No Blinker Or Brake Light

I have a 1976 cj-5. For some reason the driver side blinker (front and rear), brake light and flasher has quit working. The passenger side all works fine including flasher. I changed bulbs front and rear. I checked both flasher relays at the fuse box. I pulled the flat plug from under the steering wheel and checked for broken wires. A test light shows a blink on the right flat plug wire. The test light shows only a 12 volt light on when the left blinker is on, no blink Any suggestions? The brake light only works on the passenger side as do all the lights.

 

Bad connection somewhere. I had the same issue, I ran a test wire from the turn signal switch to the rear tail light. When it worked I just ran it parallel taped to the harness and I will rewire it when the body comes off for restoration and paint.

 

Clean the bulb tips and body, also the socket and contact points, ensure they spring freely. Be sure the unit is well grounded.

 

Most of the time the single test light will not put enough load on the flasher to make it blink. Your test light lighting up on left blink shows good circuit. Your problem is further down the line.

 

Bad ground.

 

Bad ground. That may be why the test light burns steady but dim under the steering wheel when the driver side blinker is put on. The passenger blinker wire under the steering wheel blinks bright. Where might this ground be? Why wouldn't my brake light on the drivers side work if all the bulbs are good? My Drivers side front bulb seems not to have much spring against the bulb but the running light works not he blinker or flasher. Thanks for all the reply's.

 

Bulb and socket, as said above, or from the entire tailight unit to the body.

 

Allow me to answer this in a little more detail ... the base of the bulb contacts the socket for ground. The path from there goes from the bulb housing to the taillight housing to the body. The body should have a ground strap somewhere that connects the chassis to the body, and from there back to the battery. Clean the bulb and socket, and measure continuity between the socket back to the battery.

 

Oh ... since this is a 1976, it will have a GM steering column. The turn signal switch in the GM column often causes problems with the brake lights and indicators. If your check of the grounds does not lead to a fault, I would next look at the turn signal switch, and the bulkhead connector between the dash and body.

 

Thanks for all of the response. It is only the left driver blinker front and rear, hazard and brake light. All park lights and headlights work as well as right blinker, hazard and brake light.

 

12V test light and test wires coming out of switch . I am with tim , switch could be bad

 

When you turn on your park lights does the left tail light come on?

 

yes, all front , rear and side lights come on when light switch is pulled 1/2 out. When headlight switch is pulled all the way out, all lights are on. Just drivers side blinker, Hazard and brake light does not work. Passenger everything including brake light works. Thanks guys.

 

What switch do you think may be bad? The blinker assembly switch under the center horn button on the steering wheel ?

 

this is the most in depth GM column write up I have seen.
ECJ5
Typically when I have a issue such as yours its a bad ground, meaning the connections to the frame are corroded or loose. The first thing I do is just make sure all wires are in good condition. Connections should be strong with no corrosion or wire rot. I will reconnect all of them and make sure they are bright and shiny.

I was going to put a GM tilt column in my present jeep to replace the one I put in that was not in good condition. I made sure everything worked my using an ohm meter to test it all on the bench.
Custom Wiring Diagram
Some (most) aftermarket columns use the same colors and connections as the GM stuff. Hotrodders do this kind of work all the time. If you search other forums you may find the same problem that has been solved.

Personally, I would go with simplest first, then get into the column switches. A cheap multimeter will be of more help than a test light. It only takes a minute to figure out how to use it for the basics of the 12V system. Good luck.

 

Yes could be in the turn signal switch in the column. Check the wires from the flat plug on the column to the firewall. A little water in the plug can lead to crappy connections

 

Well I have checked every wire that I could find and still no Drivers side turn signal, Hazard or brake light. I just removed the entire steering column and pulled the old blinker switch. I tried to pull the switch but that damn plastic wire cover would not let it pull thru. I hope to God that is the problem. The old switch was really dirty and did not look too good. I guess for 40 years old, not so bad.

 

On his jeep the tail and stop/turn use the same ground and he said the tail light part works so I figure the ground is good.