Left turn signal Issue

[nickledimed]

Vehicle: 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab, Sport, 2wd.
Issue: When activating the left turn signal the lamp out will come on and chime and the flasher will flash quickly a few times then the Lamp out light will go out for a few seconds and the turn signal light will flash normaly a few times and the the cycle will begin again. The left frot turn signal light does not come on. This is very annoying with the chime.

Troubleshooting done so far:
Changed Bulb, issue remains, light does not come on.
I can hear the flasher doing its job.
Right turn signal works correctly.
No other apperent issues with truck.

Next step: I was thinking about changing out the flasher.
Any thoughts, ideas?

[Chris Stewart]

Did you change the front & rear bulbs?
Did you wiggle them in their sockets good too?

[nickledimed]

Originally Posted by Chris Stewart

Did you change the front & rear bulbs?
Did you wiggle them in their sockets good too?

Yes, I did, I also used a voltmeter and checked the bulbs and found that they were all good.
I did not change the blinker due to the rear turn signal working good.

After taking a better look at the light socket with the voltmeter I found that power is being supplied to one filiment of the bulb but not the other. With the blinker on I should have had voltage and continuity off and on with the blinker on.
So, in a nut shell I am not getting power to the filiment that should be blinking.
I will troubleshoot the PDC next, any ideas?

[Chris Stewart]

Here's a downloadable 2001 service manual.
The download is kinda slow but worth the wait.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/42304/2001DodgeRam.pdf

It has a pretty good section of wiring diagrams.

[nickledimed]

Originally Posted by Chris Stewart

Here's a downloadable 2001 service manual.
The download is kinda slow but worth the wait.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/42304/2001DodgeRam.pdf

It has a pretty good section of wiring diagrams.

Thanks, yes I have downloaded it already.

So, I changed the light socket, soldered and heat shrinked. Issue remains.

I am stumped.

While the old light socket was still on the truck I did catch the turn signal light blink a few times and then it stoped.

The only thing I know of that is left is the PCM, and I would hate to throw that kind of money into a "Throw parts at it and see if it fixes it" attitude.

Unless anyone else has any other ideas, I guess its off to the stealership for diagnostics.

I will be waiting on any ideas in the meantime.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

[Chris Stewart]

According to page 978, you might check the Light Green wire from the turn signal switch for power.
I'm guessing near the base of the steering column but before it gets outside the cab through the Junction Block.

[nickledimed]

Originally Posted by Chris Stewart

According to page 978, you might check the Light Green wire from the turn signal switch for power.
I'm guessing near the base of the steering column but before it gets outside the cab through the Junction Block.

Thank you.
I will check that next chance I get.

[nickledimed]

So, I went out to work on the truck again and now the turn signal is working.
I have a feeling that due to it getting cold last night had something to do with it.
Now I know I have a short somewere but due to it being so small that temperature effecting it is going to make this a challenge.

As for the green wire on the column, wouldnt that effect both the left front and rear turn signals?

Also, I noticed that the flasher is not mentioned on the wiring diagram.
I know there is one under the dash but I can hear something clicking under the hood and it sounds like it is coming from the PCM. I checked all the relays and could not find the one making the noise under the hood.
So I am wondering if there are 2 flashers, one for the front and one for the rear. (For the life of me I can not see why they would do that but if you know engineers like I do, anything is possible.) Or, it could be the relay for the turn signals, but I can not find it to check it.
So, without further adue, I will have to wait till the weather warms up again and see if the issue presents itsself again.
Thank you all for your help.

[Chris Stewart]

The rear flasher wires go through connectors #134 & #129 (Pg.979) on the way back.
The front lights go through the firewall connector to get to the front, light green from the flasher, spliced (S103) (Pg.978) light green/tan going to the left front flashing bulb.
The flasher is mentioned on Pg.977.

[nickledimed]

It got pretty warm today, around 75-80.
Turn signal still working.

Anyone missing a grimmlin?