Turn Signals Borked - Suspect Turn Signal Return Cam.

[jforest1]

Guys, I've been messing with the electrical for the past 4 hours and I need some help filling in the gaps.

 

My turn signal went out over night.  No fuses are blown.  I suspect the turn signal return cam. 

1.  My flashers still work (which I take to mean no open circuits from switch to lights).  Is this a valid assumption?
2.  In the maintenance manual it refers to a "feed wire", which I take to mean the pink battery+? 
3.  I cannot find the turn signal flasher unit...the red D2-18R coming out of the disconnect from steering column disappears into the main wiring harness and a bunch of electrical tape.  That wire supposedly goes to the turn signal flasher.  Is the flasher unit something that is normally visible?
4.  I can jumper the pink battery+ wire to all 4 other wires to turn on flashers for each corner of the car.  How is the turn signal return cam supposed to be connecting these up?

JF

[ShelbyDogg]

Turn signal flasher is usually mounted next to the ashtray to vibrate the dash when it flashes.  Listen for it when you jumper you wires and it is flashing.  If you have bad contacts in the emergency flasher switch, some of the circuits will not work. yank your emergency flasher switch in and out a couple of times to see if something changes. If you have a spare turn signal switch, plug it in at the bottom blue connector to try all of the funtions without having to take the column apart.

[Jamiez]

In my 74, the flasher next to the ashtray runs the Hazards, the one for the turn signals is on the column.

Of course my car's wiring was far from pristine.....

[jforest1]

Thanks for the tips!  I'll look around and see if I can find the turn signal flasher and bypass it to see if it is the problem.  Also, I'll try yanking on the hazard flasher, though I'm not sure that will help as the hazards work.  Guess some of the turn signal circuitry runs through them?

Investigating the cam and how it's functioning.  Here are the three positions mine sits in for right turn, center, and left turn:



Can someone please confirm the turn signal return cam contact points are correct.

I think it's the switch but before I fork over the $75 for a new one I'm trying to get some additional surety...

JF

[ShelbyDogg]

I re-read your 1st post and now I understand that you were saying that the emergency flashers are working but your turn signals are not.

Your turn signal flasher is bad.  Find it, then replace it.  It is right next to your ashtray, stuck to the side of the frame with a clip.

[jforest1]

I re-read your 1st post and now I understand that you were saying that the emergency flashers are working but your turn signals are not.

Your turn signal flasher is bad.  Find it, then replace it.  It is right next to your ashtray, stuck to the side of the frame with a clip.

Thank you!  Okay, I have to ask.  Based on my problem description, how did you know that was the problem?

JF

[ShelbyDogg]

The turn signal circuit is a very simple circuit.  If the corner lights come on, but not flash, the flasher is stuck closed.  If the corner lights don't come on at all, the flasher is open.  Either way you replace your flasher. Get a loud one or else you won't hear it clicking and your go down the road like Grandma.

You also said that your 4-way flashers still worked, which is a different circuit.

[jforest1]

So if you hadn't seen that my turn signal return cam was functioning properly, is there a way to know which of the two was the problem?  Or is it just trial/error (this was much easier knowing where the flasher was)?

JF

[ShelbyDogg]

Hmmm,   Never looked at your drawing at all as I have never had the cam cause a problem. I just looked at the 1st post again and wondered why you didn't change the flasher right away and spent 4 hours trying to diagram the turn signal cam.   Did you change it yet?

[jforest1]

Yes and that was the fix.

Reason I didn't change it right away was due to my novice status. 
1.  didn't know where it was located (thank you!)
2.  needed to understand from the ground up how the circuit worked.

I immediately honed in on the cam because that was the most recent thing to change and I was already suspicious of the quality of the cam after the other problems.

JF

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Don't feel bad. I had a heck of a time finding my flasher. I finally had to turn the key to the "on" postion, and listen for the ticks.   

[ShelbyDogg]

Yes,

We are all novices on one thing or another. Glad you got it fixed. 

[jforest1]

Don't feel bad. I had a heck of a time finding my flasher. I finally had to turn the key to the "on" postion, and listen for the ticks.   

Hah!  If mine ticked I would've heard them.

JF