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Thread: Blinker failure & wiring gremlins?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
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    Charleston, WV
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    97 328i "Hellrot Helena"

    Blinker failure & wiring gremlins?

    Hey guys. I'm in the process of trying to get my 328i sedan road legal after sitting for the last 6 months and something now plagues the car that never did before: a blinker failure. I took the simplest route and just replaced the front bulbs since they had a bulb that did not seem appropriate and changed them for the correct ones (even though my parts store lists two different bulbs for the front corner marker).

    All three turn signals work, but when I turn trigger them, on either side, the relay faults like there is a bulb shorted out and triggers on and off really fast. I have checked my fuses and they appear to be good. Have not tested them with a multimeter yet since it just started raining. Could there be a wiring fault somewhere? I just need some doctoring on the taillight housings because the brake circuit burned through some of the metal contact.

    Any help would be appreciated, and if any more info needs to be provided please let me know.

  2. #2
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    If the contacts in the tail light housing are bad then start their. Also possible the relay has cracked solder points internally .
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eric93se View Post
    If the contacts in the tail light housing are bad then start their. Also possible the relay has cracked solder points internally .
    The only contacts that were bad were for the brake lights themselves. Everything else looks fine. I removed the taillights tonight to make sure that everything was still fine and all looks good. I almost made a video tonight, but did not have enough time/daylight. All three indicators (front, side marker, and rear) all light up appropriately but the relay still acts like there is a failure somewhere. I searched for similar threads but could not find any thing close to my issues.

  4. #4
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    Like I said the relay itself can be bad.
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  5. #5
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    Okay so my local parts store does not stock the relay but I did manage to take it apart today and all the solder joints appear to be fine. A new one is 50-odd dollars and several days' shipping before it arrives.

  6. #6
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    Okay so here's a pic of the hazard/turn signal relay. Like I said before, nothing looks out of place or damaged. So assuming the relay is good, what is my next step?
    Attached Images Attached Images

  7. #7
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    1998 Z3M, 2006 330i
    I chased a similar problem. It would come and go and drive me crazy. Turns out the mount for the bulb was not holding the bulb against the contacts. The slots were just worn out. I was able to rework the plastic, but if that had not worked, I would have replaced it.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by zellamay View Post
    I chased a similar problem. It would come and go and drive me crazy. Turns out the mount for the bulb was not holding the bulb against the contacts. The slots were just worn out. I was able to rework the plastic, but if that had not worked, I would have replaced it.
    Took your advice and did this, but to no avail. I was able to bend the contacts out on each of the rear bulb sockets and the fronts too to no avail.

    Update: I checked literally every fuse under the hood, and no change in the condition. No fuses were blown at all. It's also funny, that the relay functions fine when I turn on the hazard switch. Video incoming

  9. #9
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  10. #10
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    Evo X, S52 Swapped 318iS
    If the housings are factory and the bulbs are factory, the only thing that could cause the issue is a bad hazard flasher relay. I've had this problem before with using aftermarket LED bulbs and i just needed to add a resistor in line with the lights to keep the relay happy.

  11. #11
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    The other side of the relay flasher was pristine too? I'g guess you don't have any LED bulbs, but yeah that would be the problem. Personally I've been rolling with LED turn signals and I don't mind the fast flash, cops don't bother me either. Had intentions of modifying the flasher relay but never got around to it. Put the OBC in Euro mode to bypass the check/control box whatever it's called.
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  12. #12
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    Issue has been resolved. I replaced the bulb that the parts store recommended with a 2357 bulb and due to an increase in wattage at the filament, the relay now functions like it is supposed to.

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