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front turn signals not working; front turn signals not working
Topic Started: Jan 31 2014, 10:01 PM (3,148 Views)
arandomxfi
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Both front turn signals will not flash on my 94 metro xfi. Both rear turn signals work. Replaced both front bulbs and the has not changed anything. The front turn signals do get voltage and it varies with the click inside the car but only to a max of about .8v compared to the rears getting around 10-12v. They also have about 5 olhms of resistance to ground. I forget whether that is a normal number or not. I assume the flasher is working because the rears are fine. I have also looked at the wiring diagram for quite a while and can't seem to figure out how the two are connected or if there is two separate problems.
Anything helps.
Thanks
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Memphis metro


The same green/red and green/yellow feed both front and rear from the signal switch. Wiggle your wires at the fuse panel and check for burnt connections and clean and tighten the ground under the hood for the front signals. Lack of supply voltage sounds like a under dash problem. Your problem is most likely on the back side of the fuse panel where the connector plugs into the panel. Burnt or corroded terminals.
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Woodie
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arandomxfi
Jan 31 2014, 10:01 PM
They also have about 5 olhms of resistance to ground.
I think this is the problem, they need ground, not resistance to ground. Pretty sure it's the little wires that bolt to the fender under the hood which provide ground for the turn signals.



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t3ragtop
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker

what i have found on the front turn signal fixtures is that the ground wire is only pinched between the lamp socket and the plastic housing instead of being soldered or permanently attached.

add some corrosion to the thin copper wire or degradation of the plating on the lamp socket and you get a high resistance connection on the ground side.

you can futz with the wiring 'til the cows come home and still have problems.

i pull the turn signal fixtures, pop the lamp sockets out, clean the the outsides of the sockets, clean the wires, and press the sockets back in. that straightens the blinkers out for a while.

i have just bought replacement turn signal assemblies from ebay as a fix but those new parts are assembled just the same and i have had some new fixtures arrive in a non-functioning condition. as a further fix i have tried to solder the ground wires directly to the lamp socket but that proves to be quite difficult, requiring the use of my bigger 240 watt soldering gun. even with that heat it's hard to get the solder to join the metal of the socket. too much of a solder joint and you can't slip the socket back into the plastic housing.

anyway, i think that might be your issue. good luck. ;)
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Memphis metro


If he only had one turn lamp out then chances of the bulb socket being the issue would be great but he has both front signals out. This coupled with the low voltage he described leads me to believe the problem is at the connector at the fuse panel. Probably not burnt but corroded, loose or bad connection at the plug. Finding out whether it is the socket or not is easy enough if he probes for voltage before the socket with the voltmeter. I have been known to clip the socket wires and wire in a known good working socket and bulb and test it with a new one. Sockets do cause a lot of issues for sure but just does not sound like this problem to me.
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arandomxfi
Fresh Fish
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Thanks for all the great responses. Life's been a little hectic and I finally have had the chance to troubleshoot the issue some more. I located the connector that runs to the front turn signals under the dash and it looks perfectly clean, even so I back probed the connector and got a healthy 10-12V alternating with the signal flasher. It looks like the problem has to be in between the connector under the dash and the light itself, but before I go tearing through wires looking for the problem I was going to see if anyone had any other guesses.
Also the wiring diagram shows a GREEN/RED and a GREEN/YELLOW wire is what feeds power to the left and right front bulbs and the only wire that goes to said bulbs is a RED/YELLOW wire which is what is marked for the parking lamps. Maybe that's just a difference in Haynes manual that I'm using because there isn't any room for any other wires and it uses the same bulb.
Thanks for any help.
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clarkdw


Are you refering to the corner lights next to the headlights? They would have the parking light wires only to them because that is what they are. The signals are only those in the bumper.
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crankcase


5 ohms resistance from the hot wire to ground sounds way too low.
That is nearly a short circuit.
But, that could also explain why the voltage you read is so low.

So much current is trying to go to ground that it causes a voltage drop.
This is one reason people warn aginst using resistance readings to check a car.
Interpreting these readings can also be confusing.

If the connection is robust enough to support the current trying to be drawn,
you would likely end up with a fire in this instance (an unaticaped situation).

Too small a conductor could also cause a fire or it would just melt,
but if the conductor is loose or otherwise manages to survive through a dirty or corroded conection,
a voltage drop will occur.

There may be a plug found close to the lights (there is on the rears).
See if you can unplug it there and see if your 12 V comes back.
Edited by crankcase, Mar 13 2014, 10:44 PM.
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Since1990
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clarkdw
Mar 11 2014, 05:55 PM
Are you refering to the corner lights next to the headlights? They would have the parking light wires only to them because that is what they are. The signals are only those in the bumper.
Funny story...

I worked for our local GM dealership, six years as a service writer, one as manager (hated the manager gig). One day, a customer comes in to complain his turn signals weren't working. So I go out, get in the vehicle, try them out. Flash rate was okay (because they usually flash quicker if a bulb goes out). Walk around the vehicle, see that in fact all the light are working. I point to the bumper.

Yep, the customer was confused between park lights and turn signals. He never looked down. :rofl

And then there were the folks who complained they couldn't turn off their headlights. Daytime running lamps. :lol

Now the nearest GM dealer is a ferry ride and two days travel away, but since they don't make Metros any more that hasn't bothered me much.
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