Murphy5156

Got a strange one for you. Recently I have had intermittent trouble with my turn signals. Rather than just the blinker I want to use blinking, they BOTH blink.....so it looks like I've turned my hazzards on when all I am really doing is signaling a turn. Has anyone ever seen this behavior before? The only other time it has happened to me is when I replaced my head unit a couple of years ago, and while removing the trim around the stock HU I had to disconnect and remove the switch for the hazzards. Then when I plugged everything back in I had the same problem with both blinkers flashing when I tried to signal a turn. After removing and reinstalling the hazzard switch a few times, the problem seemed to go away....lately it's back again and I haven't touched that switch in over a year. Sometimes I think it happens after I hit a bump in the road or something and something gets jostled and the blinkers get messed up, then just as suddenly they go back to working like normal. But the problem is getting more and more frequent now and I am really stumped as to what might cause this and how to fix it. Any help from the Org would be greatly appreciated. I have a 2003 Maxima SE Automatic. Thanks!

NisTech

try disconnecting that hazzard switch harness from behind the dash and see if when signaling your hazzards will still turn on.

Murphy5156

NisTech,

Are you talking about disconnecting it from the hazzard switch that is next to the ashtray? Or another harness somewhere behind the dash? Thanks.

jkmay01

iTrader: (3)

i am trying to remember, i notice this on my 3rd gen if u have the hazard button that is on the dash disconnected your turn signals wont work independantly. make sure the connection is firm with your hazzard button

NisTech

yes the switch itself.

5thgenmaxima

iTrader: (1)

First thing I would do is find and upload a schumatic. Since it happened before after replacing your HU odds are that you have a short back there somewhere. It's probably not the switch itself. Removing it will only tell you which part of the circuit the short is in. I'd pull your dash trim and HU back out and look for frayed wires or wires missing the insulation.

Murphy5156

Thanks! I'll give it a shot.

Murphy5156

OK guys, today I took the center console apart. Took out the HU and everything so I could work in there. I unplugged the harness from the back of the hazzard switch (the one under the climate controls and just to the left of the ashtray). With the harness unplugged the turn signals will NOT work. Apparently without that harness connected the circuit is not complete. I then removed about 6" of the electrical tape around the harness to check for any bare wires or anything. They all look fine. I then plugged the harness back in to the switch. The problem was still there. When I attempted to signal a turn the hazzards would still flash. I then noticed something strange. I could make the turn signals work by changing the orientation of the hazzard switch. By that I mean if I held it in my hand and pointed it left, right, up, and down, sometimes I could get the blinkers to work normally. The only problem with this is that as soon as I tried to move the switch back into a position that would allow me to reinstall it in the dash, it would go right back to making both turn signals flash. I'm at a loss as to what's wrong. By process of elimination I think I have proven that the problem is near that switch and not in the steering column. I guess I will try buying a new hazzard switch and replace it and see if that works. If not I guess I'll have to see if the dealer can figure it out.

Murphy5156

Well, that wasn't it! I received my new hazard switch today ($44) and replaced the existing one.....didn't work.....the hazards still flash when I try to use the left/right turn signals. I'm really getting frustrated. If anyone has any ideas I would sure love to hear them before having to take it to the dealer. Thanks!

Murphy5156

Well, I finally fixed this issue. I removed even more of the electrical tape around the harness, and low and behold I found three separate wires that were worn down to bare copper somehow. Once I wrapped electrical tape around the bare spots, everything worked great! Awesome! Thanks to all of you that suggested there must be a short somewhere, you were right.