will need to know the proper way to splice wires with soldered joints and shrink tubing. Chimp connectors are OK for temporary while you are trying to sort things out. Plan on spending several hours.

My recommendations are to make sure all of the bulbs are good for a start. Get a wiring diagram! Then start tracing wires. You will need a wiring diagram. You will likely end up unwrapping the harness and replacing some of it. You will need a wiring diagram.

You might check the Wild About Cars site for a manual and download and print a wiring diagram. You will need a wiring diagram!

Allan R

Highwayman, what are you trying to say there? Something about a wiring diagram keeps popping up

You want to take it for a bit? I'll still get him pics tomorrow. This is a 71 right?
Gabe: here is a link to the 71 electrical wiring diagram:
http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/membe...ection_12A.pdf

The troubleshooting guide is on page 12-36 of this section:
http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/membe...ection_12B.pdf

Highwayman

Allan, I just don't want to sugar coat it. A hack job on wiring can be a big mess. You have no idea what you're getting into until you unwrap the harness and inspect all of the wires. The worst one I remember doing was a hack job in the trunk of one of those old T-Birds with sequencing rear turn signals.

Also I think Gabe needs to look under the dash and see if that harness has been tampered with as well.

Check out this post and follow the link to here. Good info.

Allan R

No, I didn't get that impression. I read it that you were seriously trying to emphasize the nature of having a reliable plan and source to correct the problem. That's why I posted the links to the schematic and troubleshooting section too.

Agree 100% on your assessment of looking at the total damage instead of the under hood visible stuff. I get the part about the 'mess' and appreciate that it can be a very time consuming chore to trace back and verify the wiring that was changed.

gabe442

I dont have the blinker wiring in my car at all. He are some pictures under the dash.I tested my fuse behind the dash and it has powerIMAG0639.jpg

IMAG0640.jpg

IMAG0641.jpg

MDchanic

That harness has been hacked to death, so all bets are off.

I'd connect a couple of front signal / parking light bulbs first, to see how they work, then troubleshoot from there.

- Eric

Highwayman

Gabe, it looks like a rat's nest under the dash. A big wad of wires cinched up with zip ties and more crimp connectors.

So now I want to ask what else electrical, if anything, doesn't work on your car besides the blinkers? I also looked at some of your other threads and found where you ask if a 72 dash would work in a 70. There wasn't anything about if you changed the dash out or why. So were you or are you having other problems with the dash?

Could that bundle of wires under the dash be from something like an aftermarket stereo install and the excess wires were just tied up instead of trimmed to fit?

Also I was looking at engine compartment pictures. Really looks nice and I see the aftermarket ignition on the firewall so there's another place where wires are probably spliced in. we know the battery was moved and front end wires were cut. And there's a funny looking relay on the fender well I don't understand that looks like it came out of a Ford or Mopar.

You might want to try what Eric said about wiring in some front signal and park lights and see what happens. You ain't going to like what I'm thinking.

Allan R

Highway: You thinking start over with a clean fresh harness?

Highwayman

Allan, I look at the pictures of crimp connectors, think about missing wires and how many wires had to be moved because the alternator, starter and battery went from the driver's side to the passenger side and wonder how many sins are buried in that harness that he can't see. The thought of unwrapping the wire harness, setting down with a wiring diagram and tracing and inspecting every wire one at time, repairing or replacing as you go keeps coming to mind. It's time consuming, but in the end you know what you've got.

I hate the idea of spending the bucks for a new harness knowing it will have to be cut into and modified heavily. I did have an idea today. Since all A-bodies are similar, would a Chevelle harness work for the engine compartment? It would have the right break-outs for the accessories and maybe need less modification than a Cutlass harness. It might be a lot less work that repairing what he has. It really depends how bad it is under the wrappings.

MDchanic

A Chevelle engine harness should work fine, but I don't know about the firewall plug designations - he might or might not have to relocate some of the contacts in the big firewall plug.

- Eric

Allan R

Any updates on what's happening with this wiring mess?