rear indicators stuck on when main lights turned on

[bobswais]

Hi there, if anyone has had similar, and knows simple fixes to try for a beginner level van mechanic...

Rear indicators stuck on when main lights turned fully on,

when side lights OFF.. everything works fine,

when side lights ON.. everything works fine,

when main lights ON a. Main beam indicator is on all the time,
b. rear indicator lights on all the time
c. indicators wont work
d. all lights on front go dim

Have checked all fuses i can see, have changed flasher relay with spare one, no change, tried spare indicator/main beam stalk, no change..
looked for any obvious loose connections on dash, and strip connector on back off speedo pod/cct board.. no change

wiggled alot of other wires !!

its a 1984 1.9dg with two round lights on the front

welcome all your suggestions please many thanks in advance )

[Ralf85]

How long has this been happening for? Has anybody tampered with the wiring recently?

[marlinowner]

This looks to me like a problem with the earth crown behind the relays. If it has a bad contact to the body, then when you put 12v on the lights, there will be a route to ground through the main beam warning light and also through the indicator bulbs to the ground at the rear lights.

[bobswais]

Hi thanks for replies,

It had never happened before, and it all went loopy after pulling out of a filling station last week. it was one of those first very cold nights, it was only 1/2 mile up the road, brought van back and the lights have been the same since. no one had fiddled with anything prior as everything worked just great.

When you mention the earth crowns, are they the ones bolted to the side of the van behind the fuse box. I will try stripping them out and putting them back after a clean up. I know mine has early fuse and relay board behind glove box. not alot of relays in there ! only flasher and a silver one in slot 3.

again thanks for support.

[marlinowner]

Yes behind the fuses. Its the connection between the crown and the body itself that could be the problem, use a jump lead or similar to connect earthcrown to a good earth point to test.

[bobswais]

ahh great tip.. will give that a go tomorrow....and let you know... like your marlin ! the other classics i have been into over the years apart from vw's were triumphs with GT6's ,spitfires and a hearld, nevr had the vitesse .. gt6 fitted with tr6 injection. would imagine your marlin has a nice growl....specially if it has a SS-twin pipe ? oh well back to earthing on my camper for reality check...

[marlinowner]

Well hope my diagnosis isn't leading you up the garden path! The Marlin did have a twin sidepipe exhaust but it hurt my ears so its reassembled as a single pipe straight through system at the moment. Engine is early TR6 with 150bhp cam, but with 3x40DCOE Webers rather than PI. Ford type 9 V6 spec gearbox, 3.27 GT6 diff, GT6 swing spring rear suspension with lowering block, GT6 front suspension with shortened springs. All good fun although could do with bottom end rebuild when I can justify the cost!

[bobswais]

Lovely spec! Bottom end on tr6 is common, 3 webers! Must be like just pooring the petrol straight in! Lovely.

On my note, found corrosion on the crown earth connectors and a good clean up seemed to fix all the problems! Well done ! thanks for advice, saved me loads of time. Proves how good the forum is, specially for beginners like me where this could have cost a packet. Yet only taken me an hour or so ..thanks again, Cheers bob

[marlinowner]

Good news! And yes economy isn't its strong suit, 25mpg if I try, and the Hillman Imp tank only holds 5 gallons...