'69 Bee - hazard lights not working

[MikeyM]

Hi all,

My hazard lights are not working. All turn signals work but I have LED 1157s in the rear for flashers and tail lights. I did install new electronic turn signal and hazard relays but am not sure what the issue is. Does the 4 pin connector that plugs into the hazard switch go a certain way? I've tried it one way, then flipped it over but nothing. I noticed it has the little bump on one side of the plug but I'm not sure which way that faces. I suppose I could have a bad switch - Could I simply jump connections in the plug to test it?

Thanks,
Mikey

 

[gkent]

Flip the wires on the hazard flasher. LEDs are "diodes" in which current only flows one way so they care about negative and positive - whereas standard bulbs don't give a **** about polarity.

FWIW, I also have LED taillights ... I tried THREE different "LED" flashers and none of them worked at all ... but my 56-year old originals work like a charm with the correct polarity.

 

[RR Fan Dan]

You need to get reverse polarity flashers and replace both turn signal and 4 way and mess around with the polarity until everything works. That’s what I had to do when I installed LEDs all the way around the car.

United Pacific 90649 LED Flasher w/Reverse Polarity Base & Extension Wires, 12-Volt, 20 Amp – ONE Unit w/Base & Extension Wires Amazon.com: United Pacific 90649 LED Flasher w/Reverse Polarity Base & Extension Wires, 12-Volt, 20 Amp – ONE Unit w/Base & Extension Wires : Automotive

 

[gkent]

Reverse polarity flashers ?!?!? Ridiculous ! Just pop the wires out of the connectors under the dash and reverse them !!!

 

[MikeyM]

Thanks guys,

On that note, which way does the plug go to the switch? There's that little nubby on one side of the plug but no 'receiver' for that nubby on the switch so I can't tell which way it's supposed to be oriented.

Thanks again,
Mikey

 

[gkent]

Maybe this will help ...

And maybe not ! Doesn't show the orientation of the connector!

Getting the switces out from behind is a real bitch !!

 

[dadsbee]

Plug can only go one way!

Bee is on the lift, but let me see if I can get a picture of the signal light / park light wires.

 

[dadsbee]

Black/Yellow stripe harness goes to black wire on light. Black/ green to driver White and Black/white to passenger White.

 

[devinism]

A friendly heads up.... That is the headlight switch wiring

Plug can only go one way!
View attachment 1999219

Bee is on the lift, but let me see if I can get a picture of the signal light / park light wires.

 

[devinism]

As for the flasher switch.... 90% of them I get in are inop.

From the back of the switch (terminals on the bottom) the lower right terminal is the power in one. With the knob flipped on you should have continuity to all 4 terminals.

 

[dadsbee]

A friendly heads up.... That is the headlight switch wiring

Yep... guess my brain was stuck on the guy complaining about having no park lights...

 

[MikeyM]

Thanks all, much appreciated. I'm sorry but I forgot to mention I have the Rallye dash so my hazard light plug is rectangular with 4 pins. Will see which one is the power supply.

Devinism, I'll give that a shot, thanks.

Mikey

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Both standard and rallyes uses the same plug, the switch difference is mainly on the design of the knob to match the cluster design.

Plug shouldn’t be reversed since gets 1 input and three outputs.

As far I recall should get the 4 wire colors arriving should be:

-RED coming from flasher
-white spliced into the brake pedal circuit to be spreaded to both sides at turning switch
-tan and light green to the front turning circuits (one to each side)

——-


Flasher polarity? Insane. The flasher (and all the circuit) just drives positive. One is input the other is output. Those requiring ground (electronic ones) gets a pigtail appart from the plug to get it grounded. This is to get it working, not to send any - signal to the circuit.

If any polarity change is required should be at bulb… which in this case is not, since as mentioned, turnings (and I guess parkings too) are working. There is no reason to get turnings and not hazzards ‘cause the polarity

(In fact 99% of the car handles just 1 pole through the circuits, maybe 80% of that being positive and the rest negative/ground… just a few require both wires included into the circuits either to to close circuit to ground or positive… dome light, dual field alts, ign at pickup coil… )


————

To begin with the test, check for power arriving at the plug RED wire (with flasher connected)

If not, check for power at flasher pink wire…

If not, problem is coming from fuse box…

If yes, jump out the flasher wires… that should get you power at RED wire arriving to hazzard switch.

If yes… flasher is bad.

