I am waiting on some parts to be delivered. I needed to tackle an electrical gremlin. Yes, I know Lucas has come to visit.
In this case, the indicator ( "turn signal," or "blinker" as you see fit ) is not working. This usually indicates a bad bulb or a bad ground. Again, duh!
When the headlights are on, the front right running light is very dim as well. This screams a poor ground. Always fix the grounds before anything else. Checked the harness in the engine bay, the black plug is for the indicators. There are three different 3-wire plugs, so they colour-coded them. okay.
Step one: What do I have
I figured I needed to pull the indicator housing and the harness out for a good look. This was easy, too easy. I would have expected the harness to be tied to something, not just dangling. Deal with that later. On the bench, this is what I have
The chrome reflector was peeling off.
And very dirty
Electrical tape on a harness, especially when it is falling off, concerns me. It has been there a while, and electric tape is not the best for environments like inside the front bumper.
The connector itself.... well....
A lovely shade of green. At least the connector housing is not broken.
Step Two: Clean up
Cutting the butt connectors off the harness. Everyone into the pool! The sonic pool. The intent was to get the dirt and grime off. And it worked.
Yes one of the mounting screws broke off. More later on that
But being in the sonic cleaner shows how the chrome is no longer viable. Removed all the wires, etc, and off to the media blaster with the main body
After the blaster and another quick round in the sonic cleaner, I was left with this. A very clean pot-metal indicator housing.
I did find the bad ground, it was the ground! Somewhere in the past, someone had taken a bullet end, pushed the wire through the end hole, and simply folded it and pushed it back in the frame. Might have been 'ok' when done, but over the years, it had loosened. Solution: clean up the connector and replace the wire with a new one, and solder it in place.
The wire inside was soldered, and the connector and wire were coated in flux to make a clean connection. This is not coming loose anytime soon.
The main indicator wire didn't have heat shrink tubing on it, so it got an upgrade. I am of the strong opinion that only dual-wall heat shrink should be used. Two reasons: the glue makes a watertight seal, and it replaces the strength ( increases it in some cases ) of the original insulation.
Step Three: Rebuild
I have used chrome paint on indicators in the past and got decent results. This time I used shiny aluminium tape. Yes, the stuff used for sealing ductwork. The only caveat in using it is that the surface must be absolutely clean. Parts cleaner a couple of times.
Then make sections, line the housing with the silver tape
Using a cloth to rub it in and minimize the creases. Also, in this shot, the indicator side of the plugs and harness is back in.
Now to test to see if it works at this stage. If it doesn't, there's no need to continue. Using the 12V power supply
That was crazy bright. The picture doesn't do it justice. Okay, try with the lens
Liking the results.
Step Four: The Harness
After cutting the butt connector off, the connector end of the harness was given a sonic clean to get rid of all the dirt and grime, etc. THEN!!! It went to the media blaster. WHY????? The connector got a blast of glass media at 15psi, and it did the following
- Cleaned the overspray paint off the connector
- Cleaned the pins in the connector
Step Five: Reconnection
I still have three wires to merge together again. My requirements are waterproof and electrically clean.
In the past 5-8 years, the "Solder Seal Wire Connectors" have become all the rage. While they are convenient, I have two issues with them
- You need to make sure the wires are absolutely clean. Like all solder joints, dirty wire will not work.
- The casing is thin and does heat shrink in place to provide what appears to be a water-tight seal. Most times, it gets too hot with the heat gun because you are trying to melt the solder and can melt holes. It happens no matter how careful you try to be.
How dare I use them? Well, they provide a decent electrical/mechanical joint. Easier than needing three hands to hold the wire and solder. BUT, then I reinforce and ensure the watertight connection by surrounding it with dual-wall heat-shrink tubing
First the connector
Then the heat-shrink. Once you see the glue pushed out the end. Good to go.
Still need to make a neoprene gasket between the housing and the lens, and put in a replacement mounting screw. The old one needed to be wiggled out.
Step Six: Conclusion
Attached it to the car, not reinstalled, and it was bright. Will do the other side to match. But it didn't solve my indicator problem......
Wrap-Up
Today’s work: rebuilt and tested the indicator lights, step by step.
Key takeaway: even the smallest connection points (like ground wires) can cause big headaches if overlooked.
Next steps: moving on to the dash switches to make sure everything ties together.
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