Turn Signal Issue

[kvorhies]

I was cleaning all of my grounds in my vanagon, and when I was done realized I had missed one or two when putting them back on which had caused some problems

However, now they are all on, all clean, no wires are touching each other, and I have a new problem. Now my turn signals work fine when my headlight switch is off, but when it's on my left turn signal light stays on solid in the back with the tail light as if it were a tail light and doesn't work as a turn signal, but the right turn signal works fine. I can't figure out what's causing it, and I'm getting really tired of sticking my arm out the window every time I turn left at night. Any suggestions?

Oh, and just so you know:

81 vanagon
air-cooled
manual
2.0L FI

[snuf]

Could be a bad bulb.
Switch the right turn signal bulb to the left side and left bulb to right side.
If same thing happens in opposite, replace Bulb(s).
_________________
1986 Wolfsberg Limited Edition Vanagon.
AKA: Poptop with rear corner cabinet, fold down side table, rear-facing jump seat and a 12v fridge/cooler.

[yggdrasil]

I have a simliar problem.
My front right turn signal when the lights are off lights up both of the elements as it blinks. It blinks faster than the other side which usually indicates that it is burned out.
The problem is that when the running lights are on it doesn't blink at all.
I'll have to check if both elements are turned on.
either way it just seems like you got a short in there, trace the wires back....

[kvorhies]

Bulbs are brand new... I haven't been able to find a short, but I'll keep looking.

[BusJunky]

Ive got the same problem myself only my left signal makes a loud buzzing sound when i turn it on. I have to manually move the turn signal bar to make it blink. If the lights are on it doesnt work at all but, the right works fine weither the lights are on or not. I checked all the bulbs and connections and everything looks in check and bulbs are good so im at a loss? Is there seperate flasher relays for the left and right? Any help from a more experanced member would be great!!! Thanks for any and all replies.

[Cold Steel]

[heliodon]

As a new member of the Westfalia community I am so grateful to folks on Samba who share their experience-based wisdom. Without this resource I would be well and truly lost. Thank you.

I have also had turn signal weirdness in my 1990 Westfalia. I think I have fixed it but would like your opinion. The problem: my turn signals and emergency flasher worked fine until I turned on the parking lights or headlights. But with the parking lights on the turn signal would cause the lights in all four corners to flash dimly and more rapidly than normal.

I spent a pleasant couple of hours going over my new Bentley manual. I confess that the wiring diagrams are a humbling experience. Following the turning signal / parking light trace leads me to traces 58L and 58R which seem to connect to trace 58 at the light switch. If I follow trace 58 to page 97.133 it terminates in what looks like relay #7 but I cannot find mention of relay #7’s function (it doesn’t appear in the relay schedule on page 97.119).

Taking a break from the Bentley I went to the vehicle and removed all of the bulb holders to check their wiring and bulbs. They looked ok except the left rear assembly had some corrosion that led the PO to install a few jumpers (which checked out ok with a multimeter). I have read every Samba forum post I can find on turn signals and many point to ground discontinuities as a source of trouble. So, I made a 20-foot length of wire with alligator clips on each end. Using this I established a good ground between the main battery’s grounding strap and the grounds on various lamp holders. When I connected this test ground to the ground terminal on the left front parking/turn light assembly my problem went away.

I have now added a new local ground to that assembly. The fix only works if I keep the older ground connected too so there must be a relationship with grounds elsewhere.

Is this new local ground a reasonable fix? Is there anything else I should be looking for or can I give myself a pat on the back?

