The left front blinker on my '95 Z28 stopped blinking when you select it. The blinker turns on just as if it was a flashlight, and the left arrow on the dash doesn't flash either, it just stays lit until you turn the blinker off. What gives?

Do I have a burnt out fuse? It seems to me (in my I-took-high-school-physics-brain) that the electricity isn't tripping the circuit breaker/capacitor/resister that turns the light off and then back on.

HELP!

 

You either have a burnt bulb (most likely problem) or you have a damaged wire/bad ground.

 

Yeah sounds like a burn't out bulb, turn it on and then check your front and rear lights.

 

Normally, it is a burned out bulb or turn filament.

 

The light works fine though.

Instead of blinking, it just plain turns on.

I'd hate to go through all the trouble of replacing the 13 year old bulb, just to have it be a fuse or something easier to access.

 

I got this same problem after I replaced the left bulb. Flashers work, bulb turns on, doesn't blink though.

 

ALL filaments must light for it to be able to blink (unless you have an electronic flasher). Compare the bulbs (front and rear) to the other side that works. I bet you find a burned out filament in one lamp. If not, replace the flasher.

 

Thanks for the info shoebox.

I've been looking at old topics on here and trying to diagnose the exact problem. Here's a run down of my specific problem...

right turn signal on:
everything functions normally

left turn signal on:
left front signal turns on, does not flash
dash arrow lights up, does not flash, does not click
left rear signal does not turn on at all

emergency flashers on:
everything functions normally, but left rear signal does not flash at all or light up

So you suspect it is a burnt out rear signal, and the fronts are fine?

 

Based on my reading, it is likely the left rear bulb that is having an issue. That external lens on the taillamp is cracked, and I washed the car recently. I likely have some condensation (at worst corrosion ) back there, so I need to get that sucker off and check it.

I told my sister to learn her hand signals for turning left, because I don't have time to do it until tomorrow afternoon!

 

I would try replacing both the front and the rear bulbs. I have also had to replace a few rear sockets. You can try that after you try new bulbs. Good luck.

 

Your left rear is the obvious problem. You wil wonder why this thread got so long for a burned out bulb.

 

Update: Still unresolved.

I spent several hours working on the car today...

I accessed the left taillamp, and removed it (after discovering I didn't have to unbolt the Bose subwoofer ). All of the bulbs were perfect, though the dielectric grease on the large bulbs was dry. I'm guessing this was dielectric grease because it was yellow. I'm not sure what color corrosion is... The backside of the three large bulb housings were disgustingly covered in dry black grease and grime. There was NO moisture inside the lamp at all, so there goes my "I washed the car the day before this crap stopped working" theory. Everything was dry.

I had my sister turn on the headlights, hit the brakes, put it in reverse, use the turn signals, and use the hazards. Blinkers and hazards didn't work on the left rear side of the car, despite every one of these bulbs lighting up in some combination of reverse, brakes, or headlights turned on.

My initial thought was "maybe the wiring went bad." But I decided to check the front turn signals.

It was my first time removing the airdam and the splash guards so it took me awhile. And by awhile, I mean a long freaking time, especially since I was trying to do it without jacking the car up (ended up having to). I had to remove the entire air dam, then I believe 7 bolts. The piece doesn't come off, it hangs from something I couldn't detach it from, but regardless, I gained access to the blinker lights. And after all that, I'm not sure the indicator light was burnt out, but I replaced it anyway with what the owner's manual suggested: 161. O'Reilly's said I was supposed to use 194, but I can only assume they are wrong. I checked the other bulb, the larger one... 2374 or something (O'Reilly's listing also contradicted the owners manual)... and it was still perfectly good as far as I could tell, and the dielectric grease was still greasy surprisingly! (Or could this have been wet corrosion? I still don't know what corrosion looks like, this was yellow and VERY gooey). That kind of weirded me out since I'm fairly certain that's a 13 year old bulb with 13 year old grease on it (we're the original owners). After replacing the 161 bulb, by switching the parking lights on, all four front blinker lights lit up, so good... at least that's working... but I don't know for certain if it wasn't in the first place.

I tried the blinker again, and no luck on the front left, it just turned it on solid. Tried the hazards and had success on the front left, it flashed. However, the left rear lamp never did crap when the blinker OR hazards were turned on. Never lit up or anything.

I checked the blinker fuse in the fusebox inside the door (#2) and it was fine. I checked the other one for exterior lights (IIRC) that is two rows above it, it was fine.

I removed the panel underneath the steering wheel, and listened to the clicking. The one on the right clicks only when the right signal is turned on, and the one on the left clicks only when the hazards are turned on. My Haynes manual says if the turn signal indicator is clicking, it's gotta be a bulb that is causing the problem...

*Note: as Shoebox and others are familiar, the '95s don't have daytime running lights, so there is no issue with that.

What do you think?! Do I need to try chipping the old dry yellow stuff off the large bulb sockets in the taillamp and putting the bulbs back in?

 

Second update: I read some older threads again and decided to give that taillamp a second look. I started cleaning some of the old yellow gunk off the bulbs and applying dielectric grease to them with a q-tip and putting them back in. When I went to the backup/reverse light, it was a little corroded, and stuck in there. It also didn't help that I was twisting it thinking it was like the other bulbs. The bulb glass separated from the metal when I removed it. This one just pulls straight out, unlike its friends.

I replaced the bulb, and the backup light worked again.

I went ahead and continued cleaning bulbs and decided to just replace the blinker ones since I bought them anyhow. And magically... it worked. So I guess the lesson is... just change the damn bulbs even if they don't look burnt out, and the whole system will probably start working again.

 

The yellow gooey stuff is "bulb grease". They sell it in little packets at the parts stores. It is to keep moisture out of the sockets. You probably had a marginal connection to the bulb in the socket or a filament that was hanging by a thread.

 

To be honest i don't think it has anything to do with how new the bulbs are or not. Mine are doing the same thing and i believe it's just grounded out somewhere but i need to figure out where it is. My blinkers will not blink at night time O_o they'll turn on but will not blink :P but if i hit a decent sized bump they will start blinking for a bit. so i just really think a wire is coming out or something. not 100% positive.