TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat May 05, 2012 2:53 am

Please check out this video and let me know if have a solution to my issue. Basically, when the turn signal is on, the indicator on my speedometer flickers only once.

Sat May 05, 2012 5:07 am

the relay in the flasher unit has two contacts. One gets weak and will only click once and after that only the signal will work and not the indicator. I have a pile of flashers that do that. I just replaced with with a new one. I have tried adjusting the contacts but it would never stay working.

Sat May 05, 2012 10:13 am

Thanks! I'll see if I have a replacement flash relay and swap them out.

Tue May 08, 2012 10:57 am

I replaced mine with the newer 3 tab flasher and just connected the indictor with one of the tabs (can't Remember which one) which works but it blinks opposite of the turn signal.

Tue May 08, 2012 11:19 am

Are your rear lights wired up, too? Some flashers will do that to indicate that one of the bulbs is burned out (or disconnected). It detects that the impedance of the circuit is not sufficient.

Tue May 08, 2012 6:26 pm

As a matter of fact the rear are not connect yet. I'll get them connected and let you know if I still have the issue.

Tue May 08, 2012 9:54 pm

Get all 4 bulbs connected and try again. Flashers usually need a minimum of power consumption to work properly

Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:13 pm

Oddly enough this is happening again but these are the symptoms:

At first all worked as expected. Couple of days ago, the rear left turn indicator stopped flashing and now later the rear right indicator no longer works. The fronts work fine, the speedo will light up once like in the video. Running lights work in the rear and so do the brake lights so I guess the bulbs are fine. Any ideas? Bad relay?

Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:23 pm

Bad grounds in the tail light fixtures, solder ot rivet a wire to the housing and ground it to the body.

Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:34 pm

Thanks! I'll check that and get back to you.

Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:17 pm

Well I checked the grounds and they're in good locations and when I used a volt meter they tested 12v from positive battery terminal to each ground. these are 1960 round housings and they use a separate wire for ground. I can unscrew them from the DC tomorrow and get a better test. Any other ideas? I just checked my spare parts bin and I have an extra SWF relay BUT it is 6v so no dice :(.

Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:27 am

Here is what my relay looks like:

I could really use some advice on this. I prefer to drive with my blinkers working. Especially here in Utah.

Fri Jul 27, 2012 6:34 pm

Are the grounding wires from each taillight to the battery cable body grounding point?

Are the ground wires connections clean, and connected directly to the bulb holder, not the reflector?

Some taillights are made of several pieces kind of riveted together. Each of those riveted connections can get corroded, loose over time.

Problem with your test is you might be back feeding the voltage to other areas in the wiring where it can ground out. Plus it might read 12 volts, but hardly any amps...

Sat Jul 28, 2012 1:12 pm

My next adventure with this will be taking apart the switch and cleaning the connections.

Sat Jul 28, 2012 3:00 pm

If you mean the TS switch, you can use some spray in contact cleaner with silicon to keep the oxygen away for as long as possible.

Soldering the internal connections in the headlight switch and fuse box helps to get rid of the voltage drops there.

Plus having the speedo hanging loose might be causing a grounding problem there.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:10 am

Contact cleaner, compressed air and some lithium spray did the trick. The switch was dirty, but I have seen worse work fine. Thanks for the help.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 10:18 am

a round eyelet electrical terminal makes for a good ground for your taillights. use a longer screw for one of the taillights and attach the eyelet with a nut on the backside. link the 2 taillights together and run a wire to the battery ground bolt and your set.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:21 pm

I am using round ends screwed into those triangles on the side of the engine compartment by the decklid.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:32 pm

Grounding them to the battery cable body bolt is better, because when you clean the battery cables you automatically clean the taillight ground wire ends.