Turn Signal & Headlight Switch

[Yankee237]

Morning.
I'm new here (posting) but have been reading a lot for several weeks. I recently ran into a little snag on my 1990 GS. I needed a new turn signal switch because the Washer Button had stopped working. I ordered the new part and installed it. All went smoothly until I turned on my headlights and ONLY the parking lights came on. I could push the signal arm forward and the LOW Beams would come on or click it back and the HIGH Beams would come on. Everything else on the switch worked just fine so I put the old switch back in and all was back to normal (except washer). I've noticed there are quite a few replacements for the signal switch and a lot of different part numbers. I looked at the compatibility charts & my car is there, but I still wonder if there's a slight difference in the internal switching or something causing the switch to knock out my low beams on my headlight switch?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank You.

[Tiggie]

Sounds like you got a bad switch. I would warranty swap it. Be sure the wiring pins are all fully attached. Try Standard DS711 if all else fails. I have one in my 90 and it works.

[Yankee237]

Thank You for your reply. They're going to replace it free of charge so we'll see what happens when the new one arrives later this week.
I made note of the DS711 in case I have another failure. I'll post again after I see the new results.

[91merc]

Hate to hijack a thread, but on my 85 Gm, the front right turn signal isn’t working, the park light works and when turn on the right turn signal the rear bulbs will stay solid but no illumination from the front right signal. Could this be in the switch or somewhere else? Brand new bulb

[sly]

Hate to hijack a thread, but on my 85 Gm, the front right turn signal isn’t working, the park light works and when turn on the right turn signal the rear bulbs will stay solid but no illumination from the front right signal. Could this be in the switch or somewhere else? Brand new bulb

Sounds like the high side of the front bulb is popped. If the rear gets bright, but doesn't blink, that's typically a flasher issue, but if a bulb is out, there may not be enough load for the thermal flashers to blink. It's a way to tell you that a bulb is out.

[Yankee237]

Hello 91 Merc,
I don't think you're hijacking the thread. It is, after all, about turn signals & headlights. I'll be redoing the front right of my GM soon. Had an incident with a deer.
I'll also be doing some sort of grille work. More to come as things progress.

[Yankee237]

Update...
I got the replacement switch and hooked it up. No Dice (again). I will probably try the DS711 switch that Tiggie recommended. I'll have to wait on that though and save up some cash. I've got other things to do on this project before I need a Washer Switch. Headlights are next and I have been reworking/rerouting a lot of electrical under the hood. It's mainly just old, dirty or in some cases not even used for anything. It's coming along. I'll update again after I get the new headlights installed. I have some body work to do in that area as well including the grille.
ok everyone... back to work!

[Mainemantom]

Did you check the wiring connector to the washer pump ? Is there corrosion on either of the connectors ? Is the washer pump making noise ? Have you gently blown out the washer lines ?
Good to check these things before replacing the switch.

[Yankee237]

The turn signal switch also fools around with the headlight switch When the new one(s) were installed the headlights wouldn't come on at the switch, but I could get lights by pushing away on the turn signal. So something is awry in the internal wiring of the switch. To answer your question, yes I have checked all connections and the pump works just fine. After several hours of wire chasing and testing I resolved it is in fact the switch at the turn signal. Not a big problem and can be resolved (for now) with a push button until I get the DS711 switch down the road. I need to put in a new switch for the new fog lights, so I'll just run one good sized hot down to that area & split it at both ends. One for washer, one for fogs. I'll keep ya posted. It's a never ending battle.

[sly]

Some parts listing is probably incorrect. There's a few different ones that will physically fit, but are for different vehicles. I bet they all got piled in the same list by someone being lazy and now some parts makers don't know to make the other parts. This is the case with the autolamp relay for the boxes. All the parts listings show a standard 5-pin relay instead of the wire out the back to solder to the clip for grounding the coil, 5+1 wire relay with dual throw instead of NC/NO type which is what's listed now. Very annoying.

[Yankee237]

Sounds about right. The other thing I didn't mention was that the washer/wiper (with the new switches) work just fine (no headlights). So no biggie. I ran some new wiring this morning and will fish it through the firewall to install switches, etc. It's always something, right?