With jumper at flasher plug, when you connect the hazzard switch plug and set it to ON, all 4 corners should steady light on (no blinking since flasher is bypassed). That will test the hazzard switch itself being good.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

From the back of the switch (terminals on the bottom) the lower right terminal is the power in one. With the knob flipped on you should have continuity to all 4 terminals.

Yes but no…

All outputs should get continuity with input, but not all outputs between them. White wire prong won’t get continuity with tan and light green. If was like that, your will turn on front turnings when giving brakes. So front and rear circuits are divorced between them into the switch

 

[RR Fan Dan]

Reverse polarity flashers ?!?!? Ridiculous ! Just pop the wires out of the connectors under the dash and reverse them !!!

For those that want plug and play the base is reversible so you don’t have to keep moving wires around to figure out which polarity combinations you need to make it work. Just unplug the flasher from the base and rotate it and plug it back into the base. Why mess around with the wiring if you don’t have to?

 

[RR Fan Dan]

Both standard and rallyes uses the same plug, the switch difference is mainly on the design of the knob to match the cluster design.

Plug shouldn’t be reversed since gets 1 input and three outputs.

As far I recall should get the 4 wire colors arriving should be:

-Black coming from flasher
-white spliced into the brake pedal circuit to be spreaded to both sides at turning switch
-tan and light green to the front turning circuits (one to each side)

——-


Flasher polarity? Insane. The flasher (and all the circuit) just drives positive. One is input the other is output. Those requiring ground (electronic ones) gets a pigtail appart from the plug to get it grounded. This is to get it working, not to send any - signal to the circuit.

If any polarity change is required should be at bulb… which in this case is not, since as mentioned, turnings (and I guess parkings too) are working. There is no reason to get turnings and not hazzards ‘cause the polarity

(In fact 99% of the car handles just 1 pole through the circuits, maybe 80% of that being positive and the rest negative/ground… just a few require both wires included into the circuits either to to close circuit to ground or positive… dome light, dual field alts, ign at pickup coil… )


————

To begin with the test, check for power arriving at the plug black wire (with flasher connected)

If not, check for power at flasher pink wire…

If not, problem is coming from fuse box…

If yes, jump out the flasher wires… that should get you power at black wire arriving to hazzard switch.

If yes… flasher is bad.

With jumper at flasher plug, when you connect the hazzard switch plug and set it to ON, all 4 corners should steady light on (no blinking since flasher is bypassed). That will test the hazzard switch itself being good.

Polarity matters with LEDs. He has LEDs installed.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Polarity matters with LEDs. He has LEDs installed.

Sure, but at bulbs, not at flasher.

Just bulbs must be reversed if is the case. And just on those where is posible (i.e. dome light, wedge kind bulbs). Rest of bulbs get keys to not be reversed.

1157 bulb gets key just to get the correct signal at the correct wattage section of the bulb, but not for polarity.

1156 bulb can’t be reversed on polarity same as 57, or some others similar bayonet single terminal kind

If some polarity fail, could be the wiring arriving to socket after some fix or socket replacement. And that’s on those with plastic housing, not the ones grounded by chassis.

Flasher just gets input from fusebox and output to the bulb (throught the TS or Hazzard Switch) of the same signal.

 

[RR Fan Dan]

Sure, but at bulbs, not at flasher

Flasher just gets input from fusebox and output to the bulb (throught the TS or HS) of the same signal.

Reverse polarity on the flashers solved my LED problems, not at the bulbs. If you reverse polarity at the flashers it reverses polarity to the bulbs. Pretty sure that’s how it works.

 

[Nacho-RT74]

Reverse polarity on the flashers solved my LED problems, not at the bulbs. If you reverse polarity at the flashers it reverses polarity to the bulbs. Pretty sure that’s how it works.

I edited my previous reply adding more info.

Trust me, you didn’t reversed polarity but input and output.

On analog flashers working by load heating a bimetallic there is a posibility the input and output could work in either ways. I guess not on electronic units thought

 

[MikeyM]

Thanks for the replies, all. Every time I have questions about these old cars, you guys help me out and it's very much appreciated.

I did a little test and swapped my turn signal relay with the hazard relay and now the hazard will flash (yay!) with key off but the blinkers don't work, now (booo!). So it seems I may have an incompatible hazard relay?

If so, is it as simple as buying the same kind of flasher that works for the turn signals?

Thanks,
Mikey