Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I pulled over to fill up last night and my rangie wouldnt start again. Thats not the problem as I was using an old battery, I have a new one now.

Anyway, I clutch started it which was fine except that now my indicators dont work. Ive checked the fuses, the switch, and the bulbs (the hazards still work) I even pulled the fuse box out and made sure all the wires were still connected.

I have NFI whats causing them not to work. As its an EFI model, could I have messed something up on the CPU or something when I clutched it?

Anyone had something similar? or am I overlooking the bleeding obvious?
Im fresh out of ideas!

Are you sure it's the battery and not the alt?

Coincidence????
flasher unit???
indicator switch broken??
Is there power at the fuse, at the switch, at the bulbs?
Regards Philip A

Definitely not the alternator, Had it checked by a sparky right after I bought it

flasher unit???

I dont know what this is, do you mean the headlight flasher?

indicator switch broken??

I dont think so, the wire is still making contact when the swith is flicked, still a possibility though I guess.

Is there power at the fuse, at the switch, at the bulbs?

Fuse: Yes
Switch: Yes
Bulbs: havent checked although the hazards are working so I imagine there is.

Just to clarify though, to check for power i put one of those screwdrivers with the lightbulb in the handle on the circuit. Is there a better way?

Ok...

So the lamps are working when you use the hazard switch that means that the fuses, hazard switch, lamps and flasher unit (the thing what switches the lamps on and off) are working.

The only bit that is missing from those things is the indicator switch so maybe power to that unit or the switch itself is faulty.

If you test the power into the indicator switch (the stalk on the steering column) and it is ok then it could be the switch or the power out (but that would mean both left and right lamp supplies would be faulty).

BTW $15 spent on a muiltimeter at Richard Smith's Electronic Emporium or Jaycar is a good investment.

I have emailed you 5 pages of the 95 classic rangie curcuit diagrams it might help.

Thanks one_iota thats a big help. I didnt get those pages though darthdex@hotmail.com in case you missed it. Will buy a multimeter and re-check the switch tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. [/fingers crossed]

had a phone call whilst capturing the images so totally confused.

Expect a couple of emails

Do you high beams work i.e. can you pull the indicator stalk forward and flash high beams ?

Tom

AFAIK or remember, Older Rangies have one flasher unit for the hazards and one for the indicators.
I strongly suspect the flasher unit based on what said so far.
The Flasher unit is a silver cylinder , up under the dash. It is the thing that makes the indicators flash , basically a switch that turns them on and off.

But it could be a broken connector on the indicator switch.
Your indicator screwdriver is probably OK but a multimeter would be better.
regards Philip A

raginrover wrote:Do you high beams work i.e. can you pull the indicator stalk forward and flash high beams ?

Tom

Yep, they work fine.

PhilipA wrote:AFAIK or remember, Older Rangies have one flasher unit for the hazards and one for the indicators.
I strongly suspect the flasher unit based on what said so far.
The Flasher unit is a silver cylinder , up under the dash. It is the thing that makes the indicators flash , basically a switch that turns them on and off.

Mine is an 86 model so Im not sure if it falls under the older models category or not. Is there a way to test if it is the flasher unit i.e can I look at it and go "thats obviously broken" or is it more of a "well, everything else works so its probably that" scenario? Are they readily available from hardware, electrical, auto stores? or should I start trolling the wreckers?
Thanks for the help so far guys. Id be lost without you.

Repco, Supercheap etc. All will have them. Just take your old one. there are a couple of types.
They are relatively standardised like headlight bulbs.
To test ,AFAIK again, you can swap the hazard one for the indicator one. I think the capacity is different so the indicators may flash fast or slow but you will know whether it works or not.
Reagrds Philip A

Sweet I'll get on to it now.
Thanks for those emails one_iota they were a big help.

Alright, fingers are crossed.

Well, my brand new multimeter tells me that the indicator switch is indeed getting power which leaves the flasher unit.
Spent most of the morning pulling the dash apart and I still can't find the bastard
After following the wires from the switch I lose them up behind the heater assembly but they dont seem to run through a silver cylinder or any sort of relay that I can see. Does anyone know specifically where it is???

