Turn Signal Failure

[jdv69z]

OK, so after 45 years of reliable service, my turn signals have quit working. Can't depend on anything any more, ha ha!! Anyway, I checked front and rear lights in front of a store front with glass widows (so I could see the lights) and observed the following:

Turned on parking lamps, and both parking lamps lit.
Push brake pedal and both rear brake lights lit. Hit the turn signal switch with brake lights on, and light on the same side as signal went out. Flipped off turn signal and rear brake light re lit. Implies to me that I have a short. Would a faulty flasher unit cause this? I guess that is where I will start, but I'm afraid it's not goiing to be that simple.

[Stingr69]

I would be looking for a bad ground.  Start with the tail lamp bulb socket grounds and see if that is the culprit.  Add an extra path and see if it helps.

You can change out the flasher pretty easily to check but the bad grounds are my first guess.

-Mark.

[KevinW]

For 69, the grounds are all shared in the taillight housing and the pigtail is screwed to the trunk lock support.  But if the lights light up, then not a ground.  probably the flasher, there are two, one for hazards (on fuse box), the other is for turn (in a clip on the radio support bar, behind ash tray).  Try your hazards, if they work, replace the flasher behind the ash tray.
 

[jdv69z]

Thanks, will try. I guess it's also possible the actual switch in the steering column has failed. That's the only part that has motion and therefore wear involved. Could be causing a short when I flip it to the right and left flasher positions as that's when the lights go out.

[jdv69z]

New flasher corrected problem. About $4.

[Sauron327]

Thanks, will try. I guess it's also possible the actual switch in the steering column has failed. That's the only part that has motion and therefore wear involved. Could be causing a short when I flip it to the right and left flasher positions as that's when the lights go out.

Not entirely. A flasher also operates by motion initiated by a thermal reaction. The fact that your lights reacted when the turn signal lever was moved indicated the flasher was the problem source.