Hazard Switch & Red LED - won't light

[sdg3205]

Hey Folks,

I've upgraded my headlight switch with the blue LED and hazard switch with the red LED.

For some reason, the red LED will not light up in the hazard switch, no light will, be it LED or incandescent, and I've verified them in the headlight switch where they all light up.

What's the deal?

[Jonathan]

It's not just a matter of reversing the polarity on the LED, is it Dave? Meaning plug the LED bulb in the other way. Likely not if you can't get it to work with a regular bulb though either.

Here's the hazard switch schematic if that helps.

Hazard.jpg

I dont see the bulb specifically on it, but I'm not the greatest at reading these. Do your actual outside orange lights come on and flash when you press the switch? If it is just the little light within the switch it could be defective internally in some small way that only that little bulb isn't connected properly.

[sdg3205]

It's not just a matter of reversing the polarity on the LED, is it Dave? Meaning plug the LED bulb in the other way. Likely not if you can't get it to work with a regular bulb though either.

Here's the hazard switch schematic if that helps.

Hazard.jpg

I dont see the bulb specifically on it, but I'm not the greatest at reading these. Do your actual outside orange lights come on and flash when you press the switch? If it is just the little light within the switch it could be defective internally in some small way that only that little bulb isn't connected properly.

Hey Jonathan,

Yes, I've tried it every other which-way with no luck. The hazards work perfectly. There's no fault in the switch in that regard. I was figuring it must be some internal connection not being made. I even tried fanning out the contact wires on the LED to ensure they were making contact.

Thanks though!

EDIT - it should be on when the lights are on right? should it be on when the switch is engaged too, though? Which wires should be making contact with the LED in the picture?

[Jonathan]

Hey Jonathan,

Yes, I've tried it every other which-way with no luck. The hazards work perfectly. There's no fault in the switch in that regard. I was figuring it must be some internal connection not being made. I even tried fanning out the contact wires on the LED to ensure they were making contact.

Thanks though!

Fanning it? Have you tried blowing on the cartridge? That always worked for Super Mario. Hehehe Just kidding. Is the switch itself new, or are you just newly trying to get the light to come on? I think you're right that it could be something internal not making good contact.

[Cory W]

Tiny little place to work, isn't it?

Being a blade style socket, it should only have one obvious way to go in. You shouldn't be able to rotate the blade 90 degrees for a "close" fit that doesn't connect.

Is your rheostat functional? Do your dashboard lights dim or brighten when you turn it? In my car, that seems to be relevant to the hazard switch lighting.

Either that, or there's a wiring or socket issue that is keeping power from the light.

[sdg3205]

Tiny little place to work, isn't it?

Being a blade style socket, it should only have one obvious way to go in. You shouldn't be able to rotate the blade 90 degrees for a "close" fit that doesn't connect.

Is your rheostat functional? Do your dashboard lights dim or brighten when you turn it? In my car, that seems to be relevant to the hazard switch lighting.

Either that, or there's a wiring or socket issue that is keeping power from the light.

When I say "fan" i mean i pull out the 2 wire connectors from the LED in case there is a gap between the socket and the LED bulb.

It's the original unit, yes. The rheostat is fully functional.

It's just bizarre to me that the switch would be operational in every way EXCEPT for lighting the LED.

[WelmoedJ]

Hey Folks,

I've upgraded my headlight switch with the blue LED and hazard switch with the red LED.

For some reason, the red LED will not light up in the hazard switch, no light will, be it LED or incandescent, and I've verified them in the headlight switch where they all light up.

What's the deal?

The contacts (brass) inside the switch can give way and thus do not allow current to flow through the light.
If you take the switch out, look at the contact strips of the light and measure with an Ohm meter if you have conduity.
If not, just try and bend the strips a bit at the poin where the contacts meet the other contacts (it's a switch).
Worked for me.

Use the colour diagram and the meter to find out which contacts are involved.

[outatym2001]

It's just bizarre to me that the switch would be operational in every way EXCEPT for lighting the LED.

After purchasing my DeLorean I took out the headlight and hazard switch and took them apart and cleaned the copper parts with a very small stainless steel wire brush attached to my Dremel tool. In fact I do that to all the electrical connections.

Did you try this mod to the red LED? I used toe nail clippers to clip off the extra wire on both sides.
You do not want the wire to wrap over the end. You need just a single wire on each side.
My pictures explain it better than I can.

The LED’s don’t last forever. Over a year after installing the red and blue LED my red LED broke internally and stopped working. I bought the red replacement from DMC Northwest. Then my blue LED started flickering on then off then on and off. Eventually it just died but it does not affect the use of the headlights. I bought the blue replacement from DMC Northwest.

[WelmoedJ]

Short living LEDs?
Doesn't happen that often, but of course it's man made, so it can be a production failure or another defect.

My car had LEDs almost everywhere for over 4 years now, no problems with them whatsoever.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Short living LEDs?
Doesn't happen that often, but of course it's man made, so it can be a production failure or another defect.

My car had LEDs almost everywhere for over 4 years now, no problems with them whatsoever.

The problem with these cheap (low cost high production runs) is the parts are designed to run near their maximum current to get the brightest light. Some of the units don't push the current so high and they will last forever. But you get what you pay for.

On my dash switches, I have soldered one LED and resistor into them and they look and work great.

My other LED projects have used LEDs that cost more than a $1.00 each when you buy a 100 of them. My third brake light parts cost about $200. Each dome light parts cost about $50.