(Resolved)Both Front turn signals inoperable

[xenuex]

Hey yall. I recently obtained a 1991 Pathfinder and I'm having a particularly frustrating issue.

The issue: front turn signals don't work. They don't light up at all.
 

• My rear turn signals work
• Hazards in the rear work.

 

Here is what I have looked at:

• Checked fuses
• Checked relay
• Replaced bulbs

 

I still need to trace the wiring going back to the firewall this weekend. Make sure they didn't short out somewhere....including the ground.( a buddy welded up a hole in the exhaust.. gotta make sure a molten medal smark didn't short something)

If anyone has any other suggestions or knows anything that could potentially be an issue.

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by xenuex

[Slartibartfast]

Grab a voltmeter and check for power at the sockets. If there's none, check for power from the sockets to body ground (or battery negative). Then check from battery positive to socket ground. 

 

Both being out at once sounds like a ground-side fault to me. Looks like all four turn signals ground to the same place for some reason, so that suggests it's not the ground point that's gone, but the wire in between. Hopefully a visual inspection of the harness leads you to the problem.

 

If everything checks out electrically, try wiggling the bulbs. The sockets on mine were all corroded/dirty and the bulbs would randomly stop working. I had a knot of scrap wire jammed into one of the sockets to hold the bulb in place for a while, until I got around to replacing both housings. 

[xenuex]

Thanks for the advice. I definitely trace the cabling and see if I can spot anything. 

 

Without knowing how the cablings ran. A part of me wonders if when we welded a hole in the exhaust (near the manifold) a molten spark might have hit something to cause this.

Edited October 25, 2022 by xenuex

[Slartibartfast]

Welding BBs can mess stuff up, but I would be surprised if one managed to sever a wire. It might mess up the insulation, which could theoretically allow it to short to another circuit, but I would expect that to blow a fuse on the other circuit rather than take out the ground. Wouldn't hurt to check the work area for obvious burn marks, though.

[xenuex]

Got this resolved. One of the bulb housings were corroded. Took out the bulb cleaned the contacts the best I could. Now they are operable. 

 

I only cleaned the driver side housing and it fixed both.