Need Help From The Electrical Experts
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 564
Likes: 0
From: Riverview Florida
Need Help From The Electrical Experts
The '81 has a small but irritating problem (I hope it's small). When the lights are on the right turn signal indicator glows at about half brightness. Use the signal and it flashes properly. The first time I had this problem it went away when I replaced the burned out right turn signal bulb. Now a month later it is doing the same thing but this time the bulb isn't burned out so the previous bulb replacement "cure" may have been just coincidence. Every light on the car works properly. Where do I look and does this indicate something major? I hate to see the old girl burn to the ground.
Thanks
Thanks
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,286
Likes: 4
From: Guam
Check the bulb connections and the ground wire that goes to that particular bulb. apparently, there is a bad ground to that bulb and is causing that bulb to draw part of it's ground through the indicator bulb circuit. That fix should do it. If you can, put a multimeter to the contact on that bulb and check the ohm reading to make sure that you have a good ground to that particular light circuit. This particular problem poses no danger of an electrical fire.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 492
Likes: 0
From: Burlington Ky
Originally Posted by Sharky Guam
Check the bulb connections and the ground wire that goes to that particular bulb. apparently, there is a bad ground to that bulb and is causing that bulb to draw part of it's ground through the indicator bulb circuit. That fix should do it. If you can, put a multimeter to the contact on that bulb and check the ohm reading to make sure that you have a good ground to that particular light circuit. This particular problem poses no danger of an electrical fire.
I run into this all the time. It is probable that you temporarily restored the connection when you replaced the bulb by disturbing it. That would mean a bad connection at the socket or a bad socket. Connect a multimeter as Sharky described and wiggle the wires or you can even just leave the bulb in with the lights on and wiggle the wires and see if the problem changes.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
All olde car electricals are primarily the same, and i'ts a common enough problem with any 60's-70's car, light bulb corrosion, use some WD40 or better yet, electrical contact cleaner, on the sockets, and secure all ground wires this crap gets silly allready with all the ground wires on account of plastic body....all the ground wires are black....
GENE
GENE
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