Indicators Flashing too Quick

[Jackie]

My indicators are flashing too quick in my r33. None of the globes are out and i was thinking mabey the guy who owned it before me might have put the wrong watt globes in. Could that be it?

Is 16w or over the right watts to use?

Thanks

Jackie

[KILL HSV]

my car does this sometimes too, can someone work this out so i don't have to?

[SECURITY]

  KILL HSV said:

my car does this sometimes too, can someone work this out so i don't have to?

LOL

mine does that too.. and even when my indicators arent on, it still does a really fast clicking sound, then when i turn my right one on, the clicker goes normal.

its really damn annoying

[SirSkyline]

put in a bulb that is more than 16w then you will see

[BH_SLO32]

  SECUR1TY said:

LOL

mine does that too.. and even when my indicators arent on, it still does a really fast clicking sound, then when i turn my right one on, the clicker goes normal.

its really damn annoying

SECUR1TY,

My sisters R33 had the same problem and after some searching I found it was due to a short occuring in the circuitry at the bottom of the indicator stalk (where it bolts into the side of the steering rack).

From memory it was due to wear of the sliding contacts. The short caused a small current draw causing the clicker to go mad. Pull it apart and you should be able to see where its shorting. If you leave it long enough it may start melting the surrounding plastic and then you'll see some lovely smoke start billowing out from the area!

Jackie,

You are on the right track. If you change the electrical load (resistance) in the indicator circuit you can change the flash rate. From memory increasing the resistance (smaller current draw) will result in faster flashing. I think you need a reasonable change in resistance to have any noticable affect on the flashing rate.

In any instance, I checked the bulbs in my R32 and they are 21W. Changing the bulbs from 16W to 21W will increase the current draw and may be enough to rectify the problem. Let us know how you go.

Hope this helps.

Ben

[Jackie]

thanks ben.

im going to pull the bulbs out tomorrow and check so i will let u know how i go with all of that.

[RTHRTY3]

  BH_SLO32 said:

From memory it was due to wear of the sliding contacts. The short caused a small current draw causing the clicker to go mad. Pull it apart and you should be able to see where its shorting. If you leave it long enough it may start melting the surrounding plastic and then you'll see some lovely smoke start billowing out from the area!

hey ben,

I know alot of people have this problem and after a while got used to it but i guess its damn bloody annoying and would love to fix it. Yea i've got to the stage where whisp of smoke came out of the steering column, freaks me out at first but now it don't do it as much including the ticking sound, but it still does it when it feels like it.

So my question is how do u replace the sliding contact and at wat cost :confused: , a step by step instruction would b great. You'd do us a whole lot of favour man.

Thanx in advance.

[BH_SLO32]

RTHRTY3,

Unfortunately my sister has sold the 33 and bought a stagea so I don't have the stalk to pull apart and document. I had to fix the problem on the side of the road after a cloud of smoke appeared one day when some 100km from home. The location of the short was obvious (darkened area and melted plastic). I can only vaguely recall the arrangement of the contacts. If I had a photo I could probably recall in detail what I did.

From memory the power feed is only separated from the indicator feed via a thin line of plastic. I suspect wear of the moving contact had left a conductive trail of carbon/copper across the plastic causing the short. I would have cleaned this up and probably flipped the moving contact 180 degrees. I had minimal tools and whatever I did seemed to have fixed the problem as I don't recall pulling the unit apart anytime thereafter.

If you were local I would offer to pull it apart and fix it for you and document at the same time. Over the years I have had to pull countless skyline switches apart to fix wear problems.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Cheers,

Ben

[SECURITY]

thanks ben, ill get to it pronto.. will i get to it by taking apart my dash?

[BH_SLO32]

  SECUR1TY said:

thanks ben, ill get to it pronto.. will i get to it by taking apart my dash?

SECUR1TY,

You don't need to take your dash apart, the problem is with the indicator stalk and more precisely where it screws into the side of the steering column (just behind the steering wheel). It will be held in place with 2 or 3 screws. You will probably have to pull the steering column surround pieces off to the get to the screws. There will be a wiring plug that can be disconnected for complete removal of the stalk.

The same stalk is used to turn the headlights on in the 33 from memory so be careful when pulling the switch apart to get to the contacts as there will probably be a few spring loaded parts. Its been a while since I pulled my sisters apart so I can't recall the details.

Please note you don't have to pull the stalk apart as its the switching mechanism at the end of the stalk (which attaches to the steering column) that is of interest here.

Once apart, the short hopefully will be fairly obvious. Things to look for are dark spots between contacts and possible melted plastic. If you are keen to give the dissassembly ago and have a digital camera, some photos of the process would be useful.

