2005 Focus - indicator blinking too fast

gb153

The left rear indicator on my Mums 2005 Ford Focus doesn't work at all. The left side and front left blink way too fast. I presume its related issue. I bought a replacement bulb for the rear but fitting it but it made no difference.

The right hand side indicators work fine. Any ideas what the problem could be here?

Plug

gb153 wrote: »

The left rear indicator on my Mums 2005 Ford Focus doesn't work at all. The left side and front left blink way too fast. I presume its related issue. I bought a replacement bulb for the rear but fitting it but it made no difference.

The right hand side indicators work fine. Any ideas what the problem could be here?

Try the middle(side) indicator bulb.

stedeb

hi
not too sure but at a guess from my car it is a blown fuse or blown bulb

Merch

gb153 wrote: »

The left rear indicator on my Mums 2005 Ford Focus doesn't work at all. The left side and front left blink way too fast. I presume its related issue. I bought a replacement bulb for the rear but fitting it but it made no difference.

The right hand side indicators work fine. Any ideas what the problem could be here?

Are you sure its fitted right/making a good contact, can you see was the original bulbs filament broken? maybe take the cluster out (as if to fit a bulb) and get a 12v tester on it across its terminals (to see if it is getting an intermittant 12volts)
Or maybe there is a connector to the cluster that has come loose or been damaged

gb153

When I took the rear indicator bulb out it didn't look like it had blown but I replaced it anyway. Its a 12V21W. The guy in Halfords checked at the counter with the original to make sure it was the correct replacement.

I could try the middle indicator.

If its a blown fuse I presume I can just check the car manual on how to replace the correct one? I don't have a testing device to check voltages.

Merch

gb153 wrote: »

When I took the rear indicator bulb out it didn't look like it had blown but I replaced it anyway. Its a 12V21W. The guy in Halfords checked at the counter with the original to make sure it was the correct replacement.

I could try the middle indicator.

If its a blown fuse I presume I can just check the car manual on how to replace the correct one? I don't have a testing device to check voltages.

Are any of the other indicator bulbs not working and on which side? your first post makes it seem like that was the only non functional indicator

shamwari

A blown fuse will take out everything on that circuit, and not just one bulb on a circuit with several bulbs.

OP, check the following:

1. The bulb you got is indeed the correct one. Try it in the right rear lamp, and put the good working bulb in that one into the left side (i.e. swap the bulbs to test them)

2. Check the bulb holder in the left and make sure it is not corroded

3. There should be a cable with a plug on it connected to the rear of the lamp cluster. Reseat the cable and make sure all of the pins are ok and not burnt or corroded.

Also, does the car have a towbar with electrics?

Hal1

Check the bulb holder for any dampness or signs or corrosion. It's a cheap item to replace.

gb153

Thanks for all the replies. The mystery continues.

Just to clarify. The left rear indicator is the only one not working. The middle left and front left indicators do work but they blink too fast. All indicators work on the right hand side.

Update: I took out the right rear indicator. Now when I check the right indicator the middle right and front right indicators start blinking very fast. So fast blinking seems to be the result of the rear indicator being blown or removed or something else maybe bad connection of some sort. I then put the original bulb from the left rear into the right rear indicator and it works so my initial assumption that the left rear being blown was wrong.

I checked the cables and the connections on the left and they seem fine. I have attached a link to some images that I took on the phone (can't upload on boards at the mo for some reason). Do these look ok?
[IMG]file:///H:/Images/201102/201102A0/21022011536.jpg[/IMG]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59773023@N04/5464330021/in/photostream/

gb153

Forgot to say that there's no towbar.

Plug

Take the bulb holder from the right and put it in the left side and see does it work. If it does then you know its the bulb holder.

gb153

Well its looking like the problem was to do with condensation probably due to heavy rain over last few days. I changed the right bulb holder into the left as recommended and it worked. I was just about to post to say the source of the problem was found but then I said I'd try the left bulb holder in the right. It actually works also.

Its like a summers day outside today and I left the rear lights loose over the last few hours as I was trying to fix the problem. I noticed this morning that there was a fair bit of condensation in the indicator housing on each side. The condensation has now cleared completely so the bulb holder probably dried out over the last while.

This problem may return as the design of the rear lights seems to allow water to run right underneath just under where the cables are. Either way thanks a million for all the help.

lp77

I am currently having this EXACT problem! This board has been so helpful, I will take it to the auto electrician tomorrow and tell him that i think the bulb holder needs to be replaced. fingers crossed that does the trick!

Has the problem happened again??

mickdw

Just to confirm, yes the fast flashing indicators is as a result of one of the lights not functioning and will return to normal once all lights on that circuit are fixed.