Indicators / Relay

[hamish]

Hi Chaps,
Quickie on my Chim 500. About 8 months ago I noticed that the indicator was blinking very rapidly on left turns, and thought maybe the relay was on the way out. About 2 weeks later the problem resolved itself without me doing anything. However about a month ago the problem started again, and this time I noticed that the left rear indicator lamp was simultaneously not working. I figured the bulb must have gone and that the speeded up blinking (left side only, hazards and right turns are normal) might be due to reduced load affecting the discharge times. (But note that Steve's book reckons that the relays are electronic and not affected by load). However the bulb is OK and new bulbs still don't work. Circuit testing shows that the wire INTO the connector block at the rear light housing carries no power. So there must be some problem upstream of this. Does anyone know if there is an obvious part of loom where I can check for loose connections? Could it be related to a battery change I made a few months ago? I can't see any indicator related wires in the footwell.
To add insult to injury, just came back from a garage who had a quick look at it prior to a speculative MOT which I have cancelled on the grounds that there seems to be no easy fix. On pulling back into my driveway under braking the indicator suddenly started working normally again in mid turn after at least a month of non-operation! I know if I take it back for the MOT it will misbehave again on the way there......
Cheers!
M

[Ribol]

As it is the same relay that does both sides so it is very unlikely to be a faulty relay. If the fault sometimes changed sides then that would be different.
As far as the left hand rear indicator goes I would check the loom where the near side door lock panel is. The loom joins there and seems to cause all sorts of similar problems, cleaning up the connections and then spraying it up with WD40 seems to do the trick.
Electronic flasher units were invented to do away with having to have two flasher units and make it easier to regulate the flashing speed, it has to be a certain speed to be legal. The old type of flasher units worked entirely on the load across them, this is no longer the case. However, whilst the resistance has no bearing on flashing speed, bad connections can still cause problems that will stop the flasher unit working correctly. The battery change is not connected (excuse the pun).
Penny to a pound if you clean up where the loom joins it will solve your problem.

Ivan

[SiH]

I had a similar problem a little while ago. Noticed that the indicator light was flashing twice as fast as usual. Went out and checked the indicators themselves and the front one was out. Changed the bulb and then they flashed at normal speed again. Coincidence??

[Trefor]

Ribol said:

As it is the same relay that does both sides so it is very unlikely to be a faulty relay. If the fault sometimes changed sides then that would be different. As far as the left hand rear indicator goes I would check the loom where the near side door lock panel is. The loom joins there and seems to cause all sorts of similar problems, cleaning up the connections and then spraying it up with WD40 seems to do the trick. Electronic flasher units were invented to do away with having to have two flasher units and make it easier to regulate the flashing speed, it has to be a certain speed to be legal. The old type of flasher units worked entirely on the load across them, this is no longer the case. However, whilst the resistance has no bearing on flashing speed, bad connections can still cause problems that will stop the flasher unit working correctly. The battery change is not connected (excuse the pun). Penny to a pound if you clean up where the loom joins it will solve your problem. Ivan

I agree with Ivan - there is a connector or two in that side panel (passenger side) - undo them and reconnect making sure they are tight/connecting properly.

[hamish]

thanks chaps. cleaned out the connector as you suggested - the block ends were stuffed with grease (either from the door mechanism or to prevent water ingress) and it looked like some of this had coated the contacts - hope it proves to be a long term fix anyway. Appreciate the input!

[david beer]

I think you will find that by law, the idicators HAVE to flash fast when one bulb is blown, if its not law its certainly a "gentlemans agreement". The elctronic ones still have this feature, i know because i had to do a mod to enable me to use LED indicators.

[rgw2012]

How's this for a thread resurrection! Thought I would use an existing thread rather than start a new one.

I have the problem with the nearside indicator not illuminating causing the fast blinking on that side. Changed bulb - no joy, cleaned and WD40'd all connectors in nearside door panel - still no joy. No power getting to the indicator bulb on that side but all other bulbs working fine in that housing, no signs of a break on the tracks in the housing. Hazards flash at normal speed (without the nearside bulb illuminating) and the offside indicators work as normal.

Any ideas or pointers where to look would be greatly appreciated as I am now at a loss as to where to look next??

Many thanks
Rick

Edited by rgw2012 on Wednesday 23 August 12:18

[Belle427]

Break the circuit down and perform a test at the relevant terminals with a test lamp.
Test at those door connections first as they are quite common problem areas.

[rgw2012]

Fair enough, will do some testing!!

[x 7usc]

There are some lucas connectors in the door lock compartment in the passenger side, take them apart and give them a clean, they're usually a bit green and fury!

[rgw2012]

Thanks, pulled every connector apart in there and cleaned them, no joy - going to do some circuit power testing when I get the chance

[Belle427]

Think the wire colour is green/red in colour if your searching for it in the connector.

[rgw2012]

It would be wouldn't it - I'm red/green colour blind

[981Boxess]

Have you got a problem with one bulb or all three?

Assuming you have a functioning alarm, what happens if you set the alarm off?

[rgw2012]

All other bulbs working, just no power to the indicator bulb so I'm now trying to make time to do a check back up the loom where there must be a bad connection

[981Boxess]

rgw2012 said:

All other bulbs working, just no power to the indicator bulb so I'm now trying to make time to do a check back up the loom where there must be a bad connection

Do you have a problem with one bulb, if so which one
or all three on the same side

[Belle427]

I assumed it was nearside rear only.

[rgw2012]

Yup, it is nearside indicator only, everything else fine

[981Boxess]

rgw2012 said:

Yup, it is nearside indicator only, everything else fine

It would seem the original second post still stands all these years later.

[rgw2012]

Yes, except I have done the clean up and WD40 of all connectors in there, as per that post, and it didn't do the trick hence seeking further advice in case anyone had found anything else in the intervening years I will do some testing this weekend and report back