Turn signal comes on and then off any ideas?

[CROYCE992]

Some days my right turn signal will flash/click really fast. When I checked the amber bumper light was dead so I bought a replacement bulb and then the next day the light works again. It worked for a week then died. Then came to life... Whats the issue here? Shouldn't bulbs just die? Why does is turn on then off every few days or sometimes multiple times per day while driving, when starting the car, etc.

[camry6]

Originally Posted by CROYCE992

Some days my right turn signal will flash/click really fast. When I checked the amber bumper light was dead so I bought a replacement bulb and then the next day the light works again. It worked for a week then died. Then came to life... Whats the issue here? Shouldn't bulbs just die? Why does is turn on then off every few days or sometimes multiple times per day while driving, when starting the car, etc.

The signal flasher runs faster due to less resistance in the circuit, due to the failed bulb. This is designed to do this to alert you of a problem (non-working bulb). As for the light working then not working, could be a loose connection/corroded connection. Could be a blown filament in the bulb springing around and making contact at different times. What you describe is not un-common. Replace the bulb and check the connections.

[CROYCE992]

you are absolutely right. I think the best way of troubleshooting this is to start by replacing the bulb.

[fenixus]

check your grounds first some of them might be rusty.
also checking on relays might be a good idea, some of that (flasher relay) might be getting sticky maybe.
also check fuses if they look healthy.

[CROYCE992]

Originally Posted by fenixus

check your grounds first some of them might be rusty.
also checking on relays might be a good idea, some of that (flasher relay) might be getting sticky maybe.
also check fuses if they look healthy.

are you talking about the grounds coming from my battery lead? the relay was my first suspect but idk where the heck that is and i dont know where the fuse for the signals are either

[fenixus]

i think fuse for turn signals is in Instrument Panel junction box behind the coin holder. relay should be nearby too (behind driver kick panel or so).

by grounds I mean all harness grounds and there is like 5 of them in engine bay and about 7 around dash area (in cabin) plus another 5 (unrelated to problem) throughout car's body.

you need to get grip on Electrical Wiring Diagrams for your car, they will have all those things described precisely. i only know gen4 camrys (5s-fe model).

www.**********s.com/camry and www.camrystuff.com should help you out on that.

[camry6]

Replace the bulb first. Then check connections, relays.......etc. Start simple and work toward more complex.

[toovira]

I can't stress enough for a clean ground. There is a MAJOR grounding point that screwed up my whole car not long ago. This is near the headlight on left (driver) side. All my lights were doing crazy things....fuses never blew.....my fans were running half speed....headlights were on when they should've not been on. My engine would actually shut down when I turn on my headlights or emergency flasher.

I felt the grounding bolt hot.....took that bolt out....sanded the connector, sanded the chassis a bit....rebolt it down.....and everything worked the way it should.

As it turns out, that grounding point (E5 in service manual I think) grounds EFI, flashers, headlights (high/low), horn, etc. If you ask me, I would've separate the EFI ground.

Lesson here is that when the ground is not making good ground, the current is flowing elsewhere....causing weird stuff....in my case, shutting the engine down and and f'd up version of daytime running lights. lol.

[BamZipPow]

Another note...you need to use some of that dielectric grease...you can find those in the bulb section. If there's any rust/corrosion happening in that socket, you need to clean that up first or replace the socket/harness.