Electrical question...

[xvivalve]

Spent some hours this afternoon getting most of the electrics on Jon Tilson's Sprint working...all except for the indicators with no lights operating and no clicking at the flasher unit. Hazards now work fine, though they didn't previously as the wrong type of flasher unit had been fitted.

Testing at the flasher unit, I found a switched earth at one terminal, operated by the stalk and expected to find a live feed at the other...but that was a constant earth.

Is this why they aren't working, should one be live?

[Carledo]

Should be a feed in from the hazard switch and a lead out the indicator switch.

If you have the early rocker hazard switch, try disconnecting the 2 bottom leads fom the hazard switch and connecting them together. If the indicators then work, you can count on it, it's an internal fault in the hazard switch! Seen this more times than I can count!

You can actually leave it like this and both hazards and indicators will work, just don't turn them both on at once!

Steve

[xvivalve]

Late hazard switch

[MIG Wielder]

Hi Alun, Having earths around that 2-pin indicator unit doesn't sound right at all. It is a good start that the hazards are working. It is an excellent baseline to start diagnostics from.
On the back of the hazard switch can you check for +12V on the green wire with IGN ON.
If that is O.K. there should be +12V on one terminal of the 2-pin flasher unit. If not, the hazard switch is faulty. It is possible to dismantle them and clean the contacts. With the indicator stalk central there should be +12V on both the 2-pin flasher pins

Simply linking the 2 wires ( Light-green / grey and light-green / brown ) on the 2-pin flasher unit should then bring on the indicators if you move the stalk left and right.

Tony.

[xvivalve]

As Steve says simply linking the 2 wires on the 2-pin flasher unit should then bring on the indicators if you move the stalk left and right.

That's not what Steve has written Tony...

[xvivalve]

In the post VA15001 wiring diagram, is item 47 incorrectly labelled?

[MIG Wielder]

Ah yes; sorry I misread that. I'll correct that bit.
Item 47 looks correct. I can't vouch for the wiring colour codes or the pin numbers but they don't look very wrong. Green in looks correct from the switched ignition; green + a left / right tracer colour looks O.K. The indicator warning light wiring may look odd as they use a path through the non-working bulb for the low current dash bulb. It is correct though.

Edit : The thing that is wrong is the text description . It should read... 47 " Hazard flasher switch " not... 47 " Headlamp flasher switch "
Tony.

[soe8m]

As Steve says simply linking the 2 wires on the 2-pin flasher unit should then bring on the indicators if you move the stalk left and right.

That's not what Steve has written Tony...

But still the first thing to do when indicators are faulty. Easy flasher failure or wiring failure check.

Jeroen

[xvivalve]

The thing that is wrong is the text description . It should read... 47 " Hazard flasher switch " not... 47 " Headlamp flasher switch "

Thought so! It was confusing us yesterday; we were thinking it was the ' headlamp flash' function of the stalk at one point; it was only the absence of a hazard switch anywhere else and the wiring colours that set us straight!!

[Carledo]

The late hazard switch works on the same principal as the early one, it's just harder to short round as all the wires go into a solid plug.

The theory is that the ignition live passes THROUGH the hazard switch on it's way to the main flasher unit, but this supply is interrupted when the hazards are deployed. On the later switch, a shot of electrolube on the contact rings and a bit of working back and forth can often restore operation. If not, i'm sure you have more than 1 spare hazard switch!

But what is puzzling me is your report of an earth on the wire that should be a feed to the main flasher unit. I would have expected an open circuit if the hazard switch alone is to blame. Have you checked for an ignition live at the plain green (fused) ign live lead into the hazard switch?

A quick get round is just to take a jumper cable from the ign live on the back of the voltmeter to the flasher unit and discard the feed from the hazard switch. This will at least tell you if the rest of the flasher system is OK.

Steve

[xvivalve]

On the later switch, a shot of electrolube on the contact rings and a bit of working back and forth can often restore operation. If not, i'm sure you have more than 1 spare hazard switch!

The hazards are working!

[MIG Wielder]

Just to illustrate the intricacies of the indicator / hazard flasher circuit this is the circuit of the system which does illustrate the switch functions and how the pilot bulb works on a late model Sprint.
Tony.

[xvivalve]

So the indicator feed comes via the hazard switch and when the hazard switch is operated it cuts off the supply to indicators? So the hazards may work, but a fault with the switch could isolate the indicators?

[Carledo]

So the indicator feed comes via the hazard switch and when the hazard switch is operated it cuts off the supply to indicators? So the hazards may work, but a fault with the switch could isolate the indicators?

Exactly!

Steve