Turn signal fault

[co-MAN-che]

Hey all, it's been almost 4 years since I had a comanche, and I must say my new acquisition isn't being cooperative. Turn signals worked when I looked at it day of purchase, now only about 2 weeks later, neither left nor right signals work. New fuses, both flasher relays under the dash are new, all new bulbs except headlights throughout. Hazard flashers work however. Arrows in dash light up when hazards are on. Nothing, not even relay clicking when I switch either left or right turn signal. Attempted with just key on run and vehicle engine running, neither produce a result. Heard about fluid leaking from the clutch master cylinder down to the fuse box, mine does leak but fuse box appears dry. Is there a plug or other fuse and/or relay I'm missing? All bulbs are new incandescent. Thanks in advance.

[88mancheman]

Had the same issues with my MJ for about a year before I finally figured it out, the solid blinker on the dash is a big indicator that there is a ground issue in the system somewhere:
First thing are you are using the correct bulbs? Someone once told me the incorrect bulbs would cause similar issues on our MJ before you get too far into diagnosis.. if the bulbs are correct I would then go down this route:

I would start with testing that you have power at the fuse box on the turn signal fuse (if there isn’t power it’s possible the wire that is soldiered to the fuse holder pins is broken behind the fuse box, in that case fish the 2 sides out and use an inline fuse holder between the wires to solve that)

if there is power at the fuse box I would move to the front of the Jeep and check the ground that is just below the air box screwed on the horizontal sheet metal underneath the air box box up and make sure that’s clean, while you’re down in there pop off that connector behind the driver headlight and clean it up for good measure that tends to be one of the areas of high resistance areas this circuit

Then if that doesn’t change anything I would remove the headlight trim piece & the turn signal assembly and then the bulb and inspect the pins inside the bulb connector and see if they are intact (I’ve found the ground pin likes to rust away and break off over time) if those are broken it’s easy to cut the wires to the connector and replace it with a new one, they are readily available at most parts stores and I can supply part numbers if needed

From there the only other thing I could think of is the ground cable on the engine block ( but I feel like there would be other issues aswell if that was the culprit) hopefully someone else here will chime in with more knowledge if I missed something :)

[Dammerung]

Hey all, it's been almost 4 years since I had a comanche, and I must say my new acquisition isn't being cooperative. Turn signals worked when I looked at it day of purchase, now only about 2 weeks later, neither left nor right signals work. New fuses, both flasher relays under the dash are new, all new bulbs except headlights throughout. Hazard flashers work however. Arrows in dash light up when hazards are on. Nothing, not even relay clicking when I switch either left or right turn signal. Attempted with just key on run and vehicle engine running, neither produce a result. Heard about fluid leaking from the clutch master cylinder down to the fuse box, mine does leak but fuse box appears dry. Is there a plug or other fuse and/or relay I'm missing? All bulbs are new incandescent. Thanks in advance.

Had a similar issue with mine. Check the ground within the blinker socket. Mine makes and breaks contact and you can hear the corrosion in the socket. Could be your issue.


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[cruiser54]

CRUISER'S MOSTLY RENIX TIPS

CONNECTOR AND RELAY/RECEPTACLE REFRESHING

OCTOBER 30, 2015 SALAD 24 COMMENTS EDIT

 

I suggest unplugging EVERY electrical connection in the engine bay you can find, whether engine related or not, and spraying it out with a good electronics cleaner, visually inspecting the terminals making sure they haven’t retracted into the plastic holder, and then plugging it back together.

There’s a critical 10-pin connector for the front lighting system located in front of the air cleaner and behind the left headlight assembly. Don’t miss that one. Also be sure that the connectors to the ballast resistor mounted near the air cleaner housing are clean and tight.

ALL of the relays should be removed, the terminals wire-brushed until shiny, and the receptacles sprayed out with contact cleaner. Then plug them back in. I do this on every Renix Jeep I purchase or work on for someone else.

[co-MAN-che]

Alright I will certainly get to this. I'll go ahead and place a little bit of fresh dielectric grease in each connection once I clean it.

[Ωhm]

When TS don't work, do the following components work:

Blower Motor, Wiper/Washer Motor, Radio

[co-MAN-che]

On 10/29/2019 at 5:09 PM, Ωhm said:

When TS don't work, doing the following components work:

Blower Motor, Wiper/Washer Motor, Radio

all those work as supposed to.

[co-MAN-che]

Front Lighting connector has been cleaned and current tested. With Hazards on (all blinkers still work under the 4-ways) I noticed the driver side blinker socket was out of time with the rest, and that dual filament bulb was having the wrong filament illuminate. Flipped the bulb around and squared that away, but that makes me wonder if you should be able to turn those bulbs like that, given their little locking pins are at different heights. Maybe the socket is pooched? Still have grounds to clean and check. Will double check wiring connectors under the dash too. Perhaps the signal switch itself could have a broken contact being 33 years old. Will leave that for last because I don't have a locking plate depresser

Edited November 4, 2019 by co-MAN-che

[Ωhm]

10 minutes ago, co-MAN-che said:

Flipped the bulb around and squared that away, but that makes me wonder if you should be able to turn those bulbs like that, given their little locking pins are at different heights. Maybe the socket is pooched?

Your right, that ain't right.

 

Pull Turn Flasher, with KEY ON, does one of the two pins (fuse box side) have B+ on it?

