turn signals

[jlighthart]

hi i'm not really knew to the whole be youre own mechanic but my montana is acting in a way i cant understand and id like some advice. the left turn signal is acting funny. let me explain alittle more first it works when the headlights arent on, then when they are on when i push on the break it acts like the bulb is blown but its not bc it works when the headlights are off. i replaced the fuse but i cant find anywhere that sells the hazard switch i need. then my mechanic friends tell me its the turn signal switch but i cant figure it out why it would be that if they work when the headlights are off. please any more advice would help out thank you very much.

 

[Steelcity]

try checking the socket(s) first,they are known sometimes to corrode and make bad contact. You might have to sand them or maybe use a small screwdriver to correct them.

 

[oldhippie]

Let me see if I've got this straight:

You are talking about your rear left turn signal.

Headlights ON, left turn signal doesn't flash.

Headlights OFF, left turn signal flashes.

With headlights ON you apply the brakes and the left rear bulb doesn't go brighter.


Sounds to me like wiring is reversed or the bulb is backwards. There are two filaments in the bulb. One is brighter than the other. If the wiring is reversed your taillights are running the brighter filament and your brakes and turn signals are running on the dimmer filament.

Is the left side bulb brighter than the right side when just the lights are on?

 

[jlighthart]

what happens is when i push on the break the turn signal act like the bulb is blown but when i let off the break it works fine

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[Steelcity]

check your sockets make sure they are making good contact with the bulb, and the bulb is fully seated

 

[Zimgxp]

Sounds normal. The brake and turn signal are the same filament, so only one at a time can work.

 

[pengu1n]

I've had similar strange issues with my blinkers, except for me it was an interaction with the brake lights and the blinkers. My blinkers would work fine until you stepped on the brake pedal, then I'd get that fast clicking that means the blinkers aren't working.

The problem was caused by corrosion in the plug where the tail light wiring connects to the tail light. I had to disassemble it all the way down to the internals of that plug, and clean up the pin contacts that fit in the rubber connector. I also went into the internal of the tail light assembly that people here refer to as the "circuit board". It's really just metal strips in a maze like pattern that make the connections from the plug to the actual bulbs. On the circuit board I bent the metal so that it would make better connections.

It seemed like a pain at the time but wasn't that bad. Hardest thing was getting the tail light internal cover off to expose the "circuit board". A lot of prying involved.

After I fixed the blinkers, it worked for about a year then I had to re-clean the plug pins. Currently I have great blinkers, hazards, reverse lights, but no brake lights!