The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Turn signals, need help

I installed an after market turn signals in my truck. Thought I was finished. Parking lights, tail lights and brake lights work. No turn signals or flasher lights. Grounds have been checked. Where do I start trouble shooting the problem?

Larry

This sounds like a bad flasher or bad flasher hook-up or wrong voltage flasher, check that first. You can pull flasher out of it's socket and touch two of the socket terminals together to see if a front and a rear bulb comes on when the turn sig lever is in correct position, as if you are the flasher. This will show if a bad flasher is a fault, If not, Then proceed with testing. This may all be obvious but: Using the tail lights as an example, there will be three wires going back there (you may have others for other lights), one is split and goes to both lights (this split wire is your running lights and brake light), the other two are your turn sig left and turn sig right. Resulting in two wires to each socket. If this is what you have, then be sure they are wired to the turn sig switch properly. Now all the rest is just a hot test with a bulb type tester. if the tail lights work I assume the bulbs are good, don't think all four would be bad. So, turn lights on, take out bulb, touch tester to one contact down in the socket and touch ground with wire end of tester, no light? touch other contact, should light. Now you know which is run and which is turn contact. Turn off lights, turn on key and move turn sig to the direction of the bulb you are testing and check contact to see if your test bulb blinks. No voltage? follow wires backwards checking the next place it is terminated to something (turn sig switch, fuse box, connector, terminal block) and keep going till you find voltage. This is the way to trouble shoot your installation rather than random checks of various places. Methodical, backwards, hot check. You will find voltage eventually and then you know the problem is between the voltage and the bulb. Things I don't know: What kind of turn sig sw you bought, if it's used or new, does it work, did instructions come with it, do you have two-contact sockets, do you have two-filament bulbs, are you mixing 6V and 12V items.

I am installing a new after market 12 volt turn signal with hazard emergency four way lights. My truck does not have LED lights. The turn signal flasher is for LED lights. I bought a replacement flasher without the ground pigtail. I installed the flasher. Connected battery. Turned the signal to the left side and the lights worked. Turned the signal to the right side and the lights worked. Turned on the four way lights and blew the fuse.

What is the brand and part number for the part with the blown fuse?

LEDs draw much less power than drawn by incandescent lights. The device could be rated/fused/breakered for the lower powered LEDs.

Good Job, you are half way there. Obviously something is getting grounded. Something miswired? I don't think it could be too small of a fuse, Could it? Disconnect battery, Connect continuity meter to one side of fuse holder at a time, to good bare ground ,and see if you get continuity. (fuse removed, 4 way on). You should not get continuity. Exactly what fuse did you blow? Also, don't you have two flashers, one for turn and one for hazard? Both may need replaced to non LED. As Tim has indicated, there may be compatibility problems here. Your column switch should not care if it is switching incandescent or LED, so hook up the rest like normal incandescent.

There is a 5 amp fuse that feeds the the postive on the 3 terminal flasher. There is one 3 terminal flasher. Picture of turn signal below.

Larry

after market turn signal

check your instructions

with a standard flasher you should have a 14 amp fuse in that holder

and as you already stated, do not use that led flasher.

Here is a copy of the wiring diagram I received with the turn signal package.

Larry
turn signal wiring diagram

An 1156 or 1157 will draw approx 2 amps each

You will quickly blow a 5 amp fuse

Not sure why your diagram specs 5 amps but it is undersized for what you have
Maybe it's speced for LEDs and as stated above LEDs have less draw.

Wire it like the diagram, use a normal flasher and up the fuse. 1157 bulb draws over 2 amps each X 4 = 9 amps approx. DADS50 has the answer, somewhere around 14 A.

When we use universal parts there are always needs to be work arounds. I'll replace the 5 AMP fuse with a 15 AMP fuse tomorrow. Looks like you guys have given me good advise. Thank you for the help.

Larry

I thought 54's/55's1st had an incorporated signal switch?

I could not wait. Replaced the fuse tonight. The system works great. Life is good.

Turn signals were not installed on my truck. They were probably an option in the '55 1st series.

Larry

Awesome Larry. A great safety feature to add.