No Parking Lights/Erratic Blinker?

[PhenomTSi]

So I've searched around quite a bit and I've got nothing... So here it goes!!

So the headlight switch and blinkers have always been... Interesting in my car . So I turn my headlight switch one "notch," so to speak, and my headlights come on, not just my parking lights. I've never seen this before. I can turn the switch back and forth (from headlight position to parking lights position) with absolutely no changes in the lighting in my car.

Also, my blinker flashes very erratically. I turn on my blinker (either way, they do the same thing) and it flashes at a random speed, sometimes it will flash quickly, almost like I have a bulb out. Sometimes it will flash slowly, like normal. I figured it could be just a short somewhere in the blinker wiring until I sat at a turn with my left blinker on for a while and noticed that it changes blinking speed gradually...

Any ideas?!
I can record and post a video tomorrow if that is helpful.

Thanks guys!
Kelly

 

[bewstin]

Do your tail lights work??? Our cars are notorious for having bad dimmer switches which will cause bulbs to burn out on a daily basis. Easy fix.

Sometimes when bulbs are on their way out, they will work, then not work, then work again. Your problem with the signals is most likely just a simple bulb change. I had a bad signal bulb for a week or so before i changed it. Sometimes it was out and blinked the front signal fast, then i'd hit a bump and it would blink slow again. Whenever i drive behind my buddies GS-T, i see different bulbs out and back on every day haha.

As for the headlight switch not being able to just have your parking lights on, i'd say its either a bad headlight switch lever on the steering column (highly unlikely), or someone messed with the headlight wiring. If your headlights are aftermarket, someone most likely messed with the wiring harness that goes into the underside of the headlight assembly itself. If your headlights are stock, i think i'm of no use , I wouldn't know where to even start other than to check the harness or steering column switch.

 

[PhenomTSi]

Do your tail lights work??? Our cars are notorious for having bad dimmer switches which will cause bulbs to burn out on a daily basis. Easy fix.

Sometimes when bulbs are on their way out, they will work, then not work, then work again. Your problem with the signals is most likely just a simple bulb change. I had a bad signal bulb for a week or so before i changed it. Sometimes it was out and blinked the front signal fast, then i'd hit a bump and it would blink slow again. Whenever i drive behind my buddies GS-T, i see different bulbs out and back on every day haha.

As for the headlight switch not being able to just have your parking lights on, i'd say its either a bad headlight switch lever on the steering column (highly unlikely), or someone messed with the headlight wiring. If your headlights are aftermarket, someone most likely messed with the wiring harness that goes into the underside of the headlight assembly itself. If your headlights are stock, i think i'm of no use , I wouldn't know where to even start other than to check the harness or steering column switch.

Yessir, all my lights work. No bulbs are out, I've replaced them all hoping that it would fix it. But like I said, its not like the blinkers are blinking fast, then boom, they're blinking slow. It's a gradual speed up or slow down. It's bizarre. I will take a video to show it tomorrow.

 

[bewstin]

Try replacing the flasher resistor. They are like $2

And because the headlights and signals are on that same lever, I would start looking to that possibly.

 

[PhenomTSi]

Try replacing the flasher resistor. They are like $2

And because the headlights and signals are on that same lever, I would start looking to that possibly.

I was thinking about just replacing the lever, but I wanted to get some opinions on what you guys think it could be before I just started replacing stuff

What exactly is the flasher resistor?

 

[bewstin]

On my starion i had a similar problem, turned out to be the flasher. Just go into autozone or advanced and tell them u need one. Will look like a big fuse/solenoid, also do your hazards blink steady?

 

[PhenomTSi]

Interesting question... my hazards dont work at all

 

[bewstin]

so i'd say you can rule out the signal/headlight lever on the steering column. Try changing out the flasher relay like i was saying before, could be a simple fix like that.

 

[90tsi6bolt]

Try the flasher module also under the radio. Could be a possible cause also, when I was putting gsx back together my blinkers wouldn't blink they'd stay on constantly replace the flasher unit an all is well now.