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Topic: indicators have just stopped working

prbrown

20/8/2018 at 2:29pm
Location: None Entered
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weird one - electrics on van and car been working fine last few weeks(and years before)
i've just hooked up van and lo and behold no indicators - all other electrics working fine (7 pin 12n).
Voltmeter showing a switching 3 to 4 odd volts when indicators are on (assume it should go from 0 ish to 13 odd volts) so problem looks to be with car?
Bulbs are all fine on van, checked.
No obvious wires out on plug or further up wires before disapear into car.
another weird bit - when the car lights are on and indicators are on, the car dashboard is giving no indication that indicators are not worjing ie double speed flash - when no car lights (off) its showing one of the indicators are not working and one working ( but both are not working! )
any tips before i spend a small fortune with the towbar man?
ive not heard of this before but could the bus/relay be faulty ? need replacing ?
thanks
paul

tango55

20/8/2018 at 3:31pm
Location: Lichfield
Outfit: Coachman Amara 450

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The bulb filaments may be in tact but quite often the body that fits into the holder get contaminated with damp and minor surface corrosion which eventually causes the malfunction. It's an easy fix as all you have to do is remove each bulb (one at a time) and polish the body up with some Brasso and any other contacts with the bulbs. The metal will then shine giving a perfect contact but whilst the light cluster is removed it also advisable to give the earth terminals a spray with WD40 as well.
It happened to me once without any problems for several years but did the above and all worked fine after that.

prbrown

20/8/2018 at 4:56pm
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thanks - ive cleaned all the connections and tested both the bulbs - they are fine - same issue is also happening with a trailer board i borrowed - suggesting the strange voltage reading coming from the 7 pin car socket is the issue - somewhere in there - i was thinking maybe its the cambus or relay fitted somewhere in there?

The 2 Tops

20/8/2018 at 6:19pm
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Outfit: Swift Challenger Sport 524 VW Carave

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With van disconnected, switch on ignition and set hazards flashing. Using a 12-volt D.C. voltmeter, test the contacts at the 12N socket.
Pin 3 is at 4 o'clock - that's the earth (negative pin).
Pin 1 at 12 o'clock is L/H indicator +ve.
Pin 4 at 6 o'clock is R/H indicator +ve.
If you get good readings when testing between 3 and 1, and also between 3 and 4, then the problem is between the caravan 12N plug and the caravan.
It can also be poor connection between 12N plug and socket - prise pins open slightly with a small screwdriver to get a tighter fit between plug and socket.
You can also check the circuits individually by first switching on L/H indicator (pins 1 and 3) then R/H indicator (pins 3 and 4).

If you get no readings from either of the above tests, the problem lies in the car. Your comment about one light working and one not suggests a possible earth fault - the light not working getting a feed back from another part of the circuit.
The only real way to trace the fault is a progressive systematic check of the circuitry and, at the same time, making sure that bulb and cable connections are all sound.
Bertie.

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The 2 Tops

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