What's the most accurate way to check a Ranger's brake light sockets with a ohm meter

[greaseyfingers]

Do you have a trailer light adaptor in the connection at the rear of your truck i9f so pull the adaptor out clean the connections and use dielecrric grease to put them together without the adaptor and see how the lights work?

There isn't a trailer light adaptor anywhere in the connection at the rear of my 90 Ranger, as I've already checked to see if there was, before, and there wasn't..

Do you have any other ideas to check for..

 

[greaseyfingers]

I never really understood how it actually works but with your brakes on the turn signal flasher turns the brake light off and on on the side your turning.

The front and back blinkers work fine on my 90 Ranger when the left side blinker is turned on..
>
> I don't know what's causing both rear
> turn signals to flash when I use the right
> blinker, as the left side works fine
> without any problems..
>
> Another thing I noticed is that if I put on
> the right side blinker, without the key in
> the ignition, and press the brake pedal..
>
> The right front, driver's side, turn signal
> light will light up and the turn signal
> flasher will start clicking, but the right
> front turn signal doesn't flash, while the
> brake pedal is being depressed and the
> rear brake lights will stay on..
>
> While the turn signal flasher is clicking,
> as explained.. When I turn the heater
> blower motor's switch on, without the
> key on.. Each time the turn signal
> flasher clicks, the heater blower motor
> will start up on each click the flasher
> makes and then stop between each click..
>
> Another thing I also noticed is if I put on
> the emergency flashers they will work
> fine, until I depress the brake pedal..
>
> Then the emergency flasher lights will
> stay on and stop flashing, as long as the
> brake pedal is depressed..
>
> I've never had a problem like this, before..
>
> What is the solution to this problem,
> when the right side blinker is turned on
> and both rear blinkers will start blinking?
>
> Do you think the turn signal switch is
> faulty and is somehow crossing power
> over to the rear left side blinker, when
> the right side blinker is turned on?
>
> Has anyone else experienced this kind of
> problem, before, and know what needs
> to be done to fix it?
>
> Nothing I've done, so far, has stopped
> both rear turn signals from flashing when
> I use the right turn signal..
>
> I tried replacing the front and rear turn
> signal bulbs..
>
> I tried a different turn signal flasher..
>
> I tried a different emergency signal
> flasher..
>
> I took the turn signal switch apart and
> cleaned it..
>
> I tried using a good working turn signal
> switch from a 89 Ranger, and it didn't help..
>
> I've cleaned all the ground connections
> that I could find..
>
> Every electrical connector that's under
> the hood I've taken apart, cleaned
> and sprayed with WD/40..
>
> I took the brake light switch off and
> sprayed it with WD/40..
>
> I haven't been able to figure out, yet,
> what's causing both rear turn signals to
> flash when I use the right blinker, as the
> left side works fine without any problems..

 

[greaseyfingers]

When I submitted the above information on agcoauto.com website in the form of a question, for requesting an answer to,
where they have an automotive shop that specializes in vehicles that are having electrical problems that other people
haven't been able to figure out and fix..

The reply I got back from them, to my question, is posted below ~

Hi,

The problem would likely be a crossed power or ground wire, between the brake and signal circiut.

If there is a trailer lighting connection, I would start by disconnecting it.

Otherwise, I would perform a voltage drop test across each circiut.

For details, search 'voltage drop' on my site.

Voltage-Drop Tests I
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/330

Voltage-Drop Tests II
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/331

Thanks,

Louis

--
To reply, please use only the contact form on www.agcoauto.com . Replies to this address will be returned.

Thanks

 

[Earl43P]

"I've cleaned all the ground connections that I could find.."

I can't get to my photobucket right now (you can though - Earl43P is the account, it's open). In it are pictures of a white 90, showing the grounds under the hood.

Should be two on the Driver side front fender aft near the hinge, one by the starter solenoid on the passenger side, one on the left of the middle of the radiator support, one from the head to the wiper motor bolt.

Another small one from the neg bat cable, note that the big neg bat cable goes from Bat- to the frame, THEN to the block.

Another under the passenger side of the bed to the frame.

Clean up all of those.

For the brake/tail lights, I believe that ground is the rearmost one on the driver side inner front fender.

Another place to look is at the rear of the bed, dead center behind the bumper, is the tail light harness disconnect. Disconnect that and see what happens in front. Clean that connector up too.

For the blower motor to come on, you have to have a bad ground. Its power is not present with the key out/off.

 

[greaseyfingers]

"I've cleaned all the ground connections that I could find.."

I can't get to my photobucket right now (you can though - Earl43P is the account, it's open). In it are pictures of a white 90, showing the grounds under the hood.

Should be two on the Driver side front fender aft near the hinge, one by the starter solenoid on the passenger side, one on the left of the middle of the radiator support, one from the head to the wiper motor bolt.

Another small one from the neg bat cable, note that the big neg bat cable goes from Bat- to the frame, THEN to the block.

Another under the passenger side of the bed to the frame.

Clean up all of those.

