jmw_man

I need guidance. I noticed my emergency hazard lights stopped working but my turn signal lights still work. Fuse is fine so I turned to the flasher above the column. After much browsing in this forum I finally found "a" flasher. Now, I'm uncertain as to whether I have one flasher that operates both the turn signal and emergency hazard lights or if I have one flasher for each. I tried to search for a second one but couldn't find it. Anyhow, I picked up a flasher from Autozone and replaced the flasher that I had found, after doing so neither the emergency hazard lights nor the turn signal works.

Questions:
Can someone confirm whether I have one or two flashers?
Also, the flasher that I found had 3 prongs and a square cross-section, the one I purchased from Autozone had 2 prongs and a round cross-section, did Autozone sell me the wrong flasher?
What do I do next?

Okay, I just found the answer to my first question in this post:https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx...flasher-31296/
I guess that also answers my second question too: the emergency hazard flashers are probably all two prong and the turn signal flashers are probably all 3 prong.
It's driving me crazy that I can't find that second flasher....
Are they super close to each other?


Best regards,
jmw_man

jmw_man

I took a second look, still didn't find a second flasher. Is it possible that some of the 83 models were made with 2 and others with 1 flasher?

FricFrac

Hard to know what you're refering to....

jmw_man

My first post isn't visible for some reason... in the page prior when you hover the cursor over the link to this post it shows part of my first post...

Beneath my name it even says I have 3 posts but when I search all of my posts I only see 2. My first post disappeared somehow.

Anyways, my turn signal works, my hazard lights don't. I found a flasher and replaced it and then neither worked. I've read somewhere that I have separate flashers for the turn signal and the hazard lights but I only found one. The original has 3 prongs and a square cross-section. The one I purchased from Autozone has 2 prongs and a round cross-section. I really "got my hands dirty" searching for a second flasher but it is definitely not in the same vicinity as the turn signal flasher. So, either I have 2 flashers and the hazard flasher is somewhere else, OR, I have 1 flasher and the one I was supposed to get from Autozone was supposed to have 3 prongs.

I downloaded the service manual and read the wiring diagram and the troubleshooting section. It says, if my turn signal works but the hazard lights don't, then the probable causes are burnt fuse, faulty hazard warning flasher unit, and faulty hazard switch. When I look at the wiring diagram, it shows the turn signal flasher unit, but I don't see a label anywhere for the hazard light flasher unit.

That's where I'm at now.

jmw_man

Actually, I took a look at two separate wiring diagrams and neither one of them show a hazard light flasher unit...

jmw_man

Oh, this is interesting:

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx...ng-woes-34564/

I found the two mystery wires depicted in pictures one and two. Both were disconnected.

However, the hazard relay he bought from Autozone has 3 prongs while the one I bought from Autozone has 2 prongs. The two prong one I bought will not plug into mystery wire number 1.

jmw_man

In this post:https://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx...-signal-15027/


Jfairladyz said that there's only one flasher unit for both the turn signal and the hazard lights. So, now I wonder why Autozone would sell a part that they claim is specifically the hazard flasher unit.

I also read in a few other places that people cleaned the switch and that solved the problem so I guess I'll do that first and if it looks okay then I'll buy a new "turn signal flasher unit" since I know it's a three prong flasher/relay and maybe that will do the trick.

On a side note, I did find something that looks like a relay with individual wires going to the posts and wrapped in black tape. It said "FORD" on it. I wonder what that's for...

FricFrac

Have you checked the hazard switch? That's the most common cause for grief with the signal/hazard lights...

jmw_man

That's actually my next step. So, what's more common, the switch just needing the terminals to be cleaned or the switch needing to be replaced entirely?

FricFrac

Sometimes it just a matter of sliding the switch back and forth - otherwise you need to replace the switch....

jmw_man

I searched the "how to" section to see if anybody posted info about replacing the switch but couldn't find anything.

I've already checked the local Autozone for a Haynes manual so I'm going to have to order that online.

Until I receive the Haynes manual, is it possible to replace the hazard switch without removing the steering wheel? If I have to remove the steering wheel, what precautions do I have to make to ensure I don't screw anything up? I only assume I have to remove the steering wheel because just behind it there's an upper cover and a lower cover and I removed the screws found in those but it's still being held in place and it's starting to look like I have to actually slide it off even though it seems like the upper and lower covers should separate from each other.

jmw_man

Well, the hazard lights work now. I read in several places where people said they switched it back and forth and that solved the problem and I did that a handful of times; on off on off on off, etc. Well, I went back out there and did it a lot more vigorously and super fast and then I started to hear the clicking sound.

So for those of you who have a problem with the hazard lights while the turn signal still works, try to "over-do" it just a little bit. Temporary fix obviously since more than likely the contacts need to be cleaned but doing the above improved the connection until the next time I need to jiggle it back and forth again.

Twiggs280zx

Just FYI Automotive experience is not needed to work at AutoZone. They rely on a computer system that doesn't have a lot of the specialty parts. I rely on research and the expert - been there done that - input here on zdriver and if the part is something super common, like battery cables, I go to AutoZone. Anything more I use summitracing or thezstore.

Also, pictures of what you are having issues with helps a lot.