Blinkers not working...

It started whenever I would try to use the blinker, the arrow would just come on on my dash and not blink (not sure about outside result). But now when I try to use my blinker, the arrrow doesnt come on and it just turns off one of my brake lights, so I guess the only way to make it look like my blinker's working for the cops is manually flicking the lever up and down while applying the brakes. Hazard lights still work, and I checked the fuses. Anyone else had this problem or can think of a solution? The local repair shop will rape my wallet... :banghead:

So its not the bulb? You said the hazards work. When I had a bulb out it did some funny stuff to the dash light. Blink faster or something or stayed on stead. Might be a bulb with two elements in it and one are burnt out. Or it could be the sylinoid dilly bobber for the blinkers.

where's the solenoid located?

Not sure, could be on the fuse block under the hood but that is just a guess. Look at your diagram of fuses and what not and see if it tells.

Blown bulbs will do some crazy stuff... as cheap as they are, replace them anyway. At least that's wher I would start. Did you try seeing if they're blown? Is it both or one side, if it's one side only, then it's probably the bulbs, if it's both sides, and both went at the same time, chances are it's something else (solenoid?)

If you back up close to a garage door (or something big and light colored) and try them at night it's easy to see if they are working or not, if you don't have anyone to look while you're pushing the pedals.

I can't bring myself to using the low blinker fluid joke...

I can't bring myself to using the low blinker fluid joke...

You know... I was like, "whatisit, tellme, tellme, telleme" there for a second....

I can't bring myself to using the low blinker fluid joke...

I pride myself in the amount of restrant I used yesterday not to.

I would have if I have a logical response to the problem to make up for it.

bulb, mines di that same damn thig..replace them and u will be happy..if that dont work u may wanna also try an look at the wires on the terminal where u would sit the light in..maybe the wires got damaged???

Replaced bulbs to no avail. Advance Auto Parts suggested I replace the actual blinker module. So I crack open the underside of the dash to find a mess of a homemade wiring job, and the blinker isnt where it's supposed to be. This mess under the dash may also be contributing to an increasingly frequent short of all accessories (radio, windows, aux outlet). The short is the so freakin' annoying because most often it happens when i try to roll down the window to order my cheeseburger, or when I want to roll them up before it rains. (had to trash bag the windows last week because of a huge storm.)
The haynes manual says the module is just to the left of the steering column, but its not.... :banghead:

hmmm I'd love to know why it's hacked up :screwy:

I hate it when people do that. :cya:

Yeah... Mine was that way, until I got pissed off and literally hacked it all out and rewired it (almost done by the way).

If I were you, I'd spend $200 or whatever it costs to get a new dash harness from Painless Wiring and start anew. The wires just plug into where they're supposed to and they're labelled very well.

(EDIT) Oh yeah... Haynes manuals are good for small stuff... but other than that you might as well use it to mop up oil spills.

Dunno if the Painless boys are gonna have one for a 99 yet. Doesn't hurt to look. Probably going to be a dealer or boneyard ordeal.

Dunno if the Painless boys are gonna have one for a 99 yet. Doesn't hurt to look. Probably going to be a dealer or boneyard ordeal.

Good point... wait... 2007 - 1999 = at least 8 years they've had to make one. WTF? If they don't have one tell them they need to get the lead out of their asses.

Boneyard = a lot of work, no? Dealer = $500+... Call Painless up and BEG.

Boneyard = a lot of work, no? .

Ah. but a quiet weekend afternnon with no wife barking at you or kids driving insane. :D

You mean to tell me it would be cheaper just to replace all that crap than trying to find the short? The previous owner took it upon himself to install what seems like an entirely new monster stereo system (which was reverted back to stock, except for the tweeters :screwy:) one of those viper alarms, and a remote start. Not to mention a random switch and button just sticking out from the under side of the dash. Oh yeah, and I'm mising half the bolts/screws that hold the under side of the dash.

Edit: If you're talking about painlessperformance.com, all they have for my car are fuel injection and emissions harnesses

You mean to tell me it would be cheaper just to replace all that crap than trying to find the short? The previous owner took it upon himself to install what seems like an entirely new monster stereo system (which was reverted back to stock, except for the tweeters :screwy:) one of those viper alarms, and a remote start. Not to mention a random switch and button just sticking out from the under side of the dash. Oh yeah, and I'm mising half the bolts/screws that hold the under side of the dash.