[Yankee237]

Wiring Update:
I got the new wiring run & installed 2 new switches. 1 for the wiper washer fluid & 1 for the new floods. I also installed a new ignition cylinder lock. Now I can get the key out without a big hassle. Next thing up to bat is to straighten out the front right brackets a bit & get the new headlights installed. I'm going to do some fabrication things around the grille so I can install the new grille mesh I bought on Amazon for $15 bucks. I wasn't gonna spend $175+ for e used grille. I'll be taking a few picks & it should look pretty cool when it's done. I'm not wanting to spend a ton of dough on this project. I'm really only doing it so my granddaughters will have a learner car & such. One just turned 16 the other turns 15 in 2 weeks. I also told them if they think they're gonna use the car, then they'd better be helping with the work getting it ready as well as washing it & cleaning it, etc.

The car runs a lot smoother now. I removed all the A/C equipment since it didn't work & would require a large sum of money to fix it all. I also removed all of the Smog crap. Pump, hoses, vacuum lines, etc. Then I installed new plugs w/ new wires. The cap & rotor had just been done recently, so I didn't get a new one. I figured I'd see how it performed first. Runs really, really nice. I had also installed a new purge solenoid, which seems to have helped quite a bit with the starting.

Reckon that about does it for the current update. Back again as things move forward.

[Yankee237]

Well, Well . . .
I found a Grille for $40 bucks at Rock Auto. I'd looked there before, but nothing came up except mounting brackets. Maybe they were out of stock or it was bum search. I dunno. Either way I now have a new Grille coming and I won't need to do a ton of fabrication up front. Yay!

[Yankee237]

Updates:
I received the Grille. I don't think it's quite the proper one for the 90' but it'll work nicely. I'll have to bend it a little bit more using some clamps (carefully) and a heat gun. It's a bit straighter than my opening. I think it's probably for a later model. No biggie. I side stepped the Turn Signal switch and have since installed 2 new switches. 1 for the washer fluid and 1 for the fog lights up front. They turned out pretty good, look nice & will work well. I have also installed an LED strip under the hood for night time use. It was pretty cheap ($9.00) and came with a hood activated switch. It took a hour or so to install, but that was mostly running the new wires.

Next I've been working on the headlight area. The High Beam (passenger side) took most of the damage from the deer hit. I've been using both epoxy & JB Weld to put everything back together. I also needed to make a new bracket for the upper area so the metal frame that holds the nose cone wouldn't return back to it's bent position when I removed the come-along. It's taken me about a week or so, but it's mainly due to drying times of the resins & such. They really need to cure well overnight or they'll just break free when you're working on another broken piece. I've also been using some thin metal (flashing) and some fiberglass matt to reinforce some of the breaks. I'm just about ready to reinstall the headlights. I'm going to need to do something between the Grille & the Headlight since that piece of the puzzle is missing. I should be able to use some hardware cloth, fiberglass & a little Bondo to fill it in like the other side. After that I'll install the fog lights, Grille, Headlight trims and adjust everything.

Reckon that's about all for now.

[Yankee237]

Update:
I was attempting to change the bulb for the front running light/turn signal when it simply broke. I got the rest of the bulb out of the socket, but it was shot as well. I went to the other side & it did the same thing. Next I go searching for front light bulb sockets. No problem and run about $20-$25 each plus bulbs. I also saw some for the REAR Brake/running light/turn signal for only $7-$10 each. Interesting. So I went up to the NAPA place in town and get one of the cheaper ones. It has three wires just as does the front socket. I get it home & begin testing the wires since they are all different colors from mine. No biggie, just a little trial & error. Bingo! works just fine. $9 each.

Sooo I'm not exactly sure why, but it seems a bit strange that both parts work in either place, yet one is $9 bucks the other over $20 bucks. The parts mentioned above all came from NAPA & were called out as replacements for exact fit on my 90' Marquis. One for the Rear & one for the Front... SAME Exact Part Different Price.