While I am asking for advice where can I find an explanation of the main traces in fuse panel “zone” of the wiring diagrams (e.g., 30, 15, X, 31)? And perhaps explanation of relays like #2 (2 in black rectangle at top of page 97.123), which are not listed in the relay schedule?
_________________
Cheers,
Cris
_________________
90 Westfalia (current)
91 Cabriolet (current)
60 Bugeye Sprite (good prep for VWs)

[thummmper]

hey cris

not sure if this is what you want in part, but i found a table in the bentley, I can't give you a page number cause I scribed its contents off the site alldatadiy.com and the page # wasnt transferred in the copy.
the rails at the top of the pages Id as
1- ign coil/ ign distributor low voltage/ tach signal
15- switched batt+ voltage [B+] from ign/starter switch
30- [B+] battery positive voltage- hot at all times
31- ground
50- starter control, switched [B+] from ign/ starter switch
56- switched headlight [B+] from light switch
58- switched parking light, tail light illumination from B+ light switch
S- Key in ign circuit switched B+ from ign/starter switch
X- loaded reduction circuit, switched B+ from load reduction relay

voltage flows down from the top of the page to the ground rail at the bottom. These were good reminders for me when I went looking again.

I also had the tail lite harnass burn up from either a hot exhaust leak or a riding condition where all 4 or 5 wires right over the right rear bumper reciever were all melted together. that produced similar symptoms to what you describe, at least in part.

[heliodon]

Hey Todd - thanks, that helps a lot in understanding the wiring diagrams.
_________________
Cheers,
Cris
_________________
90 Westfalia (current)
91 Cabriolet (current)
60 Bugeye Sprite (good prep for VWs)

[yield27]

My front passenger signal stopped working on my 84 gl recently. I popped it open and discovered the socket that the bulb sits in was rusted really badly. I just replaced both sockets today and all is fine again.

[yggdrasil]

My problem as stated aerlier in this thread is still there. I am going to dig into it tomorrow.

[linpatmcmillan]

I had a rapid sigal light issue on the front left light. Fixed that with a new relay switch and shortly afterwards developed a problem similar to the some of the problems described in this forum.
There is a load buzz/rapid click sound that (sometimes) goes away or becomes quieter when
1. the vehicle speed is greater than 40MPH or so
2. when the signal light indicator is on
3. when the headlights are on highbeam

I was thinking about just changing the signal light switch and lever to see if that fixes it. Has anybody tried that solution? I'm not much of an electrician for sure.
Thanks for any advice.

[dhaavers]

Check for correct connections. Fixed my problem lickety-split...(identical to this thread's OP).

- RECENT SIMILAR THREAD -

[scubabrian]

I'm having a problem with my turn signals. The left signal is flashing fast and neither signal works when the headlights or parking lights are on. I've checked all the bulbs and grounds and all seems ok. I don't know if its related but I replaced the front clip and installed the SA Grill. I have the GoWesty light relays installed. All other electrical items are working properly. Any ideas?
_________________
Brian
85 Westfalia with 2.2L Subaru
brian-mchugh-uwphoto.com

[dhaavers]

As posted in my previous link: Check your front signal wiring.
Common oversight after a paint job/grill upgrade/etc/etc/etc...

Passenger Side: (Note - ground in this pic is yellow instead of the usual brown)

Driver's side:

...Better yet? Good luck!
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[ohheybrah]

[Pinetops]

[plummerdesign]

1983.5 Vanagon
Seems so simple.
The front parking/turn signals are both running too bright, as they are using both filaments at all times. The result is that when the turn signal is selected, the lamp blows.
I installed a new relay, checked the fuse connections and hunted for ground fault issues.
The bulb holders are new.
The lamps are new.
The ground tree is clean, all spades and connectors are new.
The SUSPECT seems latent in the wiring that supplies power to the passenger side front. The fuse does not blow, only the flasher/turn element.
Stumped. Anyone been here before?
.
There has been no definitive answer posted to previous inquiries : )
_________________
It is old and green and it makes me grin.
1984 Westfalia 1.9

[Aryana]

Check that you don’t inadvertently have a single filiment bulb installed which has a single contact in the middle which is shorting two of the circuits inside the bulb holder. The proper bulb has two contacts offset to line up with each circuit instead of shorting them like the single one does.

[Multiman mv]

I had a similar issue. The previous owner had simply switched one of the wires at the turn signal. It is simply a matter of switching the wires back to the proper locations. I can’t tell you which wire is switched off the top of my head but this is most likely the issue. I had the exact same symptoms that you had. Exact. Hope this helps.