Edit: If you're talking about painlessperformance.com, all they have for my car are fuel injection and emissions harnesses

Well... If painless doesn't have one you options just got severly reduced to 2 (edit: that would be 3) rather unpleasant ones: boneyard, dealer or find it yourself. Finding it yourself will make you homicidal (trust me), and I wouldn't want to pay a dealer, so unless you can quickly locate the short I recommend (as Dylan so eloquently said) a quiet afternoon in the boneyard.

And I just have to throw in that anyone, anyone at all, who removes the screws while working on the interior of their car and doesn't at least save them, let alone not put them back where they came from, is a complete douchebag. I went through the same thing, actually still am, and the interior screw kits are EXPENSIVE, Viper alarms are friggin awesome (ask DJ), remote starts can be cool, assuming your have an automatic car. Monster stereos don't impress me, people install those to hide the fact that their car don't have the balls to make it's own noise, and that button might be a kill switch (?).

Good luck brother. We're here for you if you need to share a "the previous owner fucked up my f-body" story.... some of them get pretty ridiculous.

If you/re determined to find the short, all the power to ya. :thumbsup: Definately when you get down to the brass roots of everything it's not all that hard, it's just digging through all the mess.

Oh, and Jim is speaking from experience with a '1970 so nothing going under the dash but ign and accessories (I'm fairly confident he was leaning toward the homicidal side loooooong before taking on his project :uhoh: )

My wife and kids were afraid of me whenever I came through the garage door, lol. Now they just hand me a box of tissues and give me a hug.

UPDATE: now I am without window power and radio pretty much all the time now, and I pretty much live on fast food, so it sucks.

I was looking at the airbox yesterday and it looks like the guy had attempted to do the free mod, where you cut out the bottom back part of the airbox so it also can get air from in front of the radiator. He must've tried it with some damn kiddie scissors or something. It was horribly jagged and he only did one side of it. And also failed to replace to of the bolts holding down the thing that connects the airbox to the MAF. runaround Needless to say, I got out the dremel and finished the job. And the remote start would be pretty cool if I had actually gotten the keyfob thing.

Anywho, I'd really like to find the short, because the firebird salvage yard around here is right in the middle of the GHETTO. It's like mini-mexico up there.

So Is there a certain tool I could use that would make the job much easier? I don't have a whole lot of experience with wiring repair, So what exactly am I looking for...?

Some people told me that the whole damn mess might just randomly catch on fire...:wtf:

It's a big PITA, but wiring things isn't extremely difficult, the difficult part is sorting the mess as stated before! I would personally go the wiring harness route if you can find one, if not, then it would be easier to narrow down your wires---take your radio out, look at the colors of those wires, and trace them back down under your dash, look for gouges in the coating, look at where they are connected, make sure things are secure, AND make sure you have no blown fuses! Needle-nosed pliers, perhaps a pair of decent wire strippers, some electrical tape, and a few six-packs and you'll be up and blinking in no time :)!

Does anyone know how to disable the airbag temporarily? Take the fuse out? I'd like to be sure I'm not going to accidently set it off while I'm under the dash

Man, at this point it's beginning to sound as if you are in over head, :sorry:

You can pull the fuse and disconnect the battery, the system usually loses charge in about 20 minutes, I think.

if you don't wanna man up and go to the yards, maybe you can offer them a few extra bucks to pull it for you (there are a few yards around by me that don't allow you in, they pull the parts). Me personally, I ahve the same situation with the closest yard by me, but I don't care, I'm on a mission, so I could care less what the area is like or who lives there. :screwy:

Either way, it sounds like you are going to need the physical assistance of someone who has a bit of experience, because yes, with a short, if the circuit is unprotected (past the fuses) the wiring and compenets can overheat and start a fire, car running or not depending on the situation. Look at the cruise control problem Ford just fessed up to with their trucks randomly catching fire, most times in peoples garages. :eek:

agreed, I love the junkyard, its very nice on a sunny day. Its a pain when you walk a mile to where you need to be..and they dont have what you need. but it should be easy enough to find what your looking for.

Yeah I think I'm going to have to go to the yards. I drive my car daily, so I dont have a time frame big enough where I can go without driving it to find the short. Plus I'll be able to jack some of those bolts I'm missing. :naughty:

That's the spirit. This way all you have worry about is matching up connector for connector instead of tracing wires out and making sure the appropriate ones are attached (spliced) correctly. :thumbsup: