4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999) Visit the 4th Generation forum to ask specific questions or find out more about the 4th Generation Maxima.

95 Maxima electrical issues with turn signals relay/fuses and turn signal switch fine

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 09-18-2012, 12:41 AM
  #1  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
95 Maxima electrical issues with turn signals relay/fuses and turn signal switch fine

Yeah I took it to a mechanic who did free diagnostic work, he said the fuses and relay were fine, they even tried swapping out the relay with a new one and it didnt change anything. I ordered a new turn signal switch because thats what he recommended, but it acts the same as the old one did in that the headlights and all that work, but the turn signals do not.

One interesting thing is that the left foglight will turn on when I try to use the left turn signal, but the right one doesn't do the same.

My hazard lights work fine too, so its definitely not an issue with that. The issue started around the time when a worker at autozone decided to look at my steering column because the car wouldn't start. Could he have knocked a wire loose or something?
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-18-2012, 08:40 AM
  #2  
Senior Member
iTrader: (17)
 
Amerikaner83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 11,388
headlights work. Hazards work.

Fogs work properly? (aside from the fog turning on with the signal...)

have you done any parking light / foglight rewiring or anything to that effect?



Yes its possible that the autozone parts geek screwed something up, especially if the problem occured around that time.
Amerikaner83 is offline  
Old 09-18-2012, 09:55 AM
  #3  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
DennisMik's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 10,649
You have an interesting problem. There is no normal connection between the fog lights and the turn signal, so somehow wires are being cross-connected. The wires for the brake light bulbs which the turn signals use do not go to the headlight switch which the fog lights use.

Does the fog light blink when you turn on the turn signal?

Inspect the wires on the steering column, paying close attention for damaged wires. You will have to get the wiring schematic and a volt meter and do some diagnosing.
DennisMik is offline  
Old 09-18-2012, 06:58 PM
  #4  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Originally Posted by DennisMik
You have an interesting problem. There is no normal connection between the fog lights and the turn signal, so somehow wires are being cross-connected. The wires for the brake light bulbs which the turn signals use do not go to the headlight switch which the fog lights use.

Does the fog light blink when you turn on the turn signal?

Inspect the wires on the steering column, paying close attention for damaged wires. You will have to get the wiring schematic and a volt meter and do some diagnosing.
The left fog light stays on when I turn on the signal, but it doesn't blink. I know that when I was trying to replace the switch I had to get one that specifically had a connector for the fog lights, (so 3 connections in total) because standard ones wouldn't connect properly. So maybe that has something to do with it?
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-18-2012, 07:25 PM
  #5  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Alright, on further inspection its not the left foglight that turns on.

Its hard to explain, but the headlights have two sections, and the section on the outside edge of the car on the left headlight gets brighter when I attempt to use that turn signal. The right headlight doesn't do this, and it may be the result of water damage as there is a decent sized hole in the glass of the messed up headlight. Anyone know what I should do in that situation?
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-18-2012, 09:45 PM
  #6  
Senior Member
iTrader: (17)
 
Amerikaner83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 11,388
that's the clearance light, and thats NORMAL for 95/96 maximas.

You said water damage...that could cause your issues, sure. Shorting out the housing and what-not...bad juju. Time to get in there and take a good look bro. It could be something simple like the dual-filament bulb (1157) is bad.
Amerikaner83 is offline  
Old 09-18-2012, 09:49 PM
  #7  
Got Retrofit?
iTrader: (34)
 
ChrisMan287's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: NY
Posts: 14,802
Have you tried a new 1157 bulb on the passenger side?
ChrisMan287 is offline  
Old 09-20-2012, 05:59 PM
  #8  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Would that be the bulb for the clearance light or for the turn signal? Because the turn signals both work fine when I use my hazard lights.
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-20-2012, 06:17 PM
  #9  
Senior Member
iTrader: (17)
 
Amerikaner83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 11,388
the bulb for the TURN SIGNALS is an 1156.

The bulb for the CLEARANCE LIGHT is an 1157. This is the one that's on dim with headlights, and goes brighter (and stays bright) when the turn signal is on.
Amerikaner83 is offline  
Old 09-20-2012, 11:27 PM
  #10  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Ah alright, thanks for the info man.