For the brake/tail lights, I believe that ground is the rearmost one on the driver side.

Another place to look is at the rear of the bed, dead center behind the bumper, is the tail light harness disconnect. Disconnect that and see what happens in front. Clean that connector up too.

For the blower motor to come on, you have to have a bad ground. Its power is not present with the key out/off.

Being I'm not registered on photobucket for viewing your white 90 pictures, showing the grounds under the hood, as you mentioned doing..

Maybe, you can post a link to your photobucker pictures, later, if you're able to do so..

I have already cleaned each ground location, before, on the driver's side fender, where there were two ground wires are attached to that fender with one bolt and the other ground that was bolted to the passenger's side fender, by the solenoid, as you mentioned doing, and it didn't help..

I have already cleaned the ground location, before, on the left of the middle of the radiator support, as you mentioned doing, and it didn't help..

I have already cleaned, before, the ground from the head to the wiper motor bolt, as you mentioned doing, and it didn't help..

I have already cleaned, before, the small one from the neg bat cable, and the big neg bat cable goes from Bat- to the frame, THEN to the block.

I wasn't aware, before, that there is another ground under the passenger side of the bed to the frame, as you mentioned.. So, I'll have to try and find that ground and clean it, too..

I haven't found, before, or cleaned any ground that you said, "For the brake/tail lights, I believe that ground is the rearmost one on the driver side."

I thought that what the brake/tail light used for a ground, was a seperate ground wire in the wiring harness that goes to each brake/tail light socket..

Or, are the brake/tail light sockets actually grounded at the rearmost on the driver side, as you believe they are, as you mentioned.. For if they are both grounded there, I haven't found that location, yet, to clean those grounds..

I have already cleaned, before, the tail light harness Disconnect that's dead center behind the bumper, and it didn't help..

Even when I had this harness disconnected there, when the key was turned off and the right turn signal was turned on, the other problems remained causing the right front turn signal light to stay on and the heater motor to run when turned on, starting and stopping between each clicking sound the relay would make, during the time the brake pedal was being depressed..

Even when I disconnected the tail/brake light harness that's under the hood, along the driver's side fender, everything responded the same, as was explained in the above paragraph..

Do you have any other thoughts, or ideas to try..

Even though using the right turn signals which, for some reason, is causing both my 90 Ranger's rear turn signals to flash, at the same time..

Everything else on my 90 Ranger seems to be working like it's suppose, and the engine starts like it should, without any problems..

I wouldn't think disconnecting my battery cables, again, and cleaning the battery posts and the cable's post connnections would, or could possibly solve this problem, could it, as everything else seems to working fine, as I've mentioned, except that the right turn signal is not working properly, for what ever is causing both my 90 Ranger's rear tail lights to flash, at the same time, whenever the right turn signal is being used ..

 

[Earl43P]

Sorry, got my driver side grounds/years all mixed up.

Pass side

Driver side

Rad support

Blower



To me, a big clue is you have power back-feeding the blower, key off, brakes on, turn signal selected. For anything to back feed like that, the ground terminals have to be touching or joined, like the driver side shows, AND not grounded to the chassis. I wonder if the blower runs backward when it backfeeds.

There are also probably grounds by the parking brake, and by the inside the cab fusebox (I can't remember if the 90 has one).

 

[greaseyfingers]

Sorry, got my driver side grounds/years all mixed up.

Pass side

Driver side

Rad support

Blower



To me, a big clue is you have power back-feeding the blower, key off, brakes on, turn signal selected. For anything to back feed like that, the ground terminals have to be touching or joined, like the driver side shows, AND not grounded to the chassis. I wonder if the blower runs backward when it backfeeds.

There are also probably grounds by the parking brake, and by the inside the cab fusebox (I can't remember if the 90 has one).

Your pictures showing the grounding locations, are the grounds that I cleaned up, by taking them off and using abrasive emery cloth to sand the contact surfaces down to shiny bare metal, behind the terminals..

Then, I sanded the ground terminal connections on both sides with abrasive emery cloth, and put oil on the bolt threads, before bolting them back on, again, very tight..

Being the blower motor is enclosed, I don't know if the blower runs backwards or not, when it backfeeds, as the blower motor only starts and stops for a split second, between each clicking sound that the turn signal relay makes..

When I held my hand over the defroster vents, before, I wasn't able to feel any air blowing out, when the blower motor was doing this..

Being you mentioned, "There are also probably grounds by the parking brake, and by the inside the cab fusebox (I can't remember if the 90 has one)."

I'll check and see if I can find any grounds there, when it gets a little warmer outside, as it's been unusually cold here, lately..
The outside temperature is 13 below zero, now.. The precicted low for tonight is 18 below zero, and the high tomorrow is 6 below zero..