I think in my 2 rangies( 81 and 85 ) the flasher can is around the steering column area, so you really only need to remove the lower cowl.

should be just under the lower cover about 8 screws on mine and clasics have 2 flashers im prety sure.

Ok, I think I found it although mine seems to look more like a standard relay (black plastic box type) than a silver cylinder. Does this sound familiar or do I need to look again? I took it out anyway and was going to go to the autobarn but it was like 35 degrees today so I went out on my boat instead and did some spearfishing
Oh well, there's always tomorrow

I replaced the two relays that the wires from the indicator switch run through and they still don't work
I re-checked that the fuse, bulbs, and switch are all getting power. yep.
I followed the wires from the switch all the way to the firewall (did the same for the hazard switch) and still couldnt locate the flasher unit (unless the relays I replaced are the same thing).
Im seriously considering taking it to a sparky and letting him worry about it but I hate paying for something I should be able to fix myself, not to mention the likelyhood of it been something really obvious that I overlooked

You should be able to find the Hazard one by turning on the hazard flashers and listening to where the tick tick comes from. If I recall they are both somewhere around the steering column down under the instruments, maybe jammed above it.

If yours is an 87 the flasher unit may be in a bunch of relays attached to the steering column under the shroud rather than the dashboard. I will not have time tonight but tomorrow night I will be able to look at my manual. what exact model is your car 87??
If there are a bunch of relays there , the flasher unit should have "flasher unit" marked on it. It will be a taller black box rather than a shorter black box.
Anyone else have a manual in the meantime?
Regards Philip A

The flasher can gets its 12V feed from the Hazard switch with a
purple/brown tracer cable. It then comes out of the flasher can via a light green/brown tracer cable and goes into the indicator switch. FRom the indicator switch, it then goes to the left/right indicators via GREEN/WHITE and GREEN/RED cables. The Hazard switch simply parallels the flasher can output and bypasses the indicator switch to make all lamps flash.

When you find the flasher can: When the IGN is switched on, check for +12V on terminal '49' of the flasher can. Make sure pin '31' is earthed properly. ACtivate the Hazard switch and you should get an on/off 12V on pin 49B ( this pin has 2 wires on it--one goes to the indicator switch and the other goes to the Hazard switch) of the flasher can. The fact that the Hazard indicators work means that the can itself is ok. I think you more than likely have a faulty indicator switch.

Only early models have 2 flasher cans

Good luck
Nick

Philip A wrote:what exact model is your car 87??

Its an 86. Ive found the bunch of relays that the indicator wires run into but they were'nt marked "flasher unit". They were just generic five pin, 30 amp relays (Bosch brand if that helps).

Due to the fact that the hazards are still working Im starting to lean towards the faulty switch theory aswell. Still, I'll listen for the ticking and see what i find and I'll definitely check the can (when I find it) like you suggest Woop.

When you find the relay, it may have some markings on the side of it like "4x21W" The relay your looking for should be 4pin..

Nick

OK, finally found the damn flasher unit and changed it up. Feeling smug all over I hit the indicator switch and no flash

After many bad words and cutting my knuckles after the brick wall mocked my incompetence, I started from scratch. Very long story short, it turned out to be due to the hazard switch not fully disengaging. A quick spray of WD-40 later and I have my indicators back.

What an absolute f*ck around! Still, a big armsup to all who posted on this thread as before I started I had NFI about flashers or anything else and you guys really helped me out. Cheers Boys!




Learning new stuff about your truck never hurts though does it.

Hoorah

I wish I had invented WD40....I'd be a rich man today.

How did you sus the hazard switch? Long odds on that horse

Like I said, long story . Actually I stumbled upon it using the age old technique of blind luck. I was re-re-re-checking power to all switches, bulbs, fuses etc. and I thought Id check the hazard switch to see if it was getting the same power as the indicator switch. Anyway, pulled the switch panel off and noticed that it wasnt fully disengaging and the rest is history I wish I worked it out on my own but hey, problem solved and if anyone asks(my girlfriend for example), I can make out as though I'm an electrical genius

Good to hear its sorted, and you learned a lot!!
I guess it also teaches us to think about what events led up to the problem. You used the hazard flashers right? maybe for the first time.
Regards Philip A