Two more questions though if you don't mind. For one thing, the bulb does turn on, it just doesn't brighten like the drivers side one does with the turn signal. Could the issue still be the bulb? And two, would that actually have an affect on the turn signals not working?
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-20-2012, 11:39 PM
  #11  
4th Gen Parts King
iTrader: (384)
 
Maxima_Joe's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Moorhead, MN
Posts: 7,775
By relay do you mean they changed the flasher? If not then that's probably your problem.
Maxima_Joe is offline  
Old 09-20-2012, 11:39 PM
  #12  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Originally Posted by Maxima_Joe
By relay do you mean they changed the flasher? If not then that's probably your problem.
Yes they tried a new flasher and that wasn't the issue. That was before they recommended getting a new switch.
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-20-2012, 11:50 PM
  #13  
4th Gen Parts King
iTrader: (384)
 
Maxima_Joe's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Moorhead, MN
Posts: 7,775
Originally Posted by ace0fspadez0
Yes they tried a new flasher and that wasn't the issue. That was before they recommended getting a new switch.
Next probable cause would be the hazard switch then.
Maxima_Joe is offline  
Old 09-20-2012, 11:51 PM
  #14  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Originally Posted by Maxima_Joe
Next probable cause would be the hazard switch then.
Hazard switch works fine, click it and all the turn signals blink and you can hear it in the flasher. So I'm not 100% sure that would be the issue.
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-21-2012, 12:05 AM
  #15  
4th Gen Parts King
iTrader: (384)
 
Maxima_Joe's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Moorhead, MN
Posts: 7,775
Originally Posted by ace0fspadez0
Hazard switch works fine, click it and all the turn signals blink and you can hear it in the flasher. So I'm not 100% sure that would be the issue.
Different functions, The switch can be bad for turn signals and still work on hazards.
Maxima_Joe is offline  
Old 09-21-2012, 12:06 AM
  #16  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Originally Posted by Maxima_Joe
Different functions, The switch can be bad for turn signals and still work on hazards.
Any idea how I would go about checking to see if thats the problem then?
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-21-2012, 09:15 PM
  #17  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
I replaced the clearance light bulb and that fixed that issue, my blinkers still don't work though. Any more ideas?
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-22-2012, 12:32 AM
  #18  
Senior Member
iTrader: (17)
 
Amerikaner83's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: WA
Posts: 11,388
Change hazard switch like joe mentioned.
Amerikaner83 is offline  
Old 09-27-2012, 08:41 AM
  #19  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Just replaced the hazard switch, same issue. The hazard lights will come on but the blinkers still don't work.
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-27-2012, 11:37 AM
  #20  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
I guess at this point I should probably just take the car somewhere, unless you guys know of anything else to check.
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 09-27-2012, 09:16 PM
  #21  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
DennisMik's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 10,649
Check all the bulbs in the turn signals and side markers. An 1157 bulb has 2 filaments in it and therefore has 2 contacts on the bottom of the bulb. An 1156 bulb has 1 filament in it and therefore has only one contact on the bottom od the bulb.

When I say check the bulbs, remove the bulb from the socket. Look at the bottom of the bulb and look at the bottom of the socket. The number of contacts have to match.

Also do this for the rear turn signal lights.
DennisMik is offline  
Old 01-26-2013, 08:04 AM
  #22  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Still having this issue, anyone know of anything else to try? Its down to it being a wiring issue at this point I think, but I'm not sure why a wire would've randomly come disconnected on its own

Last edited by ace0fspadez0; 01-26-2013 at 08:06 AM.
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Old 01-26-2013, 09:15 AM
  #23  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
DennisMik's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 10,649
Since the turn signal lights illuminate when you use the hazard flasher, this says the wires are good. Since you replaced the hazard flasher switch, at this point the turn signal switch is suspect.

Do you own a voltmeter of a test light?
DennisMik is offline  
Old 01-27-2013, 10:09 AM
  #24  
Newbie - Just Registered
Thread Starter
 
ace0fspadez0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 13
Sadly no, but I already replaced the turn signal switch and that wasn't the issue either. The FSM says in this situation if it isnt the fuse, switch, or hazard switch to look for an open in the circuit. So I guess I need to just get it looked at.
ace0fspadez0 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ah2002
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
13
03-09-2016 01:42 PM
Finkle
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
13
09-27-2015 09:53 PM
Samedi
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
11
08-13-2015 04:05 PM
kjm900r
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
6
08-05-2015 07:14 AM
maxima297
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
5
08-03-2015 12:50 PM



Quick Reply: 95 Maxima electrical issues with turn signals relay/fuses and turn signal switch fine



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:38 AM.