muckahele Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback -Rear right turn signal light doesn't light up in turn signal or hazard mode -All other turn signal lights work fine in turn signal and hazard mode Because all the other turn signal lights work fine in both turn signal and hazard mode, I am thinking this must be an issue with the wiring or connector for just the right rear bulb. The bulb socket contacts appear clean. Any advice on how to find the problem? Should I start by replacing the light socket and connector for the bulb? Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOONGA Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Have you swapped a new bulb in to make sure it isn't the bulb? Check that the socket is without power with a multimeter before you start replacing parts. biggest culprit with the wiring is a broken earth.\ TOONGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckahele Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 yeah, forgot to mention, I swapped the bulb and the bulb is fine. how do you find and fix a broken earth? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 This is the amber signal bulb correct? If you have a multi-meter, check for 12v on both the wires to the bulb socket. Black probe should be connected to a clean ground. 12v on boh sides with the signal On (it should alternate 12 to 0) means a bad ground. The ground for the brake and signal lamps are in the same area behind the side panel in the right rear of the cargo area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 You should have at least a test light probe so you can check for power getting to the light at the connector for the light socket. The trouble could also be with the hazard switch or the flasher module since both circuits pass through them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckahele Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Ok, I did a few checks with the multimeter. When the hazards are supposed to be on, there does appear to be a small voltage alternating between 0 and 0.1 volts reaching the light socket and the terminal block directly feeding the light socket. When the blinker is supposed to be on, there does appear to be a small voltage alternating between 0 and 0.5 volts reaching the light socket and the terminal block directly feeding the light socket. I get a negligible voltage when testing the voltage between the socket or terminal block and a ground point on the frame. Just to make sure, I checked the blinker that still works and the socket and terminal is correctly alternating between 0 and 12 volts. So could this be some sort of short in the wiring upstream of the light socket, or maybe a bad hazard switch or flasher module? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 the wiring often breaks in hatches right where it passes through wherever it's hinged at the body and hatch. there's a rubber grommet the wiring passes through and the wiring breaks there. you can check for continuity from the socket connections (at the bad bulb) to a chassis-side connector, i've found them in the passengers side footwell kick panel before for this same testing. if there's no/limited connectivity there then you likely have a break in the wiring where it bends all the time from opening/closing. annoying to diagnose, easy to fix. remove rubber grommet, splice in one new wire. it's often the case that more than one are damaged. make sure everything else works in the hatch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckahele Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Where does the wiring bend all the time from opening and closing? As far as I can tell the wiring has a direct run through the frame. Thanks! the wiring often breaks in hatches right where it passes through wherever it's hinged at the body and hatch. there's a rubber grommet the wiring passes through and the wiring breaks there. you can check for continuity from the socket connections (at the bad bulb) to a chassis-side connector, i've found them in the passengers side footwell kick panel before for this same testing. if there's no/limited connectivity there then you likely have a break in the wiring where it bends all the time from opening/closing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 my bad, i was thinking rear hatch, not the corner lights. was the previous bulb damaged in anyway? i have seen the bottoms of the sockets be very warn. any moisture intrusion into that lens/light assembly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Good job on the testing of the light. The trouble you are having isn't due to a short, that hopefully would blow a fuse if that was the case. The trouble is due to a bad connection to power and the resistance of that bad connection is causing the voltage to drop across the higher resistance of the bad connection. Your meter then saw what was left of the total power supply voltage that didn't get dropped across the bad connection. For example (using a normally operating circuit), it you wired in another light of the same type in series with the other light then your meter would have seen half of the voltage or around 6 volts across the last light since the two lights are the same resistance and would drop the same amount of voltage. When wired in series they have to share the total supply voltage of 12 volts. In your case though the resistance of the bad connection is a lot higher than the bulb resistance. The brake light is used for the turn signal also so if that works okay then the wiring back to the bulb should be okay. I would look the problem being with the emergency flasher switch or the flasher module possibly. If the brake light is bad also then the wire going to rear needs to be checked. I think there is a connector for the rear lights in the right rear panel but it may be the left side, not sure. The trouble may be there. Disconnect it and reconnect it to see if that changes things and if not check the voltage at that point to see if it is low there also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckahele Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Thanks Cougar. The brake light is working fine, so it seems likely that its either an individual wire with a bad connection somewhere, or the emergency flasher switch or the flasher module. It looks like I could get a flasher module for $20 and it wouldn't be too hard to replace so I might try that after I check all the connections I can, and then the emergency flasher switch, which looks like $50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckahele Posted February 17, 2016 Author Share Posted February 17, 2016 Well now I am quite confused, I did another check with the multimeter today and when the bulb is out the socket is now alternating between 0 and 6 volts when the turn signal is supposed to be on, but when I put in the bulb in I can't get any voltage reading. The blinker that works correctly alternates between 0 and 12 volts. Again, when I swap the bulbs between the good side and the bad side both bulbs work fine on the good side. ?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 You have a break or poor connection in the power wire going to the bulb. There should be a connector in the wire harness somewhere behind the paneling on the right side of the cargo area. Check in the connector for corrosion. Also check for any wiring that may have been added on, such as trailer wiring, and spliced in with crimp connectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muckahele Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 wow, well I finally got it. It seems the loose wire was somewhere in the connector block right where the front passengers right foot is. I didn't actually find the loose connection, but just fiddling around with the connector blocks seems to have settled it back into contact for now. It seems like the passengers foot could pretty easily mess up the wiring if they kicked in the right place. Not sure how to fix it for good, but at least I know where it is now. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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