Blinkers are not working.... HELP

[Cuda Cody]

Well.... fires out, back to the electrical problem.....

As I said in the earlier post, the brake light turns off when the blinker is turned on... but the blinkers do not work at all.  I have made sure the bulbs are good.  The next thing was to check the relay fuse (little silver canisters)  The flasher one works (for a minute or two) then blows the 20A fuse.  And the one in the top right corner was switched with a used on I had on a cuda that I'm restoring.  Still did not fix the blinker problem.

Any idea on what to do next?  Besides start drinking!

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Cody,
  The unidentified object on your fuse block is the horn relay. I'll think about this a while, but all I can think now is your turn signal switch. I don't like the sound of something shorting out, that's for sure. 


  Mike

[71 DEPUTY]

Cody- the signal lights share the same power as the gauges and heater blower. I would disconnect the plug to the wiper switch and check again just in case the wiper has a problem

John Mac

[crcarch]

You may not want to here it but with all the electrical problems you're experiencing, the only total solution is a new wiring harness.  My 73 had the original wiring and started destroying voltage regulators and blowing fuses on a regular basis.  I got tired of trying to track the shorts down, bit the bullet and installed a new modern electrical system.  What I found was scary. My fuse box was dry-rotted and I found multiple shortsand near-shorts throughout the system when I pulled it out. Several could have burned her down.  Guess my  was riding with me.

[FY1 RT SE]

Take the flasher out and see if the fuse still blows.

[ShelbyDogg]

Cody,
That little round canister is a lights on timer for something like an ignition key light.  It lights up that little light on the ignition key for about a minute after you close the door. It comes with the optional light group. 
   That fuse ONLY blows when you try the blinkers right?   No blinkers and it doesn't blow?
Rob

[Cuda Cody]

Thanks to Rob's hour long tech call I did locate the blinker relay / flasher under the dash ON THE COMPLETE OTHER SIDE of the car.  It's the only one all the way over by the glove box (not with the rest of the ones pictured in the photo).  I have the complete dash out of a cuda sitting to look at so that was a help.  Of coarse we had to talk about other mopar things too!  Very cool guy!

HOWEVER, now I have a bigger problem.  The 1st thing I noticed was that the challenger (the one not working) blinker flasher had a fuse wired in front of it unlike the factory cuda dash I have.  So I checked it and sure enough the fuse was popped.  My 1st thought was that someone has had a problem with blowing flashers in the past and at $9.00 each it was easier to put a fuse in front of it.... the same size that is in the fuse box.

So I replaced the fuse in front of the blinker relay / flasher and tested the blinkers.  First I tried the right blinker and the dash blinker light came on and the outside blinker came on too.  It went solid for about 5 seconds, then it started to work.  I could hear the flasher rely working..... but then it got really fast and I couldn't hear the relay working anymore but the light was still flashing as fast as could be!  I tried the left blinker and it just stayed solid.  That's is when I saw smoke coming from under the dash!!!!!!!!   I truned it off and just to make sure I got my wife to watch to be sure I'm seeing smoke.  After turning the blikers on again the smoke came back from under the dash!  My guess is the is a short or the wire is grounding out under the dash!  Would that cause smoke?

This car justs keeps trying to burn up

Thanks for all the help.

[lumpy]

Cody, sorry to hear that you are having peoblems with the car. You might want to slow down and pinpoint the problem before trying every idea that someone posts on the board. There is some good info. that's for sure, but when you are messing with electrical problems, and don't know what you are doing, things can really go up in smoke(literally). I doubt that the wiring harness needs replaced, but it does sound like a something has a bad ground. Please be careful and good luck!!

[Bullitt-]

   Not a bad ground, IMHO, that would just keep things from working. I'd say a dead short. Had similar problems with a P/U once. Fast flash & kept blowing fuses, no smoke thank goodness, ended up being some add on trailer wiring had rubbed thru to bare wire on frame.
The flasher speed is dependent on power used, the more bulbs, or shorts, using power the faster the flash. 

[71 DEPUTY]

Looks like a fun one to find.

this one is gonna require you to be on your back with a flashlight ( trouble will only get light in your eyes and with a flashlight you can point the light where you need it!!! ) looking up at the dash.
 and look at all the wiring. look for a pinched wire?, melted wire that can lead you to the problem. sounds like it is definitely after the flasher unit.

John mac

[MyMopar]

The problemm should be easier to track down now as mentioned.  Look for some melted wires, but follow the flasher wiring and you shoul dbe able to locate your problem.  Seems like you at getting close to solving it.  Good luck.

[ShelbyDogg]

Cody,
Glad you found the Blinker flasher, sorry to hear about the smoke.
Now time to find that short: You said that your brake lights work, right? Properly? If so, the only thing that you are adding when you use the turn signals and your emergency flashers, are the front turn signal lights. Follow those wires all the way from the engine side firewall to the front turn signals looking for any wires that may have rubbed through to touch metal. If all looks good, Pull the plugs on the front maker lights (orange park/turn lights) and try your fuse by the flasher again. One of those turn signal lights is shorting out. If the brake lights are not working correctly, the rear need to be checked. Have your wife watch the front, then rear lights, as you move the turn signal arm very quickly, dont let that wire get hot again. One of those corners is not coming on!

If you're still not finding it, here's my trick for finding shorts.  Hook up a heavy light bulb(like a tail light bulb) to a couple of wires. Connect the other ends to the fuse that keeps blowing. A short in that wire will cause that bulb to glow very brightly. Start unplugging connectors, bulbs, accessories, till the bulb goes out or glows less bright.  The Bulb will save your wiring and energize the circuit enough to trouble shoot.  Just know that the Turn Signal Circuit already has a heavy load on it so the bulb may glow brightly from the start, so you have to determine when it is glowing too brightly or normally.

You have my number.
Rob

[MyMopar]

If you're still not finding it, here's my trick for finding shorts.  Hook up a heavy light bulb(like a tail light bulb) to a couple of wires. Connect the other ends to the fuse that keeps blowing. A short in that wire will cause that bulb to glow very brightly. Start unplugging connectors, bulbs, accessories, till the bulb goes out or glows less bright.  The Bulb will save your wiring and energize the circuit enough to trouble shoot.  Just know that the Turn Signal Circuit already has a heavy load on it so the bulb may glow brightly from the start, so you have to determine when it is glowing too brightly or normally.

You know I really like that trick, using a multimeter can be cumbersome at times and this little trick can save some time, especially in the field.  Just use an old bulb socket and solder some alligator clips onto it so you can jumper the fuse block.  I also like your thorough diagnosis of the problem and how/why what is happening.  Keep up the good work, glad to have you around. 

[Cuda Cody]

I got a lot of things to check.  It does look like I might be removing the dash and just doing it right with a new harness.  The dash was replaced prior to me owning the car.  They SPLICED a ton of spots.  Some of the factory conector are missing.  Tom at wiringharness.com was a big help and he did say that there were some people on here that gave me good advice.  I will let you guys know what I find and post some pics.

THANKS

[ShelbyDogg]

Thanks,Glad to be here!  I've been working on stuff all my life and try to fix everything.
Cody, please let us know what fixed it.
Rob