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hogan029
Samba Member
Joined: October 12, 2014
Posts: 407
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 Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 8:53 pm Post subject: Wiring Mystery |
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Hey all.
So this all started this morning. I went into the van and it sounded like the ignition was on.. I could hear that humming sound and the oxs and other lighs were on but there was no key in. I turned it on and drove it around all day with no issue. I did notice that the turn signals were not sounding the same when in use. The turn signal light would either flash really fast or just stay solid.
Here is a video I took of the signal issue.
Link
Any thoughts? |
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hdenter
Samba Member
Joined: October 14, 2008
Posts: 2753
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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| Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 9:47 pm Post subject: Re: Wiring Mystery |
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I have not had the exact same symptoms as you, but when my turn signals and lights started to act up and not work properly it turned out to be the ground connections under the dash by the fuse panel. There is a round connector that sort of looks like a flower with petals screwed to the body. Several ground wires are hooked up to it by the petals. Clean the connections and make sure they are tight, then see what happens.
Hans
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'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
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Steve M.
Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013
Posts: 6829
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
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| Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 11:25 pm Post subject: Re: Wiring Mystery |
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| hdenter wrote: |
I have not had the exact same symptoms as you, but when my turn signals and lights started to act up and not work properly it turned out to be the ground connections under the dash by the fuse panel. There is a round connector that sort of looks like a flower with petals screwed to the body. Several ground wires are hooked up to it by the petals. Clean the connections and make sure they are tight, then see what happens.
Hans |
The round connector is called the "Star Ground". It is basically a multi-connector so that they could put a lot of the electrical grounds in one spot. There are two of them mounted up behind the wires in front of the drivers door and you need to stick your head under the dash to see them.
Disconnect the battery when you go looking for them as you need to move wires out of the way and if you have any wiring problem you can cause a "short" and melt some insulation possibly causing a fire.
If they look like this you need to clean them!
The electrical connection to the body is made by the raised bumps on the back of the star grounds so you really need to remove them to clean them.
It's easy to clean the outside of the terminals,
but the biggest area of contact is on the inside and one way to get that clean is using the small rotary wire wheel on a Dremel Tool to fit into between the two spring tabs that hold the terminals on the flat spade of the star ground.
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hogan029
Samba Member
Joined: October 12, 2014
Posts: 407
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 4:55 am Post subject: Re: Wiring Mystery |
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| Hey thanks for the responses. Odd thing is that I cleaned my grounds about 3 mths ago and replaced all the terminal connections. I will pop it open and see what's going on in there. Could it possibly be a bad relay? |
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Steve M.
Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013
Posts: 6829
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:42 am Post subject: Re: Wiring Mystery |
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Check your ignition switch underneath the cowling around the steering column.
It will be the white plastic one at the bottom of the key cylinder.
Grounds, for the most part stop things from working. (With the title being what it is it seemed like a good place to put the photos since I just did it!)
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Last edited by Steve M. on Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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fxr
Samba Member
Joined: December 07, 2014
Posts: 2321
Location: Bay area CA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:54 am Post subject: Re: Wiring Mystery |
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Big clue:
| hogan029 wrote: |
Hey all.
So this all started this morning. I went into the van and it sounded like the ignition was on.. I could hear that humming sound and the oxs and other lighs were on but there was no key in. |
Change the ignition switch - I bet the shaped hole in the plastic has worn as so many do.
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Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300 |
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hogan029
Samba Member
Joined: October 12, 2014
Posts: 407
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 12:48 pm Post subject: Re: Wiring Mystery |
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| I will give it an old college try and report back |
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crazyvwvanman
Samba Member
Joined: January 28, 2008
Posts: 9923
Location: Orbiting San Diego
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| Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:53 pm Post subject: Re: Wiring Mystery |
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If you get another switch you can unplug the harness connector from the old one without removing the old switch. Then plug the harness into the new switch while the new switch is in your hand. Then use a flat screwdriver to operate the new switch. This will quickly demonstrate if the new switch is likely to fix the symptoms.
Every van should carry a new switch in the glovebox so it can be hooked up in this way in a pinch. If your switch should die on the road you can hook the spare up in 1 minute and be on your way. The only tools needed are a flat screwdriver and a phillips screwdriver. You still need the key to unlock the steering.
Mark
| hogan029 wrote: |
| I will give it an old college try and report back |
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