Blinkers and hazards not working

[Bad137]

My blinkers were working, then stopped. Hazards worked intermittent at best. Now both are not working. I’ve searched the forum, but am not finding an answer that helps (and it seems you are lucky if anyone ever reposts with a fix! Haha) Here is what I have going on:

Headlights: work normal
Hi-beams: right side does not illuminate (I need to replace pigtail like I did on left side)
Tail lights: work normal
Brake lights: work normal
Right turn signal: does not work
Left turn signal: does not work
R turn signal + brakes: R side solid taillight only/L side brake light, no front light, no dash indication
L turn signal + brakes: L side solid taillight only/R side brake light, no front light, no dash indication
Hazards: do not work
Hazards + Brake: Front L & R turn signals come on solid, both dash indicators on solid, rear brake lights on solid

Rear lights are LEDs; I believe the fronts are incandescent. I replaced some very old looking 552 flashers with Novita LL552 flashers, no change. I read more about electronic flashers and LEDs, and thought I would need to replace the LL552s. When I went back to AutoZone, their computer said the 552 were electric, and the packaging said works with LEDs. They had no other electric flashers with 2 prongs. However, this website says it is electro mechanical, but still works with LEDs:

https://www.autozone.com/electrical...ovita-turn-signal-flasher/849393_642494_11714

I’m surprised the rear LEDs even worked with the old flashers that I pulled out, but they once did. Not sure if I need to buy some other kind of electronic flasher, or just go to incandescent bulbs, or if my issue is in the steering column? I believe the steering column is a 1977, C4 auto with column shift. Hazard switch is on the right side of column.

On a not very related note, the light for the gear indicator is nearly useless. The bottom of the plastic indicator prisim is black, and seems to cover up anyway for light to illuminate the clear plastic. Was OE that way and I have some crap aftermarket indicator? Or if OE was that way, how is that dim bulb supposed to illuminate the indicators? Gear indicator hood is in place.

Thanks for the help guys! Hope this is as easy as I have wrong flashers or I need old-school bulbs. Please don't say it is a "find the poor ground" issue! haha

 

[bknbronco]

if brake lights work then blinkers should too. check wiring in steering column. replace flasher selinoids. mine is clipped to the pedal assy i trhink. and clean all grounds

 

[Broncobowsher]

Hazard + brake = everything on solid. That is correct. Brake lights overpowering the hazard flasher holding everything on.

Define "does not work". I know that means it doesn't blink. But does that mean they are on steady, or not at all?

Take the blinker out and put a jumper across it (better yet a manual switch). Try the turn/hazard again. Flip the manual switch on-off-on-off... Light blinks with the switch? blinker doesn't work with your LEDs, not enough load on them. Need the super special LED blinker.

 

[Bad137]

Define "does not work". I know that means it doesn't blink. But does that mean they are on steady, or not at all?

Not on at all, not lighting up.

I’ll try the jumper across the flasher plug, thanks for the idea.

 

[half cab]

The gear indicator light is very week from the factory.

 

[Slowleak]

I use a Grotte 44891 flasher with my LEDs. It is electronic but also has a click like the mechanical ones and also works with incandescent bulbs.

Don’t know if you are aware that the LED bulbs are polarized. You have to be careful to get the polarity right or they will not work at all. I think the rear bulbs can only be inserted one way.

 

[Steve83]

One way to test is to pull all the LEDs & put incandescents in temporarily. Once you get it all working, put the LEDs back. If there are any problems, you'll know the LEDs are to blame, which will make fixing it easier.

Right now, you don't know what the problem is.

 

[Bad137]

OK, the problem is getting clearer to me. I went out to trouble shoot for a couple minutes this morning and try jumping the flasher plugs.

One flasher was a new LL552, and I felt like an idiot when I pulled the other flasher out and it was a new Novita Loud LF12 (elec-mech, not an electric flasher) I had put in. It's been such an in-and-out flasher parade I thought I had two electrics in there when I did not.

I left the LL552 in place and jumped the plug that had the LF12. I turned on hazards and nothing. Turned on the left blinker, and I had a very quick left blinker illuminate (front/back/dash), then nothing. So I did the old "bang it hard" trick and found that while I depress the hazard switch firmly into the column, the blinkers will work (and blink via the LL552). Hazards still did not illuminate, even with the jumped plug. When I get home I'll reverse the flasher and jump to see what happens and also get two electric flashers in.

