fj40 indicator trouble

[gingerbreadman]

is it easy to get up behind the dash to check why my right indicator flasher might not be working. i found the bulbs that light up the dash but ran out of daylight before i found the indicator connections. any tips?

[hj 45]

The flasher unit is a small box, bolted to the firewall next to the accelerator pedal. It has two wires going to it. Are you sure that it's the flasher unit?

[gingerbreadman]

no i dont think its the flasher unit cause my left indicator works fine. (apart from a dull glow on bumpy roads )

im thinking its the right indicators bulb cause the noise is there as if its working but no light :(

[hj 45]

Might be bad grounding on the actual indicator/parker light body. I ran a seperate ground and soldered all the light housings together using cable, that ensures a good consistent ground.

[Dannyboy]

Somethng else to check is the actual switch. mine is early model and the switch sometimes rotates on the steering column and causes the same problem your having.

[gingerbreadman]

i will check those things . my left indicator illuminates on the dash but right one doesnt so me thinks bulb..but how do i get to it..through the front or rear?

[RAY185]

Bulb is in the cluster which removes from the front of the dash.

Undo the 2 phillips screws, tilt the cluster out towards you and you un-clip the speedo cable from behind the cluster to pull the cluster further out. You should be able to get to the bulbs at that but if you need to pull the cluster completely from the vehicle you will need to undo some wiring. While it is out, it's a good time to cut off the bulb "hoods" on the cluster lights to improve illumination at night.

[gingerbreadman]

ok thanks ray. mine is a 1979 so must be a bit different cause after getting in for a good look then all my bulbs are accessed through the back and they are all the same. wedge bulbs for hi beam,indicators and 2 dash lights that show my acccessories. i didnt know it but i was having trouble at night seeing my speedo so thought maybe the bulbs needed a clean which they did . I didnt know it till now buy my indicator bulbs were fine but in fact i only ever had 1 accessory bulb so silly me put one of the indicator bulbs in the accessory bulb hole when i was returning them all....that sure fixed my vision on the speedo at night but gave me no right indicator light. easily done i guess since its just going on feel behind there. the actual small black bulb holder is not there also so i ordered a few spares ( $2 part )

whats the idea of those bulb hoods anyway? seems very restrictive on the light?

[RAY185]

Yeah no doubt you can access them from the back but that means you have to lie your back on the floor, poke your head and hands up around the steering column, all while holding a torch in your teeth and swearing around it.

Much easier to remove a couple of screws and a clip all while sitting comfortably in the drivers seat. Glad you solved your problem anyway.

[gingerbreadman]

ray i got another brainteaser for you how do you get the speedo needle off so i can remove the speedo face plate and drill out those globe dust covers for more light? disconnecting the speedo cable from the back doesnt cut the mustard.

[RAY185]

Never really had a look at how the needle comes off but I imagine once you have the facia off and have access to the needle it would either pry off or be held in with a grub screw. Don't know why you're going that far though, cutting the hoods off (not sure why they are there, maybe it doesn't get very dark in Japan? ) should give you more than enough light. You can also up the wattage on the bulbs slightly too.

[gingerbreadman]

i have to go that far because the bulb hoods are behind the speedo face plate .

[Narrowscopeofreality]

I've got another question for Rays Q&A

Same topic, different issue.

When I turn on the hazard lights, all four corners and the dash lights work.
When I turn on the right, both corners and dash lights work.
When I turn left, the front left does nothing, the rear left stays on, and the dash light stays on. The flasher unit clicks twice but then silent.

[RAY185]

i have to go that far because the bulb hoods are behind the speedo face plate .

I did mine a few years (and quite a few beers) ago. Don't remember having to disassemble to speedo needle though. I thought it was just the back panel that the bulbs fit into. Post up a pic if you can and it might refresh my memory.

[RAY185]

I've got another question for Rays Q&A

Same topic, different issue.

When I turn on the hazard lights, all four corners and the dash lights work.
When I turn on the right, both corners and dash lights work.
When I turn left, the front left does nothing, the rear left stays on, and the dash light stays on. The flasher unit clicks twice but then silent.

Burn it, it is clearly posessed. (Or just don't turn left)

I'm no sparky but I'd say you have an issue at the indicator stalk itself. Try cleaning the contacts at the base of the stalk.

[DIRTY ROCK STAR]

ray can you come and rewire my truck please?
i will pay in special man hugs.

my indicators now work on a 3 way switch... left for left... middle is off. and right for right...
toggling it at the right speed is a pain in the a$$ though.

[gingerbreadman]

here is the pic of the bulb covers. I have no idea why they are there and even if it would make that much difference if i could remove them. They are spot welded to the panel in 2 positions and look difficult to remove unless i could get the accessory gauges out of my way. another option is to drill a 1/8 pilot hole in the front and then slowly and carefully reem it out with a 12mm bit or something.

i have seen the brighter whiter wedge bulbs at the parts stores but at 3.99 for 2 standard bulbs or 23.99 for 2 of them are they really that might better. I can see my speed ok but fuel,oil etc are dim.

