Emergency flashers flash very dim

Have a 1932 Chevy streetrod with gm steering column with flasher button/switch located on column. Flasher is working and at normal speed when flasher button is pushed on column but front and rear lights are flashing very dim. Turn signals work fine and bright. Seems like a ground problem but I cannot find the problem. I have tried grounding light sockets and light frames with length of wire to frame but still flashing very dim. Indicator lights on dash however are not dim. Also have a painless 12 circuit fuse panel with 2 552 flashers on it. Any ideas? Thanks

You might try swapping the flashers to see if that has an effect. Since the turn signals are plenty bright, the indicators in the instrument cluster are bright and (presumably) don't glow when the lights are on, it doesn't really sound like a ground issue. Maybe you have a flasher that is restricting the current/voltage to the lights or you have an issue with the supply to the hazard circuit.

Did you get a wiring diagram for the car?

-Rod

Had a wiring diagram for fuse panel but lost it in a Tornado.

I have already replaced flashers.

I'll suggest using a multimeter to test the voltage to one of the bulbs. See how the voltage compares between turn signal and hazard. Take measurements using both a known good ground for the meter and the wire at the socket for the meter. If you're using a digital meter and the voltage looks very similar for all 4 readings (turn signal, hazard, chassis gnd, socket gnd) then that points to a situation where there's low current when using the hazards. Maybe a non-weather tight crimp splice was used on the supply side for the hazards and that splice has corroded. The same could also be the cause if the voltage is low at the bulb socket. Any chance you know what year/model GM the column came from?

-Rod

I pulled up a random GM hazard circuit schematic (chose a 1998 Olds Cutlass) and it shows a separate fuse for the turn signals and hazard lights. If yours is that way it is quite possible that there is a corroded connection for the hazard circuit that is causing the reduced brightness. I haven't convinced myself the flash rate would be normal if this were the case yet though.... The primary reason I can see for having the hazard lights on a separate circuit is because the hazard circuit needs to be powered all the time, but the turn signals will only work if the car is running.

-Rod

The column is a new one from Ididit company which is the same as a gm column and wired as a gm unit. The flashers apparently were not wired to a hot circuit because they only work if the key is on.

It's possible that they have the turn signals and hazards on the same circuit since they both work only if the key is on. There are two flashers side by side on the fuse panel. Without a diagram how can I find the right terminal for the Hazards on the fuse panel?

The quickest way would be to use a test light to see which fuse causes the test light at the flasher input terminal to go out when removed. You would need to have the key in the Run position to do this, so mapping which fuses are only hot when in Run first would reduce how many fuses you need to pull.

You could also use the continuity setting on a multimeter but you would need to remove fuses before making contact to eliminate the chance of applying power through the meter on the continuity setting. Also, multimeters are more expensive than test lights, so if you're needing to buy a tool for this, you may as well start with the test light.

-Rod

You might scan through this Painless site (http://www.painlessperformance.com/manuals.php?pageNum_Manualrst=0&totalRows_Manualrst=486) to see if you can find the diagram matching your harness. Or check the side of the fuse block to see if you can find the part number.

-Rod

Rod, I already tried to match the fuse panel up to one on the painless site. The nearest one to it is the 30001 fuse block but I believe mine is one similar to this one but probably an older model. Looks almost the same but has some differences. I was afraid you were going to tell me to get a test light. I have two that do not work or are broken so I will get another one I guess. The car was in a Tornado and when it was rebuilt they had to remove the dash and fuse panel to repair the damaged firewall. They might have wired it back up wrong when it went back together. Thank you for your experience and advice.

Ok I found the terminal on the fuse panel for the hazards but it is only hot when the key is on. I disconnected the wire going to that terminal and the flasher stopped. Don't know why it is hot only when key is on. Located the person who wired this car and put this fuse box in. Going to try and get him over to check it out. This fuse panel is in a bad location too. Hard to get to and see what your doing. Thanks again for the help. Jerry