turn signal short

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 8:50 am

the fuse blows out when i use the turn signal .

i have pulled all the lights and they look ok

i switched out the whole blinker/lights/wiper switch with a spare used one.
that did not fix it.

testing the fuse box shows continuity to ground on the aft end.
the fwd end registers a little (1/4 as much) (on another car it registers zero). so i must have a short somewhere

but how do i find it?

takza · Post by **takza** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:32 am

I'll tell you if you tell me how to find the place that allows current that's supposed to be going to the dome lights to go to my licesnse plate lights. Both light up.

They sell short finders for not too much...have never used one. I've sometimes just cut the offending wire and have run a new one.

I'd remove the connx at the light and try again...that eliminates the light itself...or not. Might be in the connx. Might be in the run from the switch....wire or connx.

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:43 am

[quote="takza"]I'll tell you if you tell me how to find the place that allows current that's supposed to be going to the dome lights to go to my licesnse plate lights. Both light up.

i've spent around 6 hours messing with the wires using a good car as a guide.
all i've determined so far is that i know next to nothing about car wiring.
it makes no sense to me.
i wired my own house years ago and mistakenly thought that would help.

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 12:25 am

Is the problem the same with both the left and right signal? If it's both, that most likely eliminates a problem with the actual lights. I'd try a different flasher relay since it's pretty easy to do. Just don't ask me where it is.

If it's just one side, I'd suspect the bulb socket(s).

Do your car have (or had) any accessories like an alarm or remote that flashes the lights?

Smashing the backup light bulb in the hatch blows fuses too. We thought we had fried something while welding.

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:01 am

[quote="Gasoline Fumes"]Is the problem the same with both the left and right signal? If it's both, that most likely eliminates a problem with the actual lights. I'd try a different flasher relay since it's pretty easy to do. Just don't ask me where it is.

everything signal wise does not work

the flasher relay was under the dash just left of the steering column
and up there
had to pry it off
it has three prongs (controls hazard lights too)
could not get one at the local parts stores and the dealer wants 52.00
can get two prong flasher units for 6.00
so i think i will try and rig it up with one of those (eliminating the hazard lights)

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:27 pm

If you have the relay out, you can test it directly. Hopefully the terminals are labeled. One is for power/battery (B), one for ground/earth (E) and the last is the output to the lights (L).

You should be able to get one from a junkyard from any Toyota. Or maybe even any Japanese car. If you're going to use a 2-prong flasher, just ignore the ground terminal and hook it up to the other two. I doubt the old style flashers are polarity sensitive. Hazards should still work normally.

You can even test the rest of the circuit by putting a jumper wire from the power terminal to the light terminal on the plug where the relay was. The turn signals would light up correctly with the switch if the wiring is OK, just no flashing.

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:37 pm

takza wrote:I'll tell you if you tell me how to find the place that allows current that's supposed to be going to the dome lights to go to my licesnse plate lights. Both light up.

I'd look for a bad ground. Or just add a good ground to both circuits and see if it helps.

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 8:42 am

Gasoline Fumes wrote:
takza wrote:I'll tell you if you tell me how to find the place that allows current that's supposed to be going to the dome lights to go to my licesnse plate lights. Both light up.
I'd look for a bad ground. Or just add a good ground to both circuits and see if it helps.

last night i found out it's the right side that has the short

when you say to add a good ground to the circuit
i'm guessing that i have to splice into one of the wires that go to one of the bulb sockets (side) and connect it to the body or engine somewhere. or as a test hook it directly to the negative terminal

Mickey_D · Post by **Mickey_D** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:45 pm

Now, according to the wiring diagrams the points where you want to check for a short are at the turn signal switch plug. Unplug the connector from the turn signal switch and put one lead of an ohm meter to chassis ground, the other to each of the following : F, TB, TL, TR (the respective wire colors are : Green/White, Green, Green/Black, Green/Yellow). The readings will be quite low due to measuring through several light bulbs hooked in parallel, but there should be between 3 and 6 ohms still there. If we find a wire with under two ohms, you know we've got a problem.....

I'll try and dig into mine today and give you the readings as to what they are supposed to be, then we can go from there to diagnose what's wrong.

Get those readings first and list them here and I'll get mine and help you out.

Mickey_D · Post by **Mickey_D** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:02 pm

takza wrote:I'll tell you if you tell me how to find the place that allows current that's supposed to be going to the dome lights to go to my licesnse plate lights. Both light up.

When you say they both light up, under what circumstances? Do you mean your plate light comes on when you turn on the interior, or the interior comes on with your parking lights?

The interior lights and the plate lights only come close in the rear hatch area. Maybe something chaffed the wires and they're shorting together (Red/White wire for the door switch, Green for the parking lights). Other than that, they don't share anything in common.

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 5:01 pm

I'll try and dig into mine today and give you the readings as to what they are supposed to be, then we can go from there to diagnose what's wrong.

Get those readings first and list them here and I'll get mine and help you out.[/quote]

will not get that done for a few days
got to play
(pickleball & fish on)

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 11:35 pm

xirdneh wrote:when you say to add a good ground to the circuit
i'm guessing that i have to splice into one of the wires that go to one of the bulb sockets (side) and connect it to the body or engine somewhere. or as a test hook it directly to the negative terminal

I was replying to takza.

Mickey_D · Post by **Mickey_D** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:21 am

xirdneh wrote:will not get that done for a few days
got to play
(pickleball & fish on)

No prob, I took a quick gander at mine today on the way out to work and realised it's going to take a little to get to that plug. And since mine is my daily driver to and from work, kinda need it operational on a moment's notice!!

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:37 pm

xirdneh wrote:the fuse blows out when i use the turn signal .

but how do i find it?

something was shorting out the fuse in the right side of the turn signal wireing so i only used the left signal. i bypassed the right side rigging up a toggle switch and flasher . that was to get me by for awhile .
but now the left side quit working
i switched the main fuse thing in the engine compartment and checked the fuse under the dash and the flasher unit under the dash
all were good
so what quit working?

keith · Post by **keith** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:54 pm

If you have a trailer hitch, look into the wiring for the trailer. These can become problematic after a few years.

Tercel4WD.com

turn signal short

turn signal short

Re: turn signal short