Hazard Lights not working - Is there a flasher ‘relay’?

[Tin Hat]

Hi All,

I have a 1987 Esprit Turbo which enjoyed having hazard lights until 10 days ago.

When I tried to turn them on, they had a bit of a shake down, rapid flashing, then slow flashing and then nothing. I felt that it might be the switch, but I have now replaced that with a brand new unit. For full disclosure, whilst doing this, the tiny bulb in the switch ( which lights up the red switch light when the hazards are flashing ) broke ( would this broken bulb put the hazards out of action?).

Thereafter, I replaced the 2 pin flasher unit under the dash, this has not improved things.

It is apparent that I have limited electrical fault finding skills, swapping things out seems to be the limit of my ability - is there a relay or something else that I could try next!?

many thanks,

 

Will

[Gjk]

In answer to your question yes there is a relay.

Have you lost the direction indication as well as hazards?

I don’t know if it could be down to a bad earth somewhere.

[Tin Hat]

Hi Gjk,

 

hazards all working perfectly!

[Gjk]

Hi @Tin Hat, is everything now working again? If so happy days. 😎

[Tin Hat]

Sorry, fat fingers, indicators all working perfectly

🤦🏻

I think that I removed my brain at lunchtime, the indicators are pumping away, hazards still non compliant

[Gjk]

Hi Will

i have less understanding of car electrics than you but, if you say the left and right indicators work but hazards don’t? I have no more avenues to explore! Hopefully a more knowledgeable person on this forum  will be able to help you with your problem. 

soz

gjk

[LotuStuart]

Get yourself a wiring diagram and follow the traces. 

The indicators and the hazards share some wiring/relay. It's a logic puzzle to find where the problem must be.

I'd guess a poor earth is the issue if the switch is working. You may want to test the switch too though-even the new one.

Multimeters are less than a tenner off ebay, and are a must-have for anything like this.

[Tin Hat]

Thanks Stuart, I will search out a wiring diagram and take it from there

[drdoom]

The hazard switch serves as a major connection point, involves the signal feeds as well. Did you remove the broken tiny lamp? From my experience recently working through the entire bloody loom of an S2 I would focus closely around the switch and its nearby connections. If your Turbo has been similarly wired the signal feeds pass through the flasher, then on through the haz switch before hitting the indicator switch for direction out to earth at the target lamps. So if the signals are truly functioning well then that rules out all aspects beyond the hazard switch.

Cheers

672967631_ESPRITS2S3WITHLUMENITION.tif

[Tin Hat]

4 hours ago, drdoom said:

The hazard switch serves as a major connection point, involves the signal feeds as well. Did you remove the broken tiny lamp? From my experience recently working through the entire bloody loom of an S2 I would focus closely around the switch and its nearby connections. If your Turbo has been similarly wired the signal feeds pass through the flasher, then on through the haz switch before hitting the indicator switch for direction out to earth at the target lamps. So if the signals are truly functioning well then that rules out all aspects beyond the hazard switch.

Cheers

672967631_ESPRITS2S3WITHLUMENITION.tif 1.07 MB · 0 downloads

Thanks Dr Doom, that is just the kind of instruction I need, I’ll swap out the broken switch bulb and extend the search from there

 

thanks all for your help, greatly appreciated!

[snowrx]

I don't know if the UK shares the US models switch, but if so those are noted for a little plastic rocker in the hazard switch that ages out and breaks. Not hard to disassemble with due care to old brittle plastic.  Also most of the switches have copper contacts prone to corrosion.

[drdoom]

3 minutes ago, snowrx said:

I don't know if the UK shares the US models switch, but if so those are noted for a little plastic rocker in the hazard switch that ages out and breaks. Not hard to disassemble with due care to old brittle plastic.  Also most of the switches have copper contacts prone to corrosion.

Been through all that the long way around, Thomas is correct these switches are very amenable to restoration. Bravo Lucas!

[JimmytheTurbo]

I have the same issue. Its lack of use for mine.

I try them for the MOT. I have to turn on and off a few times then they are all good to go for another year.

[snowrx]

If the rocker is bad, some forum sleuthing will turn up links to a printed replacement.

[Tin Hat]

So, the conclusion.

The switch collapse issue as can be found on the internet was not the problem. I have not seen the hazard switch that the American spec cars have, but my suspicion is that it may look the same, but actually be slightly different - I do not know, but the inards of my switch had not collapsed as can been seen on the various references to this fault when googling. These posts suggest that a Land Rover Discovery switch can be swapped out with the OEM Lotus switch, but I think that the LR version would not suit the connector plug ( I bought a LR switch but was too timid to try it )

The original switch was fine, the brand new replacement wasn't(!), but the actual problem was the tiny 1.2v lamp ( bulb ) in the hazard switch itself. 

All I can say is that I would have paid a small fortune to resolve the matter, it was a complete wind up, pretty much all I could think about.

Special thanks to Dr Doom who gave the game away - It appears that the hazard switch is like a hub in a Series 3 Esprit as well as his Series 2, at one point the windscreen wipers were literally blinking ( I kid you not ) across the glass, the ignition wasn't even on when that occurred. I have no idea how you can wire anything up to make that happen and then simply fix everything by popping in a new 1.2V bulb, but that is what I have just seen with my own eyes!

So, for anyone who is trawling the internet looking for a solution as to why your hazard lights on your 1987 series 3 Giugario Esprit Turbo( that mouthful is just for the google bots ) is not working, it could all be due to the tiny 1.2V lamp that flashes on the switch itself to tell you that the hazards are on ( or not as my case was ). It is not easy to find, but disconnect the switch from the loom connector and there it is, smaller than the tip on a marker pen, you can get ten for a fiver.

In conclusion, this car is drop dead gorgeous, draws admiring glances, whilst also liking a drink and managing to skip about like something half its age. It also stubborn, complicated, illogical  and frustrating - It's a marriage made in heaven