turn signal issue with the spirit

[MNmopar]

Ever since I picked up my 89 spirit es about 2 months ago, it's had a blinker issue.

The driver side front turn signal doesn't blink. The bulb comes on when I turn the headlights or parking lights on, but it doesn't blink when the rest of the turn signals on the driver side are blinking.

The side marker blinker does work, but here's the part that I'm hoping tips someone off, it's not as bright as the other side when it's in "on, but not blinking mode". When it blinks, it seems as bright as the passenger side, but in normal "on" mode, it's noticeably dimmer than the passenger side.

The guage cluster also shows a lit up left turn signal when the lights are on, and it goes away when I put on the left blinker (which blinks slowly in back and on the side marker but not in front).

As my first test, I took out all bulbs and swapped them each to the other side, but the problem stayed on the driver side.

Thoughts?

[RoadWarrior222]

That's one I've got to sort out in my Voyager actually, but I keep not getting round to it....

... however, I think I know the problem in theory. Blinker units are thermal, when they get enough current to bend a strip or melt a wax pellet or something, they break contact, until it cools off. However, if there is not enough current passed, they stay on. You may notice this if you accidentally put low wattage bulbs in. The total wattage/current draw is however dependant on the total resistance in circuit, and if the resistance is too high, then not enough current can pass and the blinker won't get warm enough to switch.

So, we're looking for bad contacts and bad grounds in the light harnesses that side, could be front or rear. Basically, have to go though everything and scrub crap out of it, and hope it's something we can get at and not buried somewhere.

---------- Post added at 09:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:02 PM ----------

Oh, if you're lazy and have spare fuses, there's kind of a "self healing" mode that can work temporarily.... you stick a screwdriver across the contacts in one of the sockets for a couple of seconds and the short may draw enough to "weld" up the bad contact... you may blow the fuse though... and it may not work.

[MNmopar]

Any idea where the nearest ground is for that harness? I looked at it briefly yesterday when I was putting new hl lenses in, but I lost track of the harness underneath the smec.

I may have to dig into this another time, I was hoping it would be obvious to me what was up once I got a good look at the plugs/bulbs... it wasn't.

The odd thing for me, is that the blinker that actually works (side) is the one that seems dim when it's on. The front turn signal that doesn't blink is as bright as the other side?!

[wallace]

Check the ground on that side that's what it sounds like the problem is.

[MNmopar]

Well, I dug into it a little last weekend and the ground seems fine. Just to be sure, I replaced the ends, wire brushed the spot where it screws to the wheel well, and screwed it down with a new screw.

No change in the issue...

Any other thoughts, this is starting to really annoy me.:nod:

*edit* I also double checked all of the bulbs to make sure the correct ones were in there and they are,

[wallace]

The turn signal indicator in the dash is lit up dimly at all times?

[blk86trbo]

Hey Josh, in the past there have been a few incidents in which I've had to replace a light socket because of internal corrosion...it was down deep where it wasn't even visible. Good luck, these electrical gremlins can be terribly frustrating.

[wallace]

Have you inspected the headlight switch?

[RoadWarrior222]

Come to think of it, the indicator switch as well...

Way back in the mists of time when I got my van, I think it was the first spring after I had, I had issues with erratic indicator function, including it just hanging up on or off and not blinking at all, when going right.

I got the housing half apart, then got a tester on it, and being an analog one, I could see the needle jumping around, so I hosed it with contact cleaner, and got brutal with it, while it was wet with it, hammering it up and down, and it hadn't given a problem (until now?) which is 10+ years since.

I only just remembered that, maybe I'll end up trying that again, but I'm suspecting I've got socket issues this time.