Ford KA. Indicator problem, help needed please.

swingaloo

Hi
Thanks for reading. I have a problem with the right hand indicator on my car.

It works sometimes and dosnt sometimes!
When I put the indicator on and it is working, it makes the usual sound, when its not working it clicks at double speed.

Sometimes when I put it on the indicator light flashes very fast and when it does this my front indicator is not working and the rear one is flashing at twice the usual speed.

The first time it happened I assumed the bulb had gone but when I checked it was ok.

Whats baffling me is that it has a life of its own, sometimes it works normally, sometimes not at all, sometimes it works at one junction then not at the next.

Will it be a bulb or a wiring problem? Any thoughts gratefully recieved.
thanks

vax2002

take the bulb out and clean the rear of the bulb contact and the bulb holder in the socket.

Browntoa

sometimes its where the wiring plugs onto one of the indicators is not seated properly so in your case I would check the front one

swingaloo

Thank you for the replies, possibly damp getting in then.
Wpill do as you suggest, thanks

s_b

you will need to undo the philips screws holding the bumper grille to slam panel so you can get to the bulb and holder
i would clean the internal contacts with some graded paper

Mingle

I had this on my old KA- apparently it's a warning that your bulbs are soon to go and they need replacing. So i'd change the bulb- cheap and cheerful

forgotmyname

Replace the bulb and clean all the connectors.

The_Grouch

I had this exact intermitant fault in my 1996 fiesta. It was actually a loose connection inside the indicator stalk. My friend stripped and cleaned the part and it then worked fine, but easiest fix is maybe a new set of stalks from a scrapyard.

Try changing the bulb first though!

Joe_Horner

The "fast flash" effect is a standard warning that one of your bulbs has failed. All cars give warning - some by flashing fast, some by not flashing at all (ie: the other bulbs give a steady light).

The fact that the other bulbs light up even when the fault happens mean it's very unlikely to be the stalk or flasher unit and is almost certainly a problem with the one that stops working - that's exactly what the warning is designed for!

Because it's intermittent it's also unlikely to be the bulb itself. It is possible for a failed filament to make intermittent contact and work again briefly but not for any length of time. So, as others have said, check the bulb holder and connections to it. As well as cleaning the bulb contacts, use a screwdriver to gently scrape the contacts in the holder itself (with the lights turned off!) and make sure the bulb is a snug fit - they can become loose if the rear (springy) contact in the holder gets bent.

If it is loose then carefully bend the springy contact "forward" so it'll push harder on the bulb and keep it secure - don't overdo it or you could break the contact off!

s_b

you can always tell a faulty indicator bulb as it keeps going
on
off
on
off
on
off
on
off
on
off
on
off
on
off
on
off
on
off

Joe_Horner

Damn, I was lucky - all mine are doing that but the MOT guy must've not noticed last week!