Fast Blinker: Not a Bulb, Not Multifunction Switch

[Siege]

This has me a bit puzzled.

My passenger-side turn signal recently began the fast flash that normally indicates a bad bulb. When the fast flash would happen all the bulbs lit up like normal but they are the originals so I figured it wouldn't hurt to replace them (all exterior bulbs including cornering lamps and third brake light).

All bulbs replaced: No change.

So then I began investigating the Multifunction switch since I figured the problem had to be either with the LCM or MFS. If the issue was with the LCM then it would happen with both turn signals and not just the right one.

Anyway, installed a spare MFS switch last night.

MFS switch replaced: No change.

The fast blink does not consistently happen. When the car is first started it blinks normally and gets progressively worse as the car warms up and is driven.

It is unaffected by the blower running or not running.

It is unaffected by the headlights being on or off.

The hazard lights operate normally.

Any ideas?

[RF Overlord]

You're low on blinker fluid.

[Blackmobile]

LCM is going on the (Pardon the pun) Blink!

[RacerX]

How's the bulb socket itself? Has moisture gotten in there at all?

[Siege]

You're low on blinker fluid.
Did these cars originally come with regular or synthetic blinker fluid? I'd hate to put the wrong one in and cause a slow blinking problem. ;)


LCM is going on the (Pardon the pun) Blink!
I'm afraid of that. I still don't get why it would only happen with the right turn signal and not the left.


How's the bulb socket itself? Has moisture gotten in there at all?

The bulb sockets looked great when I replaced the bulbs. No sign of anything out of the ordinary.

When the fast blinking occurs it isn't a consistent pulse either. It will blink quickly multiple times then slow then fast again.

Thanks for the responses gentlemen.

[slickster]

I had this problem when my so called modded lcm started to go out

[screamn]

Maybe try tapping on the LCM when the blinker is flashing fast when the above problem is happening to see if this remedies the situation.

When my headlights didn't work, I would tap on the LCM and magic but got Jim, aka Fastblackmerc, rebuilt LCM and installed before my OEM completely failed.

But if worse gets to worse...."persuasion" seems to always work and relieve some fustration.

Good luck. Hope doesn't cost you too much $$$ but I know your time also is precious and makes a big difference.

[EMAS]

Let me know what the final culprit is. My wife's 02 GM is experiencing similar symptoms. In its case it seems as though the left is more likely to flash fast. She says it gets worse when hot but a couple of weeks ago I took it on a trip to where it was in the 90's (we've only experienced low 80's so far around here) and it didn't happen once in 3 days. Then when it was in the 60's it did it when we were both in the car at the second stop sign from the house and it hadn't been driven in a few hours.

[screamn]

Let me know what the final culprit is. My wife's 02 GM is experiencing similar symptoms. In its case it seems as though the left is more likely to flash fast. She says it gets worse when hot but a couple of weeks ago I took it on a trip to where it was in the 90's (we've only experienced low 80's so far around here) and it didn't happen once in 3 days. Then when it was in the 60's it did it when we were both in the car at the second stop sign from the house and it hadn't been driven in a few hours.

Maybe Gremlins.......

On a serious note, I hope you find the problemo with and eazy fix.

[Siege]

Let me know what the final culprit is. My wife's 02 GM is experiencing similar symptoms. In its case it seems as though the left is more likely to flash fast. She says it gets worse when hot but a couple of weeks ago I took it on a trip to where it was in the 90's (we've only experienced low 80's so far around here) and it didn't happen once in 3 days. Then when it was in the 60's it did it when we were both in the car at the second stop sign from the house and it hadn't been driven in a few hours.

I can almost guarantee you that yours is a low voltage issue when the blower motor is on high. They issued a TSB for this issue for 98-02 models.

In 2003 they added a blower relay to resolve the issue.

More information here:
http://www.idmsvcs.com/2vmod/powerdistrofix/index.html

[Siege]

Maybe try tapping on the LCM when the blinker is flashing fast when the above problem is happening to see if this remedies the situation.

