No turn signal or brake lights.

[Gsxr7000]

Ok...I have a 73 Bronco with a 67 body and dash. Once in a while I had turn signals and brake lights. Now I have neither.

I Replaced the turn signal fuse nothing.
No fuse for the hazards, so I got one and it doesn't fit correctly. I was able to get it to connect to the fuse. The fuse clicks even if the hazards are off. With the hazards on the rear and front lights light up. When the hazards are on I can press the brakes they still flash.

With the key on and the flasher still on I can turn the right signal on and the left will flash. Turn the left on and the right will flash. Still no brake lights.

I'm at a loss. I have the body grounded to the battery, ground coming off the gauge cluster to where the emergency brake bolts to the dash. The wiring is somewhat of a mess because it has the 73 wiring from what I can tell maybe ?

 

[Oldtimer]

I Replaced the turn signal fuse nothing.
No fuse for the hazards, so I got one and it doesn't fit correctly. I was able to get it to connect to the fuse.
The fuse clicks even if the hazards are off.

Fuses don't click, are you replacing "blinkers"?
67 or 73 harness?
Hazard switch on dash?
The intersection of brake, turn signal & hazard lights is the turn signal switch.


Schematic from https://seabiscuit68.tripod.com/

 

[Gsxr7000]

It's round with 2 prongs.
I think it's a 73 but not sure.
Hazards are on the dash.

 

[Brush Hog]

Were they working then everything went haywire or did it occur after something was changed?

Bad flasher. That might be the clicking sound. Mine went bad and clicked all
The time. And check/recheck all the grounds. Even though they may not have been moved or touched they get loose and sometimes rusty.

 

[Gsxr7000]

There was never a fuse for the hazards. I got 2 new ones. 1 for the turn signals and 1 for the hazards. For some reason the fuse won't fit for the hazards. Is it different than the turn signal fuse ?

 

[gnpenning]

Let's fix the terminology first. The round things with 2 prongs are flashers not fuses.

From the factory they were different. Flashers have a bimetal spring that heats up as current is running through and opens the contacts breaking the circuit which shuts off power to the lights. This turns off the lights, the metal cools and makes contact again sending power back out to turn the lights back on. This is a crude description of howthe flashers ( light bulbs) the faster the metal heats up and cuts power. Hazards have 4 light bulbs and turn signals have 2 generally. So the hazard flashers need a heavier metal strip that takes longer to heat up so you don't have crazy fast blinking lights. So the flashers are different in that aspect. The plug is the same for both. If you are pulling a trailer you replace a heavy duty flasher in the turn signal to keep a slower speed on the flashing because of the extra trailer lights. Hopefully that is clear. Where's Paul??


Are you running any LEDs in the turn signal or brake lights?

 

[BGBronco]

^^^ I've upgraded to LEDs in 4 vehicles now. If they weren't working perfectly before the conversion, they definitely won't be working better after it!

If you do not have any blinkers (front / rear) then I would look at the signal / flasher relay (under the dash) first (cheap and widely available at Autozone) then look at turn signal wiring in the column / behind the steering wheel. It's a pain to replace but cheap.

I would also verify you have the right bulbs in the right spots all the way around.

Depending on what wiring harness you have, I would also check all of the light-related fuses.

 

[Gsxr7000]

No LED lights. So are the flashers different sized prongs for the turn and for the hazards ?

 

[abn373]

No LED lights. So are the flashers different sized prongs for the turn and for the hazards ?

Mine are the same size and same flasher module for both turn signals and hazards (1973 with dash mounted hazard). But I do have a Centech wiring harness, but I don't recall the old harness having different sizes, and when you buy replacements, they don't differentiate between the two because they are interchangeable.
Consider looking at the dash mounted hazard switch. They are kind of flimsy junk for as many important wires that run through them, because believe it or not, the brake lights, and all the front and rear turn signals go through that switch. I had a similar issue a few months ago and it was all related to the hazard switch area wiring and then later the hazard switch knob (I doubt the knob is your problem).

 

[Gsxr7000]

Bare with me because I'm not the best with wiring. I unplugged the plugs that go to the tail lights. Now the the hazard flasher doesn't click all the time. It does when they are plugged up. Do I have a ground issue ?

 

[BGBronco]

Bare with me because I'm not the best with wiring. I unplugged the plugs that go to the tail lights. Now the the hazard flasher doesn't click all the time. It does when they are plugged up. Do I have a ground issue ?

It varies by year (I think) but I believe that you need to have the tail light buckets screwed in to get your ground. Same for the tail lights front and rear.

 

[Gsxr7000]

Ok... before I post up my success of fixing my turn signals and brake lights I want to say I feel like a dumbass.
So, evidently my brake switch had came unplugged. I that that the flasher when into it for the hazards, hence why it didn't fit. Reading through all the threads on signal light and brake light issue I thought to check this switch, which was unplugged and I put two and two together...lol
Plugged it in and have brake lights. Then I decided to pull all of the fuses and clean them and walla.... I have turn signals !
Thank you all for your imput.... I love this site !

 

[DirtDonk]

Great news! And as you have now found, like so many of us have over the years, pulling glass fuses out and cleaning them up and their contacts, can often make a huge difference in how things work.
Even though there are only five of them on a Bronco, they still cause lots of mischief!

I did that for years with all older vehicles, and now I even put a little electric, or dielectric grease on the contacts to keep the light buildup, medium corrosion, or even full blown rust at bay for years. Hopefully for ever!

Paul

 

[Gsxr7000]

I'm pretty excited that it was so simple to fix. I was dreading pulling the turn signal switch.