[Warren Mohler]

if fuse terminals are ok check flasher it should have b+ at key on one side, if all that is ok check c156 on side of steering column I have seen these slightly pulled apart.

[co-MAN-che]

Things I've accomplished today:

 

     finished up with cleaning and inspecting connectors and grounds

 

     replaced signal bulb socket driver side. verified its wired correctly. correct filament illuminates with hazards on and now flashes in time with the rest

 

Things I've learned today:

 

     No b+ with key on turn flasher

 

     flashers slow down and eventually stop flashing after approx. 30 minutes. Battery is charged and flashers are new. 

 

     fuse terminals for 20 amp TURN B/U fuse fell out of the fuse block, but had no power before

 

     after much probing with multimeter and test light, nothing indicates there is power going to or coming from the turn signal switch, like the circuit is completely dead. hazards still work

 

     lost interior dash lights tonight as well. Don't know if from me probing or if the issue is compounding

 

     whether headlights are on or off, problem persists. No green arrows light up under any circumstances unless hazards are on

 

 

Lads & Gents, really getting close to just running new leads and fuses for everything. I hate to just hotwire stuff to work, but I'm nearing the end of my rope

[Warren Mohler]

fix your fuse block or wire around with in line fuses first then see what you have, probably have several bad places in fuse block

[Eagle]

You have a manual transmission. That means you have a clutch, and the XJ and MJs have a history of the clutch master cylinder leaking brake fluid onto the fuse panel. Brake fluid is rather nasty stuff and it doesn't play nicely with electrical connectors. The fact that the terminals for the turn signal fuse fell off (did I read that correctly) suggests to me that you may be in need of a fuse panel.

 

[Ωhm]

If you fix the TURN/BU fuse that should get you B+ to the Turn Flasher.

[co-MAN-che]

13 hours ago, Eagle said:

You have a manual transmission. That means you have a clutch, and the XJ and MJs have a history of the clutch master cylinder leaking brake fluid onto the fuse panel. Brake fluid is rather nasty stuff and it doesn't play nicely with electrical connectors. The fact that the terminals for the turn signal fuse fell off (did I read that correctly) suggests to me that you may be in need of a fuse panel.

 

I've heard of that issue, and I looked for that when I bought it. All seems dry and leak free in my hands, but that.s not to say it didn't happen in the past. While I've got the fuse block off I'll be seeing what other circuits could have been affected and try to plug a fusible link into its place

[Eagle]

A fusible link is a terrible idea. A fusible link is a wire that self-destructs if overloaded. When that happens, instead of just popping in a new fuse you have to replace the melted wire.

 

[co-MAN-che]

I'll have to see how I can replace the little terminals in the block then. You did read it correctly earlier, the contacts did in fact fall out of the block when I pulled the TURN B/U fuse, so I won't be working with much but I'll see what I can perhaps make work with whats left. I'll be revisiting the page here as anything new develops

[co-MAN-che]

Ok, I pulled the fuse block off the firewall, and there appears to be a missing wire from the 20a TURN B/U fuse. There are 2 yellow wires leading from one tab of the fuse to the flasher, but the other tab (where the contact fell out) has no evidence of a broken wire, as in no broken contact base or corrosion. This makes me thing I was mistaken in my original post for the signals couldn't have worked in the first place. Now I wonder what other wire is supposed to be hooked to that fuse. 12 volt power or is that a signal wire from the turn signal lever on the column?  

I'm going to get the alligator clip leads out and see if I can reconstruct the circuit with the help of a wiring diagram to test my theory. If i can snag a decent picture I'll post it to try to better explain what I'm seeing

[Ωhm]

No B+ feed wire on TURN/BU fuse. B+ is supplied via bus bar. Bus bar feeds TURN/BU fuse, BLOWER fuse & RADIO fuse.

 

Download the 88 wiring. Should be close enough for 86.

https://comancheclub.com/topic/12083-electrical-manual/

[Ωhm]

 

[co-MAN-che]

so based off what you said and the wiring diagram (thank you for the download by the way), I will double check the radio and blower motor function. They worked when another posted on this thread to try them, but having lost interior lights last night, it has me concerned enough to try again. depending on the results, could it mean the bus bar itself is faulty?

[Ωhm]

Check your DOME fuse for the interior lights. As of the bus bar and TURN/BU fuse, it could be broke at that point.

[co-MAN-che]

PROBLEM SOLVED

 

the busbar is in fact broken in multiple points. I believe I will need a new fusebox, for multiple circuits are down for the same reason. reintroduced power to the circuit directly and everything works as its supposed to. Looking into the fusebox and there is not much left in way of power distribution across the circuits.

[Wounded_Fighter]

2 hours ago, co-MAN-che said:

PROBLEM SOLVED

 

the busbar is in fact broken in multiple points. I believe I will need a new fusebox, for multiple circuits are down for the same reason. reintroduced power to the circuit directly and everything works as its supposed to. Looking into the fusebox and there is not much left in way of power distribution across the circuits.

Just repin the old one. It's a bit of a headache but saves $$

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000CO7I04?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I bought a few of these on Amazon just for the pins.. seemed the quickest and easiest way to get them. Mine were delivered same day as ordered.

Theres a few 4link 3link and 2linked connections.. just clip the 4way down.

[co-MAN-che]

I appreciate the link, I will certainly grab some and fix what I can