How do turn signals work?
From Crankshaft Coalition Wiki
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==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
Turn signals are one of the most misunderstood sub-systems in vehicles today. They really are simple when you stop and think about how the system performs its job, and why it is wired the way it is. The following procedures will cover most of the basic and common problems found in the turn signal system. | Turn signals are one of the most misunderstood sub-systems in vehicles today. They really are simple when you stop and think about how the system performs its job, and why it is wired the way it is. The following procedures will cover most of the basic and common problems found in the turn signal system. | ||
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The turn signal on a traditional system is a shared element with the brake lamp function at the bulb to the rear of the vehicle. The most common misconception is "I can wire my turn signals and brake lamps together at the light housing and it will be fine." That's typically where the trouble begins. | The turn signal on a traditional system is a shared element with the brake lamp function at the bulb to the rear of the vehicle. The most common misconception is "I can wire my turn signals and brake lamps together at the light housing and it will be fine." That's typically where the trouble begins. | ||
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| + | The turn signal shares the ground with the park light in the front of the vehicle. If the ground is loose or not connected, it can allow voltage to back feed from the park lights to the turn indicator. | ||
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| + | If you have LED lights on the vehicle, you often will need 1K ohm pull-down resistors on left and right turn to | ||
| + | bleed off residual voltage. Check with a digital volt meter, look for 3 volts or more still sitting on the turn | ||
| + | signal wire. Another possibility is if they don’t have a good ground, the PARK and TURN bulb filaments | ||
| + | are both tied together and go to body ground like a “Y”. If this ground wire is not connected, the park | ||
| + | light can back-feed to the turn signal circuit. If you use LED lights for your turns/brakes, you | ||
| + | either need load balancers to draw enough current for the flasher to work or you should use | ||
| + | a No Load Flasher. | ||
==Power feed and flasher unit== | ==Power feed and flasher unit== | ||
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The net result usually is a very rapid flash rate. And, in some cases, failure of the flasher unit, or premature failures on subsequent units. | The net result usually is a very rapid flash rate. And, in some cases, failure of the flasher unit, or premature failures on subsequent units. | ||
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| + | CORRECT FLASHER CONNECTIONS: | ||
| + | The flasher normally will have two terminals: X = incoming power L = Load / lights | ||
| + | No-load flashers will have a 3rd connection for ground. | ||
| + | If X & L are swapped, the flasher wont operate properly when LED lights are installed but regular bulbs would not be affected and would seem to work normal. | ||
==The turn signal switch== | ==The turn signal switch== | ||
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[[Category:Electrical]] | [[Category:Electrical]] | ||
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