When my headlights didn't work, I would tap on the LCM and magic but got Jim, aka Fastblackmerc, rebuilt LCM and installed before my OEM completely failed.

But if worse gets to worse...."persuasion" seems to always work and relieve some fustration.

Good luck. Hope doesn't cost you too much $$$ but I know your time also is precious and makes a big difference.

Great idea on tapping the LCM!

I'll give that a shot the next time it happens and see if there's a change.

Thanks.

[RF Overlord]

According to the wiring manual, the only place where the left and right blinkers are separate (other than the wiring itself) is in the MFS, but you've already replaced that. The LCM doesn't know which side it's flashing, so if this problem always occurs on the same side, that's not it. The left and right bulbs even use a common ground. This one's a head-scratcher...

BTW, Ford spec'd synthetic blinker fluid for 300As but switched to conventional for the 300B and all 2004s.

[SC Cheesehead]

According to the wiring manual, the only place where the left and right blinkers are separate (other than the wiring itself) is in the MFS, but you've already replaced that. The LCM doesn't know which side it's flashing, so if this problem always occurs on the same side, that's not it. The left and right bulbs even use a common ground. This one's a head-scratcher...

BTW, Ford spec'd synthetic blinker fluid for 300As but switched to conventional for the 300B and all 2004s.


RATFARTS! I just changed mine and went with syn...:mad2:


Hey, I've been experiencing the same issue intermittently on my car, seems to be primarily on the PS (need to start paying closer attention), so if it's intermittent, wadda you think? :dunno:

[RF Overlord]

RATFARTS! I just changed mine and went with syn...:mad2:No worries, Rex...it was just another part of the decontenting. Syn will be fine.

[IwantmyMMnow!]

No worries, Rex...it was just another part of the decontenting. Syn will be fine.

I heard that using syn adds 5-10 HP....:rolleyes:

[Curless]

Go through and check ALL of your bulbs and make sure that they are tight in their sockets. Even the opposite side can affect them.

[EMAS]

I can almost guarantee you that yours is a low voltage issue when the blower motor is on high. They issued a TSB for this issue for 98-02 models.

In 2003 they added a blower relay to resolve the issue.

More information here:
http://www.idmsvcs.com/2vmod/powerdistrofix/index.html

Thanks I'll pay attention to the blower speed the next time it happens when I'm in the car and tell the wife to do the same. I know when the car was where it was in the mid 90's the blower was almost always on high and it didn't happen to me once then. When it did do it when I was in the car, I can't say I remember specifically, but the temps were moderate, and we had driven far enough that the blower would have settled down to a mid speed if it did start at full blast.

[BODYMAN]

Got the same problem Checked all bulbs sockets basically everything and cant find a problem. I have just let it be for over a year now & hasnt got better or worse. I intially thought LCM after checking other things but like I said it hasnt gotten worse or better.

[Siege]

According to the wiring manual, the only place where the left and right blinkers are separate (other than the wiring itself) is in the MFS, but you've already replaced that. The LCM doesn't know which side it's flashing, so if this problem always occurs on the same side, that's not it. The left and right bulbs even use a common ground. This one's a head-scratcher...

BTW, Ford spec'd synthetic blinker fluid for 300As but switched to conventional for the 300B and all 2004s.
Thanks for the sanity check with the wiring diagrams! What bothers me too is that the hazards operate normally. I would think that if there was an issue with the bulb socket or grounds that it would appear with the hazards as well.


Go through and check ALL of your bulbs and make sure that they are tight in their sockets. Even the opposite side can affect them.

I'll pull all the bulbs again and hit the contacts with very fine sandpaper to see if that makes a difference.

If that doesn't work then I'll try replacing the 3157 bulbs in the tail lights with 3457 bulbs that have a higher wattage turn signal. Perhaps the extra draw will trick the LCM into working properly again.

[Siege]

Thanks for the sanity check with the wiring diagrams! What bothers me too is that the hazards operate normally. I would think that if there was an issue with the bulb socket or grounds that it would appear with the hazards as well.



I'll pull all the bulbs again and hit the contacts with very fine sandpaper to see if that makes a difference.