[RAY185]

ray can you come and rewire my truck please?
i will pay in special man hugs.

my indicators now work on a 3 way switch... left for left... middle is off. and right for right...
toggling it at the right speed is a pain in the a$$ though.

Haha, who needs a flasher can?

Man, like I said, I suck at wiring. I know enough to get me mostly into and occasionally out of varying degrees of trouble. I paid a sparky to wire mine after the conversion. It's a shame really because those man hugs sure sound awesome!

[RAY185]

here is the pic of the bulb covers. I have no idea why they are there and even if it would make that much difference if i could remove them. They are spot welded to the panel in 2 positions and look difficult to remove unless i could get the accessory gauges out of my way. another option is to drill a 1/8 pilot hole in the front and then slowly and carefully reem it out with a 12mm bit or something.

i have seen the brighter whiter wedge bulbs at the parts stores but at 3.99 for 2 standard bulbs or 23.99 for 2 of them are they really that might better. I can see my speed ok but fuel,oil etc are dim.

Holy moley! I didn't realise you were still attacking this thing from the front!!! I'm not even sure how you got that far to be honest, I was pretty sure you could only get the fascia off from the back. I think you're going to butcher it if you're not prepared to pull it out of the dash and get it onto a bench. Seriously all that is holding it now from memory is a clip for the speedo cable and some wires that need disconnecting. It levers out from the top then slide the whole thing up and out.

Once you have it out you should be able to see that it is quite easy to dismantle from the back. Pretty sure it's just a matter of removing a few screws and the entire back panel comes off for you to cut/drill the shields as you please.

[Narrowscopeofreality]

I've just had mine off, yeah all that is holding it once you undo the to screws are the speedo cable, and two plugs. The speedo cable is a pr1ck to get off, unless you've got E.T fingers. The other plugs have plenty of room, you should be able to pull the whole cluster out and then disconnect them.

I've checked the connections at the indicator stalk, they seem ok, pretty solid and clean. If i knock the flasher unit while the indicator is on left (the dodgy side), it clicks again a couple of times then stops.

It doesnt click when I tap it when the indicator is off. Sounds like the flasher unit maybe?

[hj 45]

I just cut those bulb hoods off with sidecutters. It's also piss easy to remove the whole cluster from the dash, not sure why you're doing it the way you are.

[Narrowscopeofreality]

Anyone got any ideas on my problem?

I've tried the working flasher off my other 40, doesn't fix the issue. So now i'm stumped.

[Sam.BMX]

I've just had mine off, yeah all that is holding it once you undo the to screws are the speedo cable, and two plugs. The speedo cable is a pr1ck to get off, unless you've got E.T fingers. The other plugs have plenty of room, you should be able to pull the whole cluster out and then disconnect them.

I've checked the connections at the indicator stalk, they seem ok, pretty solid and clean. If i knock the flasher unit while the indicator is on left (the dodgy side), it clicks again a couple of times then stops.

It doesnt click when I tap it when the indicator is off. Sounds like the flasher unit maybe?

A mate of mine had the same problem in a shorty cruiser (74?) and fixed it with a new flasher unit. Never looked back.

Hope this helps.

[RAY185]

Anyone got any ideas on my problem?

I've tried the working flasher off my other 40, doesn't fix the issue. So now i'm stumped.

Yeah if it's not the stalk contacts or the flasher can it's got me a bit stumped too. Might be time to visit a sparky.

[Dannyboy]

here is the pic of the bulb covers. I have no idea why they are there and even if it would make that much difference if i could remove them. They are spot welded to the panel in 2 positions and look difficult to remove unless i could get the accessory gauges out of my way. another option is to drill a 1/8 pilot hole in the front and then slowly and carefully reem it out with a 12mm bit or something.

i have seen the brighter whiter wedge bulbs at the parts stores but at 3.99 for 2 standard bulbs or 23.99 for 2 of them are they really that might better. I can see my speed ok but fuel,oil etc are dim.

Holy moley! I didn't realise you were still attacking this thing from the front!!! I'm not even sure how you got that far to be honest, I was pretty sure you could only get the fascia off from the back. I think you're going to butcher it if you're not prepared to pull it out of the dash and get it onto a bench. Seriously all that is holding it now from memory is a clip for the speedo cable and some wires that need disconnecting. It levers out from the top then slide the whole thing up and out.

Once you have it out you should be able to see that it is quite easy to dismantle from the back. Pretty sure it's just a matter of removing a few screws and the entire back panel comes off for you to cut/drill the shields as you please.

Im pretty sure this is correct from the back you can unscrew each gauge and the speedo, i had to clean and re-lube the speedo on mine if you get it apart that far do the same, clean off the old grease in the gears and use silicone spray or something to lubricate it before it seizes.