Front turn signals are completely possessed...

[jackb]

The other week I switched my front turn signals out for LEDs (with an LED flasher as well) and discovered this problem. The wiring is untouched by me (10 years of ownership) and was unmentioned by either of the two previous owners. I only even discovered the issue because I drove it at night a few days ago and the headlights on/LED combo made the problem obvious. (I almost never drive it at night, and the problem is not obvious using incandescents)

The issue is not the LED itself- DeloreanGo sent me a different pair of LEDs after I contacted them about the problem, thinking it was bulb related similar to this thread (http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?17056-LED-front-blinkers) but the problem remains.

This is how they behave (with the engine idling)


Incandescent bulbs, headlights on:

Hazards:
Lights in binnacle flash
Front right flashes
Front left solid (bright)
Side markers solid

Right turn:
Light in binnacle flashes
Front right flashes
Front left solid (bright)
Side markers solid

Left turn:
Binnacle flashes
Front left solid (bright)
Side markers solid


So, the left front light is always in bright mode (no idea why) but otherwise the binnacle indicators act normal, and I had no idea this was how the car behaved. Until I put the LEDs in. Then things got really crazy.


LED bulbs, headlights off:

Hazards:
Everything flashes (front, binnacle, and all side markers)

Right turn:
Front light flashes
Side markers on right side (front and rear) flash

Left turn:
Front light flashes
Side markers off

Not a huge problem... The turn signals act normal, and for some reason the side markers flash with my right side. No idea why.

Then I went for a drive at night, and nothing made sense.


LED bulbs, headlights on:

Neutral position:
All exteriors solid
Left binnacle light solid on (right side off)

Hazards:
Everything solid (front, binnacle, and all side markers)

Right turn:
Right front flashes
Right binnacle flashes
Left binnacle solid
Left front normal
Side markers solid

Left turn:
Left front solid
Left binnacle solid
Right front normal
Right binnacle off
Side markers solid

I removed the front grill and saw nothing that explains this to me.

Passenger side:
61349

Drivers side:
61348


What on earth is going on with my turn signals??

[Josh]

get your DMM out and start checking the resistance of grounds.
Seems like a bad ground at the very least

[David T]

I second checking the grounding points. When the electric can't get back to the battery through ground it is sneaky and tries to find another way and in the process can "back feed" into other circuits which are attached to the same grounding point. It can cause all kinds of weird problems. LED's are more sensitive and will light up as opposed to incandescent bulbs which will be so dim you would not notice. You documented your problem very well but the only common denominator is that they all depend on a good grounding points.

[Ron]

Incandescent bulbs, headlights on:
...
Left turn:
Binnacle flashes
Front left solid (bright)
Side markers solid
^This stands out the most to me.
The Left Binnacle and Left Front Indicator are powered by the same wire (GR). Since the Binnacle blinks only, the Front Left Indicator is getting power it shouldn't -- Have you chased the Left Front marker's ground to see if someone did the mod to make it flash?

[DMC5180]

^This stands out the most to me.
The Left Binnacle and Left Front Indicator are powered by the same wire (GR). Since the Binnacle blinks only, the Front Left Indicator is getting power it shouldn't -- Have you chased the Left Front marker's ground to see if someone did the mod to make it flash?

This seems quite plausible.

Also, since the grill is removed. Consider swapping sides with the Parking/signal socket harness assemblies. This is quick way to eliminate or verify a possible bad socket assembly. If the problem moves you know is the socket is the problem. If not, it’s likely a bad PO mod.

Tell tail of the possibility of a mod is the flashing right markers.

[Quinn]

I'll just throw this out there. I had similar issues with my car, after installing LED turn signals/side marker lights (and LED flasher unit). It turned out to be a bad hazard light switch that was causing all the problems.

[WHO1DMC]

Just a thought because it happened to me. While installing a head light switch saver and replacing the tiny bulbs in the switches with LEDs. My external lights were not acting right. First thought I did something wrong with the switch saver. But tracked it down to the little bulb. The wires to the bulb were making contact inside the switch making things all weird. Took a while to figure out because it also blew fuses.


Dave B.

[Christian Dietrich]

Remove the junk 3 pin factory connectors and hard wire a 3 pin weatherpack connector. When I restored 11035 a few years back my connectors were very corroded and I'm surprised they even worked in the 1st place.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Ron]

Tell tail of the possibility of a mod is the flashing right markers.Yep. And it only does it when the headlights are off, like the mod. The odd part there is that the Right Rear markers flash too. A short in the double filament bulb/socket, or a single element bulb in the double's socket, might cause that part (guessing -- I didn't study it that close).

I'd go all incandescent (maybe not in the binnacle at first) to sort it out...

[jackb]

All solid ideas to check. I'm also thinking of running a ground bus from front to back as part of working on this issue. I’m going to keep the car down for a few weeks while I attempt to chase this down as I recover my seat skins.
I’ll post back with any findings.

[DMC5180]

Yep. And it only does it when the headlights are off, like the mod. The odd part there is that the Right Rear markers flash too. A short in the double filament bulb/socket, or a single element bulb in the double's socket, might cause that part (guessing -- I didn't study it that close).

I'd go all incandescent (maybe not in the binnacle at first) to sort it out...

IIRC, the flashing side marker mod makes them flash in an alternating fashion. Signal ON Marker OFF, signal OFF marker ON, etc.

If the RH signal and RH markers flash in unison. Check for Corrosion in the front signal socket. It could be that a foreign object is bridging the positive contacts in the socket.

[Ron]

IIRC, the flashing side marker mod makes them flash in an alternating fashion. Signal ON Marker OFF, signal OFF marker ON, etc.
Only when the headlights are ON -- They flash together when the headlights are OFF.

[DMC5180]

Only when the headlights are ON -- They flash together when the headlights are OFF.

[emoji106]