Rear indicator issue

[nelcebee]

Hi all, I have an 07 D40, Nissan factory bar. Yesterday the right rear indicator did the quick flash thing in the cab, telling me I had blown a globe. Got a replacement today, same issue. I have found all three fuse modules and have no blown fuses. I can't find one specifically for the indicators, is there such a beast, or is it part of a another module. I am off tomorrow for an outback trip and won't have time to get it looked at till I get to Broken Hill. Any suggestions? I tried swapping the left rear light module to the right to troubleshoot but same result. Cheers.

 

[Old.Tony]

Did you change a globe in the factory bar recently? Did you check the indicators in the bar? You can't put LED indicator globes in unless they also have the dummy load (which defeats the purpose).

If the left indicator is flashing at the correct rate then it MUST be a globe issue. Check that the globe mounts don't have any corrosion in them.

 

[nelcebee]

Hi, thanks for replying. The left indicators are working fine. The right rear does not, the front right flashes at double time, telling me a bulb is blown. I changed the bulb in the rear, no change. I took the left rear light module off and plugged it into the right rear loom. Same thing, so it is not a bulb or a module. There doesn't appear to be any fuses blown, not that I can find one specific to indicators. The trailer plug got wet a week ago when I launched my boat, maybe there is a short, it also has electric trailer brakes to complicate things. I have little experience with electrics on cars, so it is all a bit of a mystery. I did put an led light bar on last week, plugged it into the existing spotty connector on the roo bar. Previously it had 2 x 100 watt Marchals on it. This light bar is 126 watt, connected to one of the spotty leads. Perhaps the wattage is too high...like I said...electricity novice. I will have to chance it and wait to I get to the Hill, then I can take it to a leccy.

 

[bods]

It sounds like the positive or negstive from that side light has either come loose, or possibly broken inside the loom somewhere. To plug the other side light in and have the same issue points to a fault in the car wiring. Nothing you have mentioned, except possibly wiring under the tub getting wet (quite possibly the earth from that side, but then I would expect to have non working brake/tail and reverse on that side too) would cause that. If the positive was shorting out, I would expect none of the indicators on that side to be working... if you're not sure what you're looking for then it is best left to someone who does. Good luck getting it sorted.

 

[Old.Tony]

Just to confirm - are ALL of the indicator lights on the right hand side (front and rear, including bar and mirror) working the same as the lights on the left, but at twice the flash rate?

 

[nelcebee]

Hi again, all of the right indicators work except the right rear, but flash quickly. The stop and tail light on the right rear work also normally. Relay or something in engine bay?

 

[Old.Tony]

If the right rear bulb isn't working but the bulb itself is fine, take out the bulb and check that the inner contact is getting power when the indicators are on (use a multimeter, should get batt voltage) and check that the earth is actually connected to batt negative (zero resistance between the casing of the bulb socket and the chassis, or pin 3 of the trailer plug).

I've seen two things like that: first, the earth isnt viable and the light simply doesn't work, and second there's corrosion in and around any of the sockets that cause issues. In my own case (yes, was my rear left light set) one bulb was trying to use the earth of another bulb because of corrosion.

Now, there might not be any power to the positive pin of your socket. That is more likely going to be a connector that's dirty/faulty, or a damaged wire in the loom (snagged by a stick/rock - not really common).

 

[bods]

If the right rear bulb isn't working but the bulb itself is fine, take out the bulb and check that the inner contact is getting power when the indicators are on (use a multimeter, should get batt voltage) and check that the earth is actually connected to batt negative (zero resistance between the casing of the bulb socket and the chassis, or pin 3 of the trailer plug).

I've seen two things like that: first, the earth isnt viable and the light simply doesn't work, and second there's corrosion in and around any of the sockets that cause issues. In my own case (yes, was my rear left light set) one bulb was trying to use the earth of another bulb because of corrosion.

Now, there might not be any power to the positive pin of your socket. That is more likely going to be a connector that's dirty/faulty, or a damaged wire in the loom (snagged by a stick/rock - not really common).

From the sounds of it though he swapped the whole left tail light assembly over and still the same issue. So it is either a wet trailer plug causing a short on that side or a problem in the loom somewhere. There has to be a fuse, so I would have expected if there was a short none of them would work because the fuse should be blown... but maybe the d40s are set up differently...

 

[Old.Tony]

I've misunderstood that part then, and I was drawing on my personal experiences with tail lights that don't behave normally. So we're left with wiring loom - it's still worth checking power in the socket, but it does mean that the plugs connecting the module at the rear are probably fine. I'm pretty sure I only have the one fuse, and one flasher.

 

[bods]

Oh definitely, if it has 12v going to the socket, but the earth has either broken or become corroded and not getting proper contact, it will be a very easy fix...

 

[JPMC]

What style plugs do you guy's run over there Flat or Round?

Pin 3 is the earth (white) and pin 4 is the righthand indicator (green) and on a round plug they are normally beside each other so that could be where your short is.
But if you run a flat plug then pin 3 & 4 are nowhere near each other.

What happens when you turn the park lights on and try the indicator as they are beside each other in a flat plug?

 

[Old.Tony]

This page is a good reference for your trailer plugs. It's the standard I stick to. I have a 12-pin plug with the lower 7 pins wired as per the 7 pin plug. My upper 5 pins are non-standard as I have a breakaway braking system with a signal return through that plug. I use a 7-pin-flat to 7-pin-round adapter for those trailers and for one friend, rewired his trailer and his two cars back to standard since his was all dicky.

 

[nelcebee]

Ok, finally had time to respond, electrician had a look yesterday morning and the trailer plug was the issue. He disconnected it and the problem went away. I don't need it for the time being so when we get back to town I will get it fixed. Thanks for everyone's help, it is appreciated.

 

[bods]

Good to see they found the problem. If you are lucky it could just be water inside the plug causing the problem...