I now think my issue is mostly the turn signal switch in the column. I'll take a look at it tonight, but I obviously have something going on that I have to firmly press the hazard switch to get any action from the blinkers. Horn has to be pressed very hard to switch on as well. That also explains why it worked not long ago, then stopped if the turn signal switch is just failing. I also need to confirm my front blinker bulbs. If they are incandescent, then types of flashers shouldn’t be an issue, since the front bulbs should draw enough current to operate the blinkers, correct?

Thanks for the help so far guys.

 

[Slowleak]

If switched all mine to LED bulbs. The hazards worked with the old mechanical flasher. All four leds bulbs together drew enough current to trigger it. The turn signals would not work when I replaced just one bulb on one side with a LED. That one incandescent bulb just didn’t draw enough. I ended up with a mechanical flasher for the hazards and electronic for the turns.

I have the same problem as you with my hazard switch. Power for the turn signals, and brake lights, flows thru the hazard switch. If I use my hazards I have to fiddle with it and make sure the turn signals work afterwards. I also had an issue where I had to push the turn signal lever forward for the brake lights to work.....

 

[Steve83]

You mentioned the column is '77; what year are the truck, its wiring, and the turn/hazard switch? Put it (& all the truck's details) in your signature so we can see it with every post. %) Like slowleak's, but with a lot more detail.

 

[Bad137]

Steve83, truck is a 1967 or 1977 depending on what part you are looking at! Wires out to the taillights has the labeling printed on it like the new harnesses do, but I have not seen that on other wires. I think most of the wiring was redone when rebult 9 or 10 years ago. None of it looks to be 50 or 40 years old, but I’m sure some of the switches are, as those and the knobs look OE.

----
I now have two electric flashers in place and the front turn bulbs are incandescent. Left and right turn signals work only if I press down firmly on the hazard switch. Once I release pressure on the hazard the turn signals stop illuminating/flashing. Hazards do not work no matter what I do with the switch.

So, I guess I need to borrow a steering wheel puller and see how bad it looks underneath. I guess I’ll need to buy a new turn signal switch?

 

[Broncobowsher]

That is starting to sound like a bad turn switch. Not my first pick when it comes to LED bulb and turn signal issues.

 

[Bad137]

Fixed!

New turn signal switch arrived from TBP today. Borrowed a steering wheel puller from AutoZone and went to work. Old switch came out easy enough with the help of the WH video and some other ones. While that was out, I removed the gear shift indicator. It is painted black on the radius that sits over the bulb, preventing the clear indicator from illuminating. I took some 120 grit and sanded the paint off. Now my gear illuminator is nice and bright!

Put in the new turn signal switch and running those wires down the column is a PITA. I tried to get all 9 down in one go, but aborted that after a few failed attempts. I then started running them down one at a time. Easy enough to start, but by wire #8 and #9, it’s a little more crowded. Too committed to the method by this point to pull them all out and start over, but I eventually got them all in. It seemed giving the bundle the “old in-out” trick helped ease another wire down the column. Got everything installed and went to function check.

Pull the hazard switch: nothing. Arrrrrrghhhh! Try the blinkers: nothing. FFFFFF! Then try all the other lights, they work fine. Try the blinkers again and now they work. Hmmm. I realized when I first tried the blinkers I still had the hazard switch pulled out (on). But with the hazard switch in, the blinkers now work. So everything is working except my hazards. Sort of back to square one, but at least I have blinkers now.

Some quick forum searching to trouble shoot non-functioning hazards, and I realize I have only visibly inspected the glove box fuse and not actually removed/cleaned it. Pulled it, wire brushed/sanded what I could and popped the fuse back in. Pull the hazard switch: blink blink blink. Victory! Funny how it seams I barely even cleaned the fuse, maybe reseating it made it work. Button it all back up and I was able to get the steering wheel puller back to the store 5 minutes before close.

While putting the horn button back on, one of the plastic tabs got all buggered. Frustrating that a part like that would be plastic, I didn’t think I was even mashing around with it that much. My horn doesn’t work now, but that is a problem for another day. Most of it is due to the wheel being leather wrapped; always had to press had to activate the horn anyway. I’m sure the buggered plastic retaining tab isn’t helping now either.

My fully illuminated gear indicator is now making my speedo look like dim North Korea. (The exposure in the pic is making the indicator brighter than it really is, it lights up the perfect amount.) Outside gauges read ok, not bright by any stretch, but the speedo is dark. Seems to only be illuminated by light leaking out from the smaller gauges. Is that how it works, or should it have it’s own illumination? The hi-beam indicator light helps a bit when the brights are on. Oh, and to fully close out the thread, my right high-beam is now working once I replaced the pig tail. The old one looked like it was a 1967 part.

Thank you for all the help everyone!