Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 07:04:47 -0800
Reply-To: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: Turn signal indicator troubleshooting - blue wire
In-Reply-To: <4CE53D49.30601@cox.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
I will reverse the LED and retest, but I'm not eager to rip into that panel again. No other way to find out, though. Thanks!
Stephen
--- On Thu, 11/18/10, mark drillock <mdrillock@cox.net> wrote:
From: mark drillock <mdrillock@cox.net>
Subject: Re: Turn signal indicator troubleshooting - blue wire
To: "Stephen Grisanti" <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 9:50 AM
Looking back over some older posts by you it seems this is an 87 Westy rather than just an 87? The Westy can have other things connected to the blue wire circuit so if it is a Westy I would not expect that blue wire test to show anything. Thanks for trying it anyway.
The older posts show you recently had the cluster apart to replace the high beam indicator bulb. Some of us older guys realize we don't always remember every little thing we did weeks or months ago so forgive us if we assume this may be true of other people as well.
The TS LED indicator is powered on one leg at all times that the key is turned on. It only lights when the TS or 4Way switches provide a ground path on the other leg during the time that the flasher relay has blinked the outer signals off between flashes. An LED only works when powered in one direction. Since yours only lights when the key is off, the logical assumption is that the power must be coming from a different path, namely the other leg that is supposed to be the ground leg. Since that leg won't light the led unless it is in backwards, we conclude a high probability that your diode is in backwards.
Mark
Stephen Grisanti wrote:
> Blue wire detached from alternator and first two tests rerun with NO change.
>
> I reiterate that I have made no change--none, not ever--to the turn signal indicator LED/bulb so if it is installed with the polarity reversed, then for four years it has worked that way until just recently. Unless someone's been sneaking over to my house at night and messing with my instrument panel, that TSI is exactly as it has always been.
>
> So what's next, the bucket of steam? I'll try reversing polarity this weekend. I've heard that can be fun.
>
> Stephen
>
> --- On Tue, 11/16/10, mark drillock<mdrillock@cox.net> wrote:
>
> From: mark drillock<mdrillock@cox.net>
> Subject: Re: Turn signal indicator troubleshooting
> To: "Stephen Grisanti"<bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
> Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 11:42 AM
>
> If you would be willing to do one more thing, try unhooking the small
> blue wire from the alternator and then run the first 2 test modes again.
>
> The TS indicator is a green led, the HB indicator is normally an
> incandescent bulb with a blue plastic cover. The bulb has no polarity
> but the led needs to be plugged in correctly.
>
> Mark
>
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