If that doesn't work then I'll try replacing the 3157 bulbs in the tail lights with 3457 bulbs that have a higher wattage turn signal. Perhaps the extra draw will trick the LCM into working properly again.

So I pulled all the bulbs out again and hit the socket contacts lightly with an emery board to remove any possible corrosion. Plugged everything back in and no dice. Still had the intermittent fast flashing.

I pulled the tail light and replaced the new OEM 3157 bulbs in there with 3457 bulbs which plug right in but have a higher wattage turn signal.


Lamp Filament Voltage Wattage Lumens
3157 Minor 14 8.26 37
3157 Major 12.8 26.88 402
3457 Minor 14 8.26 37
3457 Major 12.8 28.54 502
4157 Minor 14 8.26 37
4157 Major 12.8 28.54 402


And it's fixed! The turn signal now operates like it used to.

The 3457 bulbs pull an extra 1.75w each so 3.5w total per tail light when the turn signal is flashing or the brake light is on. I don't know what effect the brighter and likely hotter bulbs will have on the tail light but considering the Marauder only uses 2 bulbs in its housing vs the Crown Victoria's 4 bulbs I think it will be ok.

So for anyone else who encounters this issue and has ruled out the bulbs, socket and multifunction switch give the $5 3457 bulbs a try. :beer:

[babbage]

So I pulled all the bulbs out again and hit the socket contacts lightly with an emery board to remove any possible corrosion. Plugged everything back in and no dice. Still had the intermittent fast flashing.

I pulled the tail light and replaced the new OEM 3157 bulbs in there with 3457 bulbs which plug right in but have a higher wattage turn signal.



And it's fixed! The turn signal now operates like it used to.

The 3457 bulbs pull an extra 1.75w each so 3.5w total per tail light when the turn signal is flashing or the brake light is on. I don't know what effect the brighter and likely hotter bulbs will have on the tail light but considering the Marauder only uses 2 bulbs in its housing vs the Crown Victoria's 4 bulbs I think it will be ok.

So for anyone else who encounters this issue and has ruled out the bulbs, socket and multifunction switch give the $5 3457 bulbs a try. :beer:

I may do this regardless. Thanks for the tip! Brighter is better. I take it the 3457 bulbs are the same exact socket shape?

[Siege]

Yup! They plugged right in.

I drove the Marauder 45 miles today and had no problems with fast turn signal blinking.

[MyTMerc]

I see this is an old thread but I was not clear on the fix.

My left blinker is blinking fast. The right bulb in the left rear bucket was not working. I pulled the bulb and checked the filament which seemed fine. I replace the bulb in the socket and it worked fine until the next time I drove the car... same issue.

Any suggestions (related to this problem)?

[L.Mark]

I'm gonna try the 3457 bulbs since what he was describing is exactly what mine is doing...done to the hazzards...if that doesn't fix it onto the next step of MFS...

[MyTMerc]

Interesting, I'll give the 3457's a try when I have some time on Friday. MFS...? Maybe I shouldn't ask :-)

[L.Mark]

Multi Function Switch...turn signal stalk...

[fastblackmerc]

The fast blinker means the LCM thinks there is a burned out bulb in the circuit. I'd replace all the bulbs if they look OK or not. Changing the multifunction switch won't fix it.

[L.Mark]

THe sequential kit I have, would that effect the LCM???

[MyTMerc]

The fast blinker means the LCM thinks there is a burned out bulb in the circuit. I'd replace all the bulbs if they look OK or not. Changing the multifunction switch won't fix it.

That's what I thought when I pulled the bulb that was not working. But when I put it back in it worked fine.... until it stopped working again. I picked up a 3457. Will let you know how it goes.

The contacts looked clean - no corrosion.

[fastblackmerc]

THe sequential kit I have, would that effect the LCM???

Yes, if there isn't enough load the LCM will think a bulb is out.

[MyTMerc]

Put in a 3457 tonight and its working fine now.

[L.Mark]

Lucky dog...:P...;)

[jmsa540]

ok, so more watts equal a higher load, correct?