Where are the actual grounds locations for the front turn signals and rear brake/turn signals, are they the two grounds located on the inside fenders?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Maybe attack it from the blower aspect it has nothing to do with the multifunction switch. With the key on you should have power to the blower motor brown/orange stripe. The blower switch controls ground to the motor so trace the wires to the resistor and under the dash for shorts looking for anything that dont look right. Possibly you had a small wire fire in the loop somewhere tracing the heater wires might show you where the short may be. My guess is the multifunction switch is feeding ground to the blower between the blower switch and the blower resistor? Just a thought.

 

[greaseyfingers]

Maybe attack it from the blower aspect it has nothing to do with the multifunction switch. With the key on you should have power to the blower motor brown/orange stripe. The blower switch controls ground to the motor so trace the wires to the resistor and under the dash for shorts looking for anything that dont look right. Possibly you had a small wire fire in the loop somewhere tracing the heater wires might show you where the short may be. My guess is the multifunction switch is feeding ground to the blower between the blower switch and the blower resistor? Just a thought.

The heater motor resistor only has one or two wires hooked up to it, and only works on the high position, as the other wires are broken off from the resistor's connector plug terminals..

Could that be causing these electrical issues my 90 Ranger is having, as was explained, along with making both my truck's rear turn signal lights to flash, when using the right turn signal..

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Allways start with the obvious strip the harness back from the resistor to the heater switch under the dash if necessary. if you properly fix the blower circuits it may very well cure the lighting issue.

 

[greaseyfingers]

Allways start with the obvious strip the harness back from the resistor to the heater switch under the dash if necessary. if you properly fix the blower circuits it may very well cure the lighting issue.

I've got a heater motor resistor and pig tail connector ordered from ebay that should be here, sometime, this week..

When I get a chance to put it on, I'll find out if that will resolve the electrical issue problems my 90 Ranger is having with using the right turn signal, that's causing both of my truck's rear tail lights to flash..

Being the left turn signals work ok, and I'm only having trouble with the right side..

I'm kind of doubtful that properly installing the heater motor's blower resistor will cure my Ranger's right side turn signal problem..

If that was causing the problem, you would think that it would affect both the left and right side turn signals the same way..

 

[greaseyfingers]

I've been reading up on some very educational information posted on the agcoauto.com website, from an automotive shop that specializes in fixing difficult automotive electrical problems..

You can check these links out, too, if you'd like to learn more about figuring out electrical problems..

From what I've read, I'm beginning to wonder if my 90 Ranger is experiencing a Transient Ground problem, somewhere, that might be causing the electrical issues that it's having..

How To Diagnose Brake Light Problems
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/243

Preventable Electrical Problems
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/58

Voltage-Drop Tests I http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/330

Voltage-Drop Tests II http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/331

Transient Current Flow, A Silent Killer
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/157

Replacing Battery Terminals
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/134

How to Check Fuses and Relays
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/245

 

[kimcrwbr1]

The transient ground is probably in the loop between the resistor and the heater switch under the dash you will likely need to strip the harness to find and fix the bad wires? You may get lucky and just be in the engine compartment.

 

[greaseyfingers]

The transient ground is probably in the loop between the resistor and the heater switch under the dash you will likely need to strip the harness to find and fix the bad wires? You may get lucky and just be in the engine compartment.

I don't think the transient ground problem is located there, because even when all the wires are disconnected from the heater motor's blower resistor,
> when I put on
> the right side blinker, without the key in
> the ignition, and press the brake pedal..
>
> The right front, driver's side, turn signal
> light will light up, while the brake pedal
> is being depressed and the rear brake
> lights will stay on, for as long as the
> brake pedal is being depressed..

I'm beginning to wonder if my temporary clamp on battery cable ends might be possibly causing the electrical problems my 90 Ranger is having, from what I've been reading about them on the agcoauto.com website, that's an automotive shop that specializes in fixing difficult automotive electrical problems..

As they were saying, temporary or emergency battery-cable ends may cause far more problems than they solve. These devices have been widely used over the years, and today their technicians see quite a few problems from people using them.

They said that Poor battery connections can easily drop system voltage by two volts or more. While this may not seem that great, two volts represents over 16% loss of current, in a 12 volt system. Problems can occur with less than half that amount of drop.

They also said that When the engine ground can no longer conduct the proper amperage, the electric energy being used in the system must find another route back to the battery. The additional flow is called a transient ground.

I've been reading up on some very educational information posted on their agcoauto.com website, from an automotive shop that specializes in fixing difficult automotive electrical problems..

I posted some links below from the agcoauto.com website, if you'd like to learn more about trouble shooting and figuring out electrical problems..

From what I've read, I'm beginning to wonder if my 90 Ranger is experiencing a Transient Ground problem, somewhere, that might be causing the electrical issues that it's having..

How To Diagnose Brake Light Problems
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/243

Preventable Electrical Problems
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/58

Voltage-Drop Tests I http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/330

Voltage-Drop Tests II http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/331

Transient Current Flow, A Silent Killer
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/157

Replacing Battery Terminals
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/134

How to Check Fuses and Relays
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/245

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Be sure and let us know what you find out all I can do is suggest where I would begin testing. There is more than one way to skin a cat.