Flasher Problem

[mistaz]

On my 2000 lincoln navigator my RH directional is flashing very quickly on the dashboard indicator. the front RH directional is flashing and the RH rear is not. I replaced both rear bulbs and I still have the same problem.I checked all associated fuses and all are good. I replaced the flasher relay with an after market relay, the flasher slowed down but the rear RH directional still does not work.
The front marker lites both work, the rear marker lites work, the front directionals work, and the rear LH directional works.

[Fordace]

You need to check for power at the rear bulb sockets while they are flashing in the front.

It sounds like you might have a "new" bad bulb?

Make sure the thin wire on the bulb isn't bent off to the side....

[pro-five-oh]

That happened to me once and it turned out that the replacement bulb I had was a dud. Sad, but true. :)

[ekooke]

If the bulb socket or ground has some corrosion, it will act just like