Hi! The left hand turn signals are playing up - it started yesterday all of a sudden half way through a drive. I have done a bit of searching and found some threads with useful info but my problem doesn`t seem exactly the same as the ones I`ve read about so I thought I had better ask on here first. It`s an early 86 UK car - so as far as I know unlike US cars the turn signal system has no connection to the marker / parking lamp or brake light systems as the front, rear and fender amber lights are used for turning only. To sum up: (Ignition ON) With the stalk in the LEFT position - the exterior turn signal lamps do not light at all, the green dash tell-tale light for the left turn signal stays on (slightly flickering) and the flasher relay makes a constant buzzing noise. With the stalk in the RIGHT position - the exterior right hand turn signal lamps light and flash properly, including the right hand tell-tale light on the dash. With the stalk in the NEUTRAL position and the HAZZARD switch ativated - all exterior turn signal lamps light and flash correctly but the LEFT hand dash tell-tale doesn`t light up. If I then move the turn signal stalk to the LEFT position with the hazzard switch still activated - the LEFT hand dash tell tale light starts working again. Just to check, I then tried the hazzards on with the ignition off and it made no difference - ie. all hazzards work but the left hand dash tell-tale doesn`t light with the turn signal stalk in the neutral position - but the tell-tale does light if the stalk is in the left hand position.... I did initially open the fuse box and get to the flasher relay - but then I had a look on here to check before I went any further and saw that if one side works fine then the flasher relay probably isn`t the cause - so I thought I had better ask for help before stripping anything else off! I`m guessing (not too logically) a bad earth somewhere - and that possibly the reason for the hazzards still working on both sides is that both sides are connected when activating the switch, so it starts using the good earth side - but that`s just a guess. Any ideas really appreciated - it`s a nice day today (rare in the UK) and my Testarossa is just sat in the garage dreaming of the open road! Thanks in advance, Dom.
this what you are writng seems for me a ground problem. best would be to use a wire for testing directly from battery minus to the tail light ground and see what happens have a look in the dark: when then the hazzard is on if there is also the tail light a little on? when there is nice weather then drive, the turn signal is not soooo important to use always
Thanks Joe, I will have a look in the dark as you suggest. I daren`t drive it without the turn signal - remember it`s RHD, single mirror - and no turn signals working on the LHS (the side without the mirror!) Anyway I will let you know what else I find out today Cheers, Dom.
No argument there (But you did a nice job giving a well-detailed description of the symptoms and that really helps.) They utterly mangled the corresponding schematic in the TR WSM that would apply to an early euro TR (or does your turn signal switch control the headlight relays? ), but, based on the turn signal/hazard architecture in the later TR schematics, your symptom would match having a bad electrical connection between the two A (light blue) wires crimped into the single terminal in the k connector as shown here: Image Unavailable, Please Login They may still be mechanically crimped into the terminal OK, but that doesn't guarantee that they are making good electrical contact. Try giving them a wiggle/pull/look for corrosion/remove the terminal from the housing and re-squeeze and/or solder/etc. Good Hunting! (At least trying this doesn't require a dash-ectomy ).
Hi Steve, thanks ever so much for the info and picture. Wiggling those wires made no difference - but thinking it must be to do with them somewhere along the line, I decided to look on the inside of the car to see if I could trace any of the wiring. I don`t know if I just got lucky - but as the problem was just using the left hand signal I decided to start looking from the turn signal lever onwards. From there I traced two light blue wires (1 of them had black dashes on) - each of which turned into two wires. I couldn`t really see where they went but whilst poking around above the steering column, the left hand signal started working again! Wiggling the wire harness I could make the signals start and stop. I had a look where the harness went to - and saw an oblong connector - which was half "open" - well a bit of an exaggeration but definitely not together properly as the tabs on the side weren`t seated. It was a nightmare to reach as it`s so tight in there - but as I could see the light blue wires amongst the others attached to it, I persevered. Using two screw drivers (and nearly breaking my little wrists!) I snapped the connector together properly - and the signals now work I wiggled the wiring harness a bit more to make sure it wasn`t a coincidence and it didn`t cause any more interruptions, so it looks like the propblem was from that connector which someone has obviously had appart before. I also checked that with the hazzards on, both dash tell-tales light - and they do again now. I`ve had the car over 3 years and it must have been like that all along yet the problem only just happened. Anyway, real happy that I didn`t have to dismantle half the dash! So thanks again for the help. Seems a simple answer to what I thought was going to be a hard to find problem lol. Cheers, Dom.
Well done Dom. I should've included in my thinking having a break anywhere in the A wire from that k terminal to the turn signal stalk switch as giving that same symptom (not just at the crimp at the k terminal).
Yes I was Mel - although with good advice you can`t go wrong - but a bit of luck means u can`t go wrong faster Saying that, every day you can go for a drive in a Testarossa is a lucky day! Sorry I didn`t take pics - it really wasn`t involving enough - and all you would get is a pic of a connector, which is easy enough to describe and on my car was just above the steering column. Who knows whether that`s where it has always been ofc, as after 60,000+ miles it`s had some electrical rewiring over the years.... Dom.
