Turn signal randomly flashes on wrong filament
This one has got me stumped. I randomly have an issue where one of the front turn signals will actually flash on the running light filament, and not the filament for the flasher. Because the running light filament burns dimmer and has less resistance, I get hyper flash about 5 flashes into using the turn signals. Thing is, it's totally random. One moment it will do this, the next it will flash on the correct filament. Bulbs are all new and the issue persists when swapping bulbs around. Any thoughts?
Posted Apr 12, 2019, 11:20 AM UTC
16
Running light and turn signal wires touching somewhere. Check the connector first. Make sure there's no melting that has occurred or bare wire. Then check wires from source to back to fuse box and power. If there's rubbing on the wire coating anywhere, remove and replace. Most often I've found the wiring harness under the tank is the culprit.
So that's what I thought, but correct me if I am wrong here. When this issue occurs, wouldn't the filament just vary in brightness instead of actually flashing? Wouldn't the power from the running lights line keep the filament lit the whole time and the additional power from the flasher just change the brightness?
Depends on the model year and what bulb being used as different filaments take on different loads. Had a similar instance of what you stated. I was going to replace all my lights with LEDs so I just went that route anyway. Found where my harness was rubbed under the tank. Removed and replaced that section of wiring which likely would have fixed my initial problem with OEM bulbs.
Hmm, I'll retrace the wires again but didn't notice anything abnormal before. Just throws me off that it swaps what filament it blinks on.