ziegler@lzmi.UUCP (09/20/83)
I have a 1981 Plymouth TC3 (That's the two-door version of the
Horizon.) that's developed a rather annoying intermittent electrical
bug. It seems that sometimes (but no always) when the headlights
are on the right directional doesn't work. The left directional
works fine, as do the emergency flashers, and both directionals work
when the headlights are off. I've also noticed that when the
directional malfunctions, there is feedback from the brake lights
into the instrument lights, so that when you put the brakes on the
dash lights up, even if the headlights are off!
I've checked sockets, wires and bulbs all the way around, and
they all were fine. I suspect a loose wire under the dash
someplace, but I dread the thought of tearing the thing apart
without at least a good idea of where to look. Taking it to a
dealer is out of the question. Dealers around here tend to replace
anything that could possibly be wrong, until the problem goes away.
Besides being expensive (Do you have any idea what the labor charge
is to replace a wire harness?), this is a very ineffective way to
fix an intermittent problem, and I don't have time to go through all
the iterations it would take.
So if anyone out there has any ideas on what the problem could
be, please let me know (by mail, of course). Thanks.
Joe Ziegler
...hogpc!pegasus!lzmi!ziegler <or>
...mhtsa!lznv!zieglerwarren@ihnss.UUCP (09/20/83)
I'm posting this because it might be a more general problem. This sounds very much like what happens on my '72 Toyota Corona. The cause of the problem for me is a poor connection of the ground lead in the tail-light assembly. With the ground wire disconnected, When some function activates one of the tail lights (brakes, turn signals, and headlights), the voltage leaks through the activate light, the ground bus in the tail light assembly, and into all of the other circuits that light tail lights. The other aspect of the problem is that the turn signal flasher seems to not work if there is anything odd about the bulbs being flashed. Hence all sorts of bizarre problems. In my case, the turn signal light and tail lights glow dimly and brightly in alternating cycles when the turn singal is on and nothing else, the turn signal won't work when the brakes or headlights are on, and the dash turnsignal indicator glows dimly when either brakes or headlights are on. I suggest that you check the ground in the tail light assembly, and any place else where you have multiple circuits tied to ground. -- Warren Montgomery ihnss!warren IH x2494
davec@tektronix.UUCP (Dave Clemans) (09/22/83)
In general, any time I've had a bizare electrical problem it has been caused by a faulty ground. It is probably close to the circuits that show the problem, but sometimes it can exist in a very unlikely place.
hakanson@orstcs.UUCP (09/24/83)
#R:lzmi:-11600:orstcs:3000011:000:639
orstcs!hakanson Sep 23 10:13:00 1983
Checking the grounds for the tail/front directional(s) sounds like a very
good possibility. Another place to look might be the turn-signal switch
itself, or the wiring to/from this switch located in the steering column.
On most cars, the brake lights and turn signals are all integrated through
this switch, and when it (or some of its connections) goes bad, you can
get all kinds of strange behavior. But check the grounds first -- that
reminds me of what my parents' motorhome did 'til I found a loose ground
wire in the taillight.
Marion Hakanson {hp-pcd,teklabs}!orstcs!hakanson (Usenet)
hakanson@{oregon-state,orstcs} (CSnet)