Indicator erratic when driving

[bmcecosse]

The sidelights are not fused - well, not through the fusebox, anyway. Later cars have an in-line fuse. But the indicators are fused - so does it only blow when you try the indicator? Seeme to me you have connected a live to the body of the lamp unit - and when you connect it to the body - bang goes the fuse. I suggest you disconnect ALL the wires to that sidelamp - does the fuse hold ok now? Then connect the earth wire to the lamp body (black wire) and check again. Then connect the red wire to the sidelamp - does it work ok? Then finally connect the last wire ( green with trace white/red depending on side) to the indicator and check again.....

[scottymalotty]

Thanks BMCEcosse....

No it blew when I switched the ignition on . I actually leaned round to check the fuse and saw it spark and split.

Thanks I will try your other suggestions. Its annoying as it was working fine and after all the issues I had the earth wire seemed to fix things.

Cheers,
Scott.

[bmcecosse]

Well - it could only affect that fuse IF the indicator was switched on to that side when the Ign was switched on. Otherwise - the problem is some other short - caused by the Ign being on.

[scottymalotty]

Hi,

Further questions from hapless in Edinburgh. Disconnected and removed sidelight unit checked all the wires and the unit for any damaged wires or problems with the connections. All looks fine and no reason to short.

Reconnected the wires as earth to inner wing (Red with black tape on end) - Sidelight (Red) to Red connector (this was into a double red connector not sure if that makes a difference) and indicator (Green) into Green/White. Not sure if this is right but tried to follow wiring diagram.

I then switched the ignition on (indicator in neutral) and fuse blew straight away.

Can someone tell me if the connections are correct?

I have attached a picture to show what I mean.

Thanks Scott[frame][/frame]

[bmcecosse]

The Ign fuse has NOTHING TO DO with the sidelight - unless you have the indicator switch set to that side when you switch on! The Ign fuse protects the indicators, the brake lights, the wipers and the heater fan.......nothing else. You may have moved/damaged something else when you were fiddling at the fuse box? If you switch on the sidelights - does the new lamp light up? Why is there a brown (orange?) wire connected to that earth point?? Take it off! Only BLACK wires go to earth.

[scottymalotty]

Hi,

Ok latest update on the saga. Disconnected the sidelight completely switched on ignition and lower fuse blew!

So nothing to do with sidelight after all. Also tried disconnecting windscreen wipers as someone else suggested that to me. No difference fuse still blew!!

Reconnected sidelight and without turning ignition tested sidelight. This works fine as do headlights.

So I seem to have a problem when I switch on my ignition which is causing the lower fuse to overload. Any thoughts or things I should try? I checked the fuse box but all seems fine there.

You are right about the earth wire being the wrong colour I used a spare piece of cable that i already had as it had the bullet connector on one end and at the time I had no spare bullet connectors.

Any help or suggestion on what to try next would be most appreciated. Need to go to Halfords now and get more fuses for next barrage of tests

Cheers Scott

[bmcecosse]

As before - there should be NOTHING drawing current through the fuse when you switch on the Ign - so there must be a wiring fault - possibly right at the fuse box. I suggest you pull all the green wires off the fuse box - then fit a fuse and switch on. Hopefully - nothing will happen!

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

You need to go back to basics, reverse what you did so it is as it was before you started, find out which wire is which and work from there.

Ign. is meant to be unfused as far as I recall??

[bmcecosse]

Yes - the Ignition coil and the Fuel pump are NOT fused - white wire feeds.

[scottymalotty]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses. I have carried out some more tests and have narrowed it down to the Flasher Unit. When I disconnected the Green (G) wire the fuse did not blow. I had a new flasher unit I had bought a while ago when I was having problems with the indicator working erratically so I fitted that one again.

I recalled that when I fitted it first time round it caused the indicator stalk light and indicators to light up all the time. At the time I thought it was maybe the wrong unit (think I bought it off eBay) and went back to the old unit. Same thing happened tonight when I fitted it but my fuse does not blow so progress at least.

As for the new flasher unit do you think its the wrong unit or faulty or have I wired it wrongly?

Cheers,
Scott.

[MarkyB]

New flasher units are of abysmal quality, made for 2p in about 2 seconds.
Open up the troublesome one and you'll see what I mean.

[bmcecosse]

If you don't have left or right selected on the stalk - the flasher unit is doing nothing............and won't blow a fuse - UNLESS it has become horribly shorted internally........

[mike.perry]

One fuse left and a tin of nails
If the ignition is on there is live feed to the flasher unit (green wire)

[bmcecosse]

Yes - but as above - it can't GO anywhere unless left or right selected - or hopelessly shorted internally......

[scottymalotty]

Hi,

Thanks for the updates. I do have it wired up correctly (I think) and the flashers are working when I switch the ignition on but when the indicator stalk is in the neutral position the light at the end stay's on.

So I have ordered a new one from the very dependable Tom Roy which should arrive tomorrow. I will give you the final update tomorrow which is hopefully all is fixed

Cheers,
Scott.

[bmcecosse]

So -what did you do to stop the fuse blowing - or is this the 'other' flasher unit?

[scottymalotty]

Hi,

All sorted now. New flasher arrived from Tom Roy I rechecked the wiring and it works perfectly.

The fuse stopped blowing when I replaced the old flasher unit for the spare one I had. Only problem was the spare one was not working as the indicator stalk bulb stayed on all the time.

Very happy now car all working again, hopefully will get few more runs in her before the weather gets bad.

Many thanks for all your support and responses. This forum is brilliant!!

[bmcecosse]

I suspect at some point in the new sidelight saga - the wiring must have shorted out - damaging the flasher unit before the fuse let go. Good news it's now all working as it should!

[scottymalotty]

Hi,

Just to give final update on this. After fitting new flasher unit and thinking all was sorted, I took the car for a run and as I was reversing out of my drive everything was working. I then pressed my brake pedal and everything stopped working. I went backed to basics and disconnected everything going through that fuse and to cut a long story short I traced it to when i pressed the brake, got a new brake pressure switch from the excellent Tom Roy and everything was definitely working fine until my most recent problem with my horn / interior light which is a different issue.

Thanks again to BMCEcosse, Beero and others for their excellent help with this. great forum.

Cheers,
Scott