Ok, I read over other posts hoping to find someone with a problem similar to mine, but none really fit the bill, so here goes. When I turn on the turn signals, they'll flash, but too quickly and they don't make the clicking noise. I checked the service manual, which stated that this happens when a two lamp flasher is used on a car having three lamps cos of too high of a current draw. Yeah, ok, but I have two of these cars, and the other has the same flasher: #552. :error: I changed both the hazard flasher and the turn signal one, and still no luck. The hazards work as they should...nice even spaced flashing and the little click of the completed circuit or whatnot. However, my turn signals don't blink as they should still, and I really have no clue. All the bulbs are good, and it screws up selecting either direction. I'm really running out of ideas for this...could it be a short in the steering column? o No: Help!!!
Current Sounds like the circuit after the flasher is drawinf more current than it's supposed to. Look in the chassis manual and trace the wires that do from flasher to the column - look for a short. in 71 it was a purple wire on all models
I have, on several occasions seen this problem, but it is never the same cause. The flasher gets its ground from the bulbs it powers. In other words, when the turn signal switch sends power to the flasher, the current goes through the winding of the flasher to the bulbs,which act as a wire to ground. This path provides the path to ground for the flasher. If all of the bulbs operate correctly, you might have a compatible bulb set which fits the socket, but draws too much current. This will cause the winding to heat up too quickly, causing the rapid flashing. I have also seen single tail lamp flasher units used in dual circuits, causing the same thing. You might try a trailer towing flasher, which uses a very high resistance to ground (bulbs), making the number of bulbs in the circuit irrelevant. I recall in that time frame shopping for such parts, and recall their usage being based on the number of bulbs on each side of the vehicle. With respect to compatibility, there are several bulbs fitting the 1157 socket, including the 2157, 3157, etc. Though these bulbs work well in an ABS vehicle, they draw excessive current for the vehicle you are driving. Let us know.
I am sorry to interrupt your thread but I find your statement that your "turn signals are retarded" very offensive. This is 2004 and we live in a "PC" world. You should respect your turn signals better then that. The proper term is they are "directionally challenged." :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
i have had this problem before & resolved it by purchasing a heavy duty flasher (one meant for use if u tow a trailer) .
Yup, double-check your bulbs and their wires, make sure you don't have a short between the flasher and the bulbs. The heavy-duty transistorized flashers are good for towing, when you have the added draw of the extra lights, which will also make a standard flasher go faster. My money is on a short somewhere.
One more thing to consider here is the possibility that the sockets are worn sufficiently to cause the bulb to sit in it incorrectly. This could cause BOTH filaments to operate simultaneously, increasing the current draw. This will also cause rapid cycling of the flasher. Try turning the key on, and turning on the parking lights. When the turn signals operate, they should be visibly brighter than the parking lights.
Ok, gotta check some things now... Ok, I think I'll check the bulbs first because I believe this started happening sometime after I changed a few bulbs...I don't know, it's been awhile as I changed the bulbs about 2 years ago, and then got deployed...so yeah, I'll check that and get back to you guys. Sorry if my title is offensive...I didn't mean to offend anyone. I'm not really one for the "politically correct, padded world" but I'll try to censor myself. :beer
When you check the bulbs, look for two things; one, is the bulb fully seated in the socket, and two, is it really an 1157, not a derivative. If you use the parking light filament as an example, turn the parking lights on and examine each bulb to be sure only one filament is glowing. Then, with the turn signals activated, again, make sure only one filament is glowing. Careful observation will assist me in helping you find the problem. One more thing; I think there was some good hearted ribbing with respect to the criticism. Don't worry about it.
grrr....... Ok, well, I went and check all the bulbs...the ones that we're 1157 I replaced with 1157 (there were a few 2057's in there.) I also rewired the right side as it was kinda screwy, and since two light sockets were rusty/craptacular, I replaced them with new ones. However, they still blink fast as hell. I do hear the clicking noise now, which I believe means that it's supposedly working correctly. The thing I don't get though is that when you turn on the hazards it blinks in a nice slow steady fashion, as my other car does and as most cars do. But then you use the turn signals and it's all fast. Could this be a short somewhere? Also, the flasher I'm using is #552, which is supposedly the heavy duty/towing one, or so the package says. It's also the same one that's in my other car (which has no bl*nk'n issues.) I really don't get it :ball: o No: :blast: :blast: :error:
Anybody got a wiring diagram and can see what the emergency flashers and turn signals have/don't have in common? Sounds like that's where the problem lies. As an aside, if you pull out one bulb, does the flasher stay on, like it's supposed to when a bulb is burned out? As for your "offensive" title, I think it's funny. Actually, I had a mental picture of your blinkers somehow blinking late, as in "retarded timing"... And besides, I'm the one who asked about my "spastic" gas gauge... :bglasses:
bulb will either stay on or blink very slowly . in my 98 gs when a front signal bulb/parking light failed , the other bulbs flashed very quickly .
ok, wow, this truely is retarded... Ok, so today I went down to Indianapolis (I live near Chicago) and got a power window setup out of a 69 Wildcat parts car, and I'm disconnecting everything and I notice the flasher relay thing on the Wildcat is just friggin huge. So I'm like, "wtf, eh? may as well just plug that in to see if it works cos damn, that thing is friggin huge." It's some like ultra heavy duty flasher or whatnot...seriously like 3 inches long. So bling bling, now my blinkers are working the way they should! :3gears: Now, this is a major wtf, cos my other car (identical except for the engine) has a #552 flasher for both blinker and hazards and it works as it should. The one that I replaced in the screwey car was a #552 flasher. I don't get it at all. The friggin car originally had a #552 flasher, at some point, decided to flash all stupid fast. So wha-la, stick in a flasher relay the size of a squirrel, and it all works again. I don't get it. o No: Anyhow, thanks all who helped with this! It made me get off my ass and actually fix the wiring in the back of the car (which was apparently wired by blind monkeys.) I probably wouldn't have even bothered switching to the supa-sized relay if someone hadn't mention that there were heavy duty versions. I thought I had a heavy duty one (cos the box says so) but this one I found is ze real deal. :beer Well, whatever. Any theories on why one identical cars use different flashers?
Glad you found a solution! Only thing I can think of is that maybe the Wildcat had a transistorized flasher, like I got years ago for towing. Better than the heavy duty ones, it doesn't rely on load to cycle.
As I recall, these units were set up for the number of bulbs used in the circuits. They were set up by make, model, and year, and, in some cases, they were easy to find with a flashlight since they would blind you with the reflection. In many cases, they required the dealer's parts since nothing else would work. That was a piss off. Most of this went away with the advent of IC's, which were not load dependent. This is one of the things that remind me of the "fine" things we contended with when I was small. It was these things that led me to go into electronics, solving many of these things for customers. I appeared to have been gifted with the ability to solve these things intuitively, which helped a lot. I am pleased that this is finally fixed. These things are all part of the "fun."
