After a trail run last week, my left turn signal was flashing quickly as it would if a bulb was burned out. I checked the front and rear lights, and both were working (just too quickly). I thought maybe a bulb was partially burned-out enough that the resistance level made the truck think it was totally burned-out; so I replaced both turn signal bulbs. No change. Fuses all look fine. Nothing was changed about the truck before and after the problem started; just random onset.

I noticed today that, with the left turn signal on, the radio display flashes at the same quick pace as the turn signal lights. Its got me kind of worried because I had this problem once before and it fried my radio before I could hunt the problem down. That time a heavily-corroded front turn signal assembly ended up being the cause. I checked that for this time but it looks great. My original plan was to just get used to the light; but now that the radio is involved I'm actually willing to devote some time to tracking this down <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> I do not have trailer wiring. I'm going to continue brainstorming... but I figured it can't hurt to get more brains involved... especially if my brain is the primary <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />


Searching didn't come up with any direct matches to my problem:

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Not much help here, I know, but you deserve at least one reply, so here goes:

It sounds like a bad ground somewhere, or a problem with the TS switch itself. *just yesterday, I replaced the TS switch in wifey's Monte Carlo for similar symptoms...*

Wish I had more for ya, but maybe a "bump" will net some help!

Have you checked the flasher unit itself?

If everything is flashing quickly, might be a problem there. IIRC, most are thermally based and the internal element may have weakened over time. Any weird pops or clicks on the radio while this is happening (particularly in time with the signals)? Might be RFI being generated by the flasher.

Good Luck!

Jay

It is only the left turn signal that flashes quickly and affects the radio; the right turn signal is normal. Also, turning on the emergency flashers causes the left side to act normally and does not influence the radio in any way. No audible problems, just the screen on the radio flashing in time with the left turn signal. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Fixed! Ended up being the front turn signal assembly again. No corrosion; but the black wire (ground) was broken. I don't have a soldering iron here, so I just stripped back the insulation and crimped the two ends together. I may solder it correctly next time I'm at my parents' house. Knowing me, though, as long as the 'temporary' fix works it will probably become rather permanent. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> I still don't completely understand why this problem seems to always affect the radio display and yet leaves all of the other dash and interior lights untouched <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

For peace of mind, add a chassis ground to your radio. Some ground through the antenna, which effectively grounds through the fenders.

Randii

Does the display on your radio "dim" when you turn on the running lights ? If so, and if the turn signal bulb is a dual filament, then when the ground was gone, the turn signal circuit was "back feeding" the running light circuit through the other filament in the bulb. I bet if you looked at the truck in the dark dark dark, you would see all the running lights faintly pulsing. The radio was sensing the "running lights" going on and off. I think...

They have ground kits available that make your grounds much better , and are supposed to make your electrical system and battery last longer.I just bought one , it has 5 ground wires , and a voltage regulator that goes on it to prevent spikes.It wasn't very expensive , only 20 bucks.It should be here early next week, so I'll be able to give a report on how well it works. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

The radio has a chassis ground already. When I turn the driving lights on, the background of the display dims very slightly and the buttons light up; but the numbers/letters on the display stay the same. When I was having the problem, it was the numbers/letters and display background that were flashing; and at a much higher contrast than that found by turning on the driving lights... so the symptoms are inconsitant with what occurs when I turn on the driving lights. Not to say that your guess couldn't still be the answer, though. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> I do know that its fixed now; so I'm happy <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />