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1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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zounds
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Aug 5, 2013, 1:06 PM
Post #1 of 19
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1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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My 1993 (3.8L, 90,000 miles) Mercury Sable's turn signals stopped working very abruptly while I was driving a few days ago. I clicked the switch to make a turn, got one blink, and then the signal stopped as did the light on the dash. Now I can't (for the most part) get the signal nor the dash to light when I flip the switch. The car has been sitting mostly unused for about 10 years, but I've been driving it regularly for the past 2 months and this is the first electrical problem I've had. Here's what I've found and done about it:
- The hazards still work and the relay clicks audibly while they're on.
- If I wiggle the switch just right I can get the signal to flash briefly (but not stay on) both at the bulb and on the dash, but I don't hear the relay click. The switch still works mechanically - it still catches and holds the position when I push it up or down to signal, but it's not making the actual signal happen. When I'm able to make it flash by wiggling it, it's never actually pushed up or down to an actual "left" or "right" signal position, it's always somewhere in the middle before the switch clicks/locks.
- I checked the fuse (it looked fine), replaced it with a new one just to be safe, and worked it in and out of the holder a few times to make sure it was properly seated.
- I replaced the multifunction switch as well but to no avail. I put the old switch back in and sprayed some electrical contact cleaner around the area where it plugs into the wiring as well as into the hazard switch, also to no avail.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be causing the problem? Any tips would be seriously appreciated. Thanks.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 5, 2013, 1:12 PM
Post #2 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Probably a bad flasher.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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zounds
Novice
Aug 5, 2013, 1:23 PM
Post #3 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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I can't seem to figure out if this car has one flasher for hazards and turn signals or one for each. Do you have any idea where a separate turn signal flasher would be? I have all of the panels off under the steering wheel and can only find one flasher (the one which is audible for the hazards but doing nothing for the turn signals).
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 5, 2013, 2:39 PM
Post #4 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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You're right. It does share a flasher with the hazards. You're just going to have to systematically test the circuit to find out where you are losing it.
Here is the wiring diagram.
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zounds
Novice
Aug 6, 2013, 10:20 AM
Post #5 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Thanks for those. I just measured the voltage at the connector where the flasher plugs in and got 6v between ground and the middle prong when the hazards were on. When the turn signal was on it read about 0.2v so this makes me think I have a wiring issue. Do you have any tips on how to trace such a problem? I see the 3 wires from the flasher disappear behind the steering wheel and from there I'm sort of at a loss for what to test next. Thanks for your help!
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 6, 2013, 11:13 AM
Post #6 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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You should have battery voltage on the R/W wire with the key on.
If not check the fuses shown at the top.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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zounds
Novice
Aug 6, 2013, 12:06 PM
Post #7 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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My mistake - with the hazards on and the key off I get 6v at the r/w wire and 12v at blue. With hazards on and key on I get 7v at r/w and 14v at blue. With signals on and key on I get 0.1 or 0.2 volts on both terminal. All fuses look good.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 6, 2013, 12:30 PM
Post #8 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Forget all that crap. Turn the key on and nothing else.
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zounds
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Aug 6, 2013, 12:44 PM
Post #9 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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With the key on (no hazards, no turn signals) I get 0.02v at both terminals.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 6, 2013, 1:29 PM
Post #10 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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So, check the fuses like I said.
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zounds
Novice
Aug 6, 2013, 1:32 PM
Post #11 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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All the fuses look good. As I mentioned in my first post, when this problem started I replaced the fuse associated with turn signals with a new one (even though the old one looked good).
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 6, 2013, 1:48 PM
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Well, you don't have power where the fuse is supposed to supply it so I don't know what to tell you. If you don't want to test the fuse, then don't.
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zounds
Novice
Aug 6, 2013, 1:58 PM
Post #13 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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I suppose I wasn't clear: the fuse tests good. The old fuse tested good (the one that was in when the blinkers first went out), as does the current fresh one.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 6, 2013, 2:34 PM
Post #14 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Test for power coming into the turn signal switch on both the purple/orange and the white/red.
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zounds
Novice
Aug 6, 2013, 4:11 PM
Post #15 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Red/white has 14.7v
Purple/orange has 0.03v
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Hammer Time
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Aug 6, 2013, 4:15 PM
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Just as I suspected....................
That wire is connected directly to fuse #5 in the inside fuse box so you need to go back to that box again and test for power on both sides of that fuse.
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zounds
Novice
Aug 6, 2013, 4:26 PM
Post #17 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Damn, you are good.
Fuse #5 was blown. Swapped it and now I have my blinkers back. Thank you so much!
So that's not the fuse for the turn signal - how did that one bum fuse play into the signals not working? (if you don't mind me asking - I really appreciate your time)
(This post was edited by zounds on Aug 6, 2013, 4:30 PM)
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 6, 2013, 5:00 PM
Post #18 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
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Aug 6, 2013, 5:11 PM
Post #19 of 19
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Re: 1993 Mercury Sable - Turn Signals Not Working
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I'm glad you found it. I wish you had checked them the first time I asked. We could have saved a lot of work.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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