Hope this helps,

Cheers, Ben

[SECURITY]

thanks alot Ben, ill be sure to give it a go tomorrow, and ill try take some pics too

[Jackie]

ok well i checked all the globes yesterday n they r all fine 21w.

The boot light isn't on the same circuit is it???

[BH_SLO32]

  Jackie said:

ok well i checked all the globes yesterday n they r all fine 21w.

The boot light isn't on the same circuit is it???

Jackie,

The boot light shouldn't be on the indicator circuit, why do you ask?

I assume you have checked the main front and rear bulbs are all 21W and none are broken?

What are you comparing the flashing rate of your car to, another R33 skyline? Is it significantly faster? Different cars have different flashing rates. I think the Australian design rules specifies a range within which the flashing rate must conform but someone else maybe able to confirm.

I assume you are getting the same flashing rate on both the left and right hand sides?

[RTHRTY3]

  BH_SLO32 said:

SECUR1TY,

You don't need to take your dash apart, the problem is with the indicator stalk and more precisely where it screws into the side of the steering column (just behind the steering wheel). It will be held in place with 2 or 3 screws. You will probably have to pull the steering column surround pieces off to the get to the screws. There will be a wiring plug that can be disconnected for complete removal of the stalk.

The same stalk is used to turn the headlights on in the 33  from memory so be careful when pulling the switch apart to get to the contacts as there will probably be a few spring loaded parts. Its been a while since I pulled my sisters apart so I can't recall the details.  

Please note you don't have to pull the stalk apart as its the switching mechanism at the end of the stalk (which attaches to the steering column) that is of interest here.

Once apart, the short hopefully will be fairly obvious. Things to look for are dark spots between contacts and possible melted plastic. If you are keen to give the dissassembly ago and have a digital camera, some photos of the process would be useful.

Hope this helps,

Cheers, Ben

aah at last somebody who knows wat theyre talking about . You've helped to explain quite alot there mate, will give it a shot on fixing this thing. And yea wish i'm in brissy, thanx for the offer though.

thanx again

[Jackie]

  BH_SLO32 said:

Jackie,

The boot light shouldn't be on the indicator circuit, why do you ask?

I assume you have checked the main front and rear bulbs are all 21W and none are broken?

What are you comparing the flashing rate of your car to, another R33 skyline? Is it significantly faster? Different cars have different flashing rates. I think the Australian design rules specifies a range within which the flashing rate must conform but someone else maybe able to confirm.

I assume you are getting the same flashing rate on both the left and right hand sides?

I didn't think the boot light would have been on the same circuit but all the globes front n rear are 21w n fine and at the moment i dont have a globe in the boot.

I have seen other R33's n their indicators flash at a normal speed just like any other car. But yeh it is flashing quite quick and the flashing rate is the same on both sides.

I now think i need a new flasher cam. Does anyone have any idea how much that is going to cost me????

[BH_SLO32]

I now think i need a new flasher cam. Does anyone have any idea how much that is going to cost me????

Jackie,

Yes, it sounds like you need a new flasher unit. Its been a long time since I last bought a unit but would guess less than $30. Autobahn should sell one or alternatively try a wrecker. Asian (brisbane) had a couple of 33 front cuts but I would suggest its possible one from a 32 might work (depends on the plug arrangement so you would need to check).

Let us know how you go.

Cheers,

Ben

[mikep]

  Jackie said:

My indicators are flashing too quick in my r33. None of the globes are out and i was thinking mabey the guy who owned it before me might have put the wrong watt globes in. Could that be it?  

Is 16w or over the right watts to use?

Thanks  

Jackie

hi jackie,

from my R33 GTST manual.

Indicator: Front 12v 21w : Rear 12v 5w

mike

[mikep]

  Jackie said:

I didn't think the boot light would have been on the same circuit but all the globes front n rear are 21w n fine and at the moment i dont have a globe in the boot.

I have seen other R33's n their indicators flash at a normal speed just like any other car. But yeh it is flashing quite quick and the flashing rate is the same on both sides.  

I now think i need a new flasher cam. Does anyone have any idea how much that is going to cost me????

think thats your problem Jackie, rears should only be 5w ..

[SECURITY]

hey guys.. i fixed the problem, no more ticking.

you've gotta take apart the plastic around the steering wheel, then you'll see the indicator stick, and 2 screws holding the piece in.

you'll need a flat head screw driver to get the clips on the side loose to pull that piece apart.

you've gotta clean this area out thoroughly...

if it all seems ok and still ticks then i recommend getting a new piece.

my left indicator still ticks fast though, this only fixes the constant ticking.

Joe

[SECURITY]

oh yeah, and if you take that apart and these three pieces fall out.. its meant to look like this:

Joe