turn signal and dash light problems
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New User
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turn signal and dash light problems
on my 78 f150 the left turn signal doesnt work, but the right does and on the dash none of the turn signal indicators work what could be the problem for these? also the dash lights dont work where my amp and temp gauge are, but the rest of the lights on the dash work, could it be a ground or a disconnected wire? i could probably find out the problem myself, but i hate dealing with wiring lol
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 8,261
Likes: 15
From: Big Sky Country
Grounds, grounds, grounds....90% of the time it's just a simple grounding issue...
Do the obvious first, check/replace bulbs, clean contacts, broken wires, etc., only after all that would i start looking at a TSS as being the issue.
Do the obvious first, check/replace bulbs, clean contacts, broken wires, etc., only after all that would i start looking at a TSS as being the issue.
MSEE
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,386
Likes: 35
From: Austin, TX
It sounds like you have a lot of problems that need to be tackled individually. First check all of the bulbs of the circuits in question.
The light that illuminates the charge and temperature gauges is a single bulb. The light that illuminates the fuel and oil gauges is another bulb, for a total of two bulbs. The speedometer shares the two bulbs. If one half works and the other doesn't, then that isolates the problem to the bulb itself. You can use your multimeter to ohm the bulb out, or just replace it since they're less than a dollar. If the left half of the instrument cluster lights up, then that would seem to prove out the ground to the cluster for now. If the left half does not light up, then please fill in the rest of the missing information.
If the right turn signals work but just the indicator doesn't work, again that points to the bulb itself being an issue. If the left side doesn't work at all, I'd suspect the TSS as MH points out. However if both front and back sockets on the left have coincidentally gone bad, this could cause the same issue.
Okay, then how do you expect to solve the problem?
The light that illuminates the charge and temperature gauges is a single bulb. The light that illuminates the fuel and oil gauges is another bulb, for a total of two bulbs. The speedometer shares the two bulbs. If one half works and the other doesn't, then that isolates the problem to the bulb itself. You can use your multimeter to ohm the bulb out, or just replace it since they're less than a dollar. If the left half of the instrument cluster lights up, then that would seem to prove out the ground to the cluster for now. If the left half does not light up, then please fill in the rest of the missing information.
If the right turn signals work but just the indicator doesn't work, again that points to the bulb itself being an issue. If the left side doesn't work at all, I'd suspect the TSS as MH points out. However if both front and back sockets on the left have coincidentally gone bad, this could cause the same issue.
Okay, then how do you expect to solve the problem?
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New User
Joined: Mar 2013
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From: Kenosha WI
re: turn signal and dash light problems
The turn signal switch itself sounds like it's trashed, but Montana Highboy
is correct. Grounds will cause tremendous problems. Good luck!!
is correct. Grounds will cause tremendous problems. Good luck!!
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I had a similar problem as far as dash lights my turn signals were fine though. I know it's not as common but my problem was the printed circuit on the back of cluster. Found that problem while replacing the bulbs, they would flicker as I touched a curtain part of the printed circuit while I was reaching for the bulbs. Just a thought.
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