Wiring Right turn signal stopped working

[Woo1984CJ7]

Hi all, my right turn signal stopped working. It was working fine, then started giving me issues. Initially when the problem started, the signal would take some time to “warm up” and would work only after a few minutes of engaging it. The driving light function works… but not the turn signal or hazard function. When I turn on hazards… all lights front and back blink except my front right. My left side turn signal works fine. When I try right side signal, the rear right gets brighter and stays bright… front right does nothing and speedometer turn indicator does nothing. I replaced the bulb and had same problem. I then replaced the whole parking lamp assembly, and same problem. I then replaced the flasher and same problem with one slight difference… the flasher makes one cycle sound then stays silent… the front turn signal never flashes and the speedometer indicator never flashes though. I have OEM lighting all around except LED taillights, which I’ve had for a year and the issue only started recently. Any ideas?

 

[TSB8C]

Sounds like a ground gremlin. The front lights have a dual filament bulb, one for the marker light and one for the turn signal. So the connector plug has two wires in it. Then they use the housing and the screws mounting it to the grill for the ground (third connection). Very common for that ground connection to be intermittent or fail due to any rust, corrosion, or even paint on the grill surface and in the screw holes. An easy test is to use a short clip lead (wire with alligator clips on each end) to connect the light housing to a known good ground source and see if it works. Another potential issue is the side market light on the front fender. If that is not working, the turn signal won't work either. You mentioned you replaced the front turn signal, but no mention of the side marker light. So a place to check. Just swap with the left side to test.

If all that checks out, you're now looking at the turn signal switch in the column or the wiring. I wouldn't suspect turn signal switch since the rear light tries to work and you get one click of the flasher unit. Seems the actual switch in the column is working. I've seen an issue with the connector plug at the lower part of the steering column where the turn signal wiring comes down the column and then connects into the under dash harness. Also seems less likely since the rear light tries to work by getting brighter. But I've also seen an issue with a corroded or gummed up pin in the bulkhead connector on the firewall under the hood. There you have a specific wire for the front left and a separate one for the front right blinker connections. When I say "gummed up", I've seen some of those pins in the connector stop making connection due to the "goo" that was applied to waterproof those connections and over time it gets like tar from heat and age and coats the pins. You have to remove them and scrub them clean again.