[T3] Turn signal help after Bentley test

[Mike Fisher]

You can use a punch or needle-nosed pliers to get the bezel to turn a
little.  Wiggle the back & front to get it to turn by hand.


On Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 9:13 AM, Jacob Adam Schroeder <
jacob.schroeder at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'll also add the following:
> When I pull out the emergency flasher switch, all 4 blinkers work as they
> should and are at the proper (bright!) brightness level.  This is true
> whether the headlights are turned on or off.
>
> Based on this, I think I need to find out what pathway is different between
> emergency flash mode (in which all 4 blinkers work as they should whether
> headlights are on or off), connecting +49 of the relay to terminal 30 of
> the fuse box (in which all 4 blinkers work as they should whether
> headlights are on or off), and the normal turn signal pathway (in which the
> L side fast blinks all the time, and R side fast blinks when headlights are
> on).
>
> One hypothesis is that the emergency switch is bad or the wiring is messed
> up there.
>
>
> The fast blink indicates that the circuit is not drawing the expected
> > amount of current. Usually this means a burned out bulb. The
> > headlight affecting this indicates that the ground for those lights
> > is not good. The ground goes to a screw under the cardboard at the
> > front corner of the trunk, next to the front corner of the gas tank.
> > Loosen that screw, clean it a bit, put some grease on it to slow down
> > future corrosion, and retighten. While you're at it, do this on both
> > sides.
> >
> >
> I looked at the grounds in the trunk and they look pretty crummy.  In fact,
> I had difficulty loosening either screw.  I will put some penetrating oil
> on those to see if I can loosen them without stripping the heads.  But, if
> my 4-way emergency blinkers work and the turn signals work when +49 is
> connected to 30, wouldn't that indicate that there is no ground problem?
>
> One other reason which makes me think I may have a ground/wiring issue is
> that the needle on the fuel gauge "wiggles" slightly when the turn signals
> are acting up.  This, of course, does not happen when using the emergency
> flashers or when +49 is connected to 30.
>
>
>
> > > I performed the test in Bentley (with key off, connecting +49 terminal
> of
> > > emergency flasher to terminal 30 of fuse box and test turn signals) and
> > > both left and right work perfectly, at the correct speed, regardless of
> > > whether my headlights are on or off.  According to Bentley, this means
> my
> > > switch and relay are OK.
> >
> > I wasn't familiar with this test, but notice that the next sentence
> > in the bentley says to check the switch if the TSs still do not work.
> >
> >
> Indeed, the issue I have is that, when performing this test, everything
> works great.  According to Bentley, this means my flasher and relay are
> good.  Do the switches ever go bad?
>
>
>
> > The test I generally do is to check operation with the 4 way flasher.
> > If all the bulbs light equally bright (test at night is best) then
> > the bulbs, wiring and relay are okay. That just leaves the TS switch
> > as the possible problem. If the headlights affect the test, the front
> > grounds are the problem.
> >
> > If you do my test at night, I think you'll find that the RF TS bulb
> > is dim, or maybe it just goes out completely when you turn the
> > headlights on (or the R headlight flickers in time with the TS relay,
> > and the RF TS bulb flashes out of phase with the RR bulb.)
> >
> > What's happening is that the headlight filaments are acting as a
> > ground pathway for the RF TS bulb, when the headlights are off. But
> > when you turn the headlights on, that path no longer leads to ground.
> >
> >
> I'll give this test a shot later tonight and check.  I did not note any
> dimming of the RF TS bulb, but I wasn't paying that close of attention to
> it either.  I'll report if I find anything.
>
>
> > What is left?  Presumably it is wiring, but what am I bypassing by
> directly
> > connecting +49 of the relay to terminal 30 of the fuse box?  Why can't
> this
> > be a permanent fix?
>
> The + terminal normally gets power from the 4 way flasher switch,
> > from different sources depending on that switch position. The allows
> > that circuit to be off when the key is off, unless you pull out the 4
> > way flasher switch. Bypassing this permanently could lead to a
> > "surprise" at some future point when you're troubleshooting and not
> > expecting that circuit to be hot. It could also lead to a dead
> > battery if something when wrong with that circuit when the car was
> > parked.
> >
> >
> Your "surprise" point is well taken.  I was, in fact, surprised when I
> connected +49 of the relay to terminal 30 on the fuse box.  When I
> connected these, I heard the fuel pump relays click, which is not at all
> what I was expecting and, from looking at the wiring diagram, I cannot see
> why that happened.  Any ideas?
>
> After I clean up the grounds, I'm starting to think I need to pull my
> emergency switch and check all the connections.  I am fairly certain that
> the PO installed a new wiring harness (unless VW used universal harnesses)
> because my wiring harness contains wiring for an AT car, even though mine
> is a MT.  I also vaguely recall hearing about an engine fire, which may
> have necessitated a new harness.
>
> I do not have the tool to pull the switches, is there a home-made solution
> I can use to perform this task?
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