and I thought Lucas lighting was AWFUL!

[Masked Man]

Grrrrrrrrrrrr,

So, the left turn signal quit working a while back. When you flip the switch, you'll hear a buzz and of course no green arrow or corresponding exterior lights. I pulled the lower trim piece and the bottom side of the steering housing and figured it had to be the relay. Pelican got me one post haste and guess what? Not the problem. Trying to figure this out I guessed mebbe it was a blown bulb (not) or a funky ground. Apparently not because even with the ground wire detached, the right signal works fine and the left? Still nada. WTF? Could it be the switch itself? If so, why is the relay buzzing?

And don't get me started on my abortive attempt to pull the ignition! Bentley says, "...On 1982 through 1985 models, the ignition switch and switch harness can be removed from the back of the ignition lock by loosening a small screw..." yeah well, I removed that *#@%ing screw and would you believe it? The damn thing does not come out.

As I said to start this, Grrrrrrrrr

Phillip

[Brucey]

its worth trying to jumper the relay so that the left turn signal lights come on. Next, check that all the bulbs are drawing the correct amount, and that the total passing through the jumper is the same as that going through the bulbs.

It may be that you have a short somewhere, or only a tiny fraction of the bulbs powering up.

Normally if one bulb goes out, the flasher works at about double speed, so I don't think its just one bulb out.

good luck

cheers

[Masked Man]

Thanks Brucey! Hopefully, those instructions are not beyond my very limited electrical capability/s.

Keep the shiny side up

Phillip

[GWL]

Thanks Brucey! Hopefully, those instructions are not beyond my very limited electrical capability/s.

Keep the shiny side up

Phillip

Not to state the obvious, this happened to me and drove me crazy until I tried a Voltage check at the socket. It was good to the socket but not at the bulb contact point. Scraping the contact made it all well.

[Masked Man]

And would you believe? Some time ago, I was gifted a turn signal switch along with the wiper switch and I decided since I did have the switch and wasn't too sure about 'jumpering' to swap that out and see if maybe it was the problem and presto! working turn signals!!!

Oh and my fuel pump relay was the other issue. New relay, working 6er!!!Yeah Baby!!

Keep the shiny side up

Phillip

[Area 52]

It's nice to see your skills develop Phil!

This is a little offbeat but let it serve notice to others about an issue I had a few years back...

I'm not sure if this applies to the e24 euros but on the e23 euros, if the turnsignal arm is pushed up or down for turn signaling and then pushed forward to high beam while the ignition is off and then you turn the ignition on, the turn signals (front & rear) for the one side will remain on all the time and not blink even when the ignition is turned off.

While working on removing the driver seat my 83 745i, I bumped the turn signal stalk. After finishing my task, I turned the key on and saw the reflection of the front turn signal on the garage door. At first I thought it was a running light and then I figured out there is no running light on that turn signal-doh! I checked the turn signal stalk and found it pushed down to the left signal position. I moved it to the middle and both front and rear lights remained on. With the key on, I pushed the stalk over to the right side and both blinkers flashed perfectly yet the left side still stayed on. After writing a letter to the Pope to forgive me my sins and my sincere promise that I would scrub the Vatican urinals for a week if he could help me out, I got a phone call from a BMW guru friend who was aware of this quirky condition. After he asked if the stalk was in the high beam position and I found that it was...my response was...you gotta be kiddin' me! Also, are you aware the weather in Rome can be a bit balmy? Pax Domini Sic Semper...and happy bimmering!!!

[GWL]

It's nice to see your skills develop Phil!

This is a little offbeat but let it serve notice to others about an issue I had a few years back...

I'm not sure if this applies to the e24 euros but on the e23 euros, if the turnsignal arm is pushed up or down for turn signaling and then pushed forward to high beam while the ignition is off and then you turn the ignition on, the turn signals (front & rear) for the one side will remain on all the time and not blink even when the ignition is turned off.

While working on removing the driver seat my 83 745i, I bumped the turn signal stalk. After finishing my task, I turned the key on and saw the reflection of the front turn signal on the garage door. At first I thought it was a running light and then I figured out there is no running light on that turn signal-doh! I checked the turn signal stalk and found it pushed down to the left signal position. I moved it to the middle and both front and rear lights remained on. With the key on, I pushed the stalk over to the right side and both blinkers flashed perfectly yet the left side still stayed on. After writing a letter to the Pope to forgive me my sins and my sincere promise that I would scrub the Vatican urinals for a week if he could help me out, I got a phone call from a BMW guru friend who was aware of this quirky condition. After he asked if the stalk was in the high beam position and I found that it was...my response was...you gotta be kiddin' me! Also, are you aware the weather in Rome can be a bit balmy? Pax Domini Sic Semper...and happy bimmering!!!

Yeah, but that Euro stalk also has the neat little feature of turning on the parking lights on just one side of the car with the ignition off. It is used a lot in Europe on narrow streets.

[Area 52]

So that was a standard Euro feature?

[GWL]

So that was a standard Euro feature?

I "discovered" it on my 80 Euro when I accidentally hit the stalk in the left turn position one day as I exited the vehicle. Came back a day later and had a dead battery. After getting a jump (at night) I could plainly see that the left signals were steady on. European friends advised that it was a feature used in Europe to park on narrow street. Fortunately it was one Euro feature that I did not have to change when I federalized it back in 1981-82.

[MisterFixit]

So that was a standard Euro feature?

I "discovered" it on my 80 Euro when I accidentally hit the stalk in the left turn position one day as I exited the vehicle. Came back a day later and had a dead battery. After getting a jump (at night) I could plainly see that the left signals were steady on. European friends advised that it was a feature used in Europe to park on narrow street. Fortunately it was one Euro feature that I did not have to change when I federalized it back in 1981-82.

I had this feature as well on my very first bimmer, a 1972 2002 US, I think it was called 'Clearance Lights'. They explained it was for just what you said, e.g. parking 'in a hedge' on a narrow street to mark the outside edge of the car. It only worked when the key was off ('0' position). It was nice, unique, and I used it. You could get just the left or just the right parking lights, as needed for parking on the left or right side. I wish my E28 had it!

I discovered it by accident as well, then found it in the manual.

Andy, the tail light guy, in Colorado.