88 Comanche 4.0 driver side turn signal stays lit when head lights are on

[Comanche man Don]

Hey guys. I just switched out the turn signal socket on the drivers side. It works great with blinkers and hazards but when I turn my head lights on the blinker bulb stays lit. I’m thinking I may have some wires crossed but I’m not sure. The new socket had different color wires than the original Comanche wires so I could have wired it wrong. Would it even work with blinkers and hazards if it was wired wrong? Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Comanche man Don]

Oh I forgot to mention that I have tried multiple bulbs just to make sure it wasn’t a faulty bulb.

[eaglescout526]

You could have wired the brighter filament to the wire that is for the marker lights. Have you turned on your turn signal to see if the blinking filament is dim?

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

1 minute ago, eaglescout526 said:

brighter filament to the wire that is for the marker lights

I would almost bet money this happened. I had the same problem on my truck when I swapped to a 97 front and wired in the extra turn signal bulbs (incorrectly of course)

 

Unfortunately I can't think of an easy way to check this without cutting the plug out and rewiring it.

[Ωhm]

Do you have a running light on other side of vehicle with headlight ON?

 

[Comanche man Don]

So yes I do have running lights. And when I use the signal or turn the headlights on it lights up the same filament and it’s pretty bright. On the truck I have a blue wire a black wire and a gray with black stripe. Any idea which of these is for what? 

[Comanche man Don]

3 hours ago, Comanche man Don said:

So yes I do have running lights. And when I use the signal or turn the headlights on it lights up the same filament and it’s pretty bright. On the truck I have a blue wire a black wire and a gray with black stripe. Any idea which of these is for what? 

 Also , are the blinkers suppose to stay on at night as a marker light? If so then maybe my problem is the other side that doesn’t come on when the headlight come on. Are they suppose to be on when vehicle is in park?

[Ωhm]

Vehicle wise:

Gray w/trace: Left STOP/TURN.

Blue: Running lamps.

Black: Ground (case ground).

[Eagle]

Black is always ground, so one of the others is the parking light filament, the other is the turn signal (bright) filament. Assuming you connected black to black, the worst that should happen if you got the other two reversed is that you'd have a very bright parking light and a very dim turn signal.

 

When something lights up that shouldn't in the lighting circuit, it usually means a bad ground. Your parking light (or turn signal) lights up with the headlights, which suggests that the headlight has a bad ground and is seeking a ground through the parking light. To verify, remove the headlight bulb on that side and try it again -- I'll guess that the parking light won't light up.

 

[Comanche man Don]

Yes I have black to black . I think I’ve figure out the wiring. I’m having a hard time understanding the function of the “parking light”. At what point should the parking light be illuminated? Also I switched the new socket to the opposite side to maybe test my socket. This side previously would not light up except when the blinker was on. After I hooked it up this side was now staying lit when the head lights were on. So could my brand new socket be faulty?

[Ωhm]

3 minutes ago, Comanche man Don said:

At what point should the parking light be illuminated?

Controlled by the Headlight Switch.

3 minutes ago, Comanche man Don said:

So could my brand new socket be faulty?

If problem follows brand new socket, could be faulty.

[Comanche man Don]

So then it should be illuminated when the head lights are on? Sorry for being dense I’m just trying to understand. Basically I had one that turned on with the head lights and one that didn’t however they both still functioned properly when the turn signal it switched on. I’m not sure which light is malfunctioning.

[Ωhm]

2 minutes ago, Comanche man Don said:

So then it should be illuminated when the head lights are on?

Yes. Running light only, to include license plate lamps.

 

Could one of the two (2) filaments in the bulb be burned out? Swap bulbs and see if problem follows bulb.

[Ωhm]

Is there trailer wiring involved with your vehicle?

[Comanche man Don]

No trailer wiring. So my problem is with the one that doesn’t come on. Sounds like since it come one with the new socket maybe it just needed a new socket.

[Ωhm]

5 minutes ago, Comanche man Don said:

Sounds like since it come one with the new socket maybe it just needed a new socket.

You mean another new socket.That could be the problem.

[Eagle]

3 hours ago, Comanche man Don said:

So then it should be illuminated when the head lights are on? Sorry for being dense I’m just trying to understand. Basically I had one that turned on with the head lights and one that didn’t however they both still functioned properly when the turn signal it switched on. I’m not sure which light is malfunctioning.

 

Yes, the parking lights stay on with the headlights. That's the low-intensity filament. Your thread title said the turn signal stays on -- that would be the high-intensity filament.

 

Both parking lights should be on with the headlights, so if the other side doesn't do that -- then it either needs a bulb, or it needs a new socket, too.