anyone good with electrics?

[mitwore]

howdy yall. have a problem with the indicators on my '96 transit. basically they don't work . have replaced the relay with a ford genuine part. still no joy. with the old relay they worked every now and then, but now nothing at all!? was wondering if anyone had any ideas?

[MrMPuk]

Fuse? Probably not as you say they work sometimes with the old relay.

Only other thing to check would be the indicator stalk, they are a sealed unit but I think you might be able to drill them apart. I managed to get a second hand one the other day for £5 so i'd try that!

[stevew]

Try powering up the relay from a cigar socket (or some other 12V source) via a fuse or course . That should confirm it's the switch.

Steve

[mitwore]

sorry forgot to say. changed fuse as well. when you say stalk do you think it may be the connection to the stalk?

[MrMPuk]

No I mean the stalk it's self. All it has inside is a set of contacts which can break down or become sooted up.

[mitwore]

have just taken of the steering column casing and i think i've decided it's a dodgy connection in the connecting block. if i move the wires whilst flicking the indicators on and off they work. are these blocks easy enough to change?

[MrMPuk]

Dissconnect the plug and have a look at the connections, i suspect it's more likely to be the connections on the stalk than the connections on the wire side of the plug.

[mitwore]

ok have disconnected the plug. god they put them in awkard bloody positions don't they?? am i looking for anything in particular on the stalk connections? sorry if i sound a bit dunce. this is my first transit and i've decided that garages really are too expensive, so i'm trying to do as much as poss on my own. with a bit of help obviously!

[MrMPuk]

You wont see anything on the stalk connections as they are inside the stalk! The only thing you will be able to check is the plug on the cables. They are easier to dissconnect if you remove the stalk!

[mitwore]

cheers. will give that a go. i'll check back later to tell you how much the garage charged!

[MrMPuk]

Can you not get a second hand stalk from somewhere and try it?

[mitwore]

just got a stalk from srappies. £17. seems to have done the trick for now. cheers for the help.

[MrMPuk]

Now take the old one apart and see if you can fix it for a spare!

[sidspop]

Also , if testing a normal flasher relay, the rate of flash depends on how much load you have on the output, ie the more bulbs the faster (I think). Try to emulate the front, rear, and sides on your van..
If you just power it up, expecting it to click it wont
Andy

[MrMPuk]

Less load the quicker it flashers, that's how you know you have a bulb gone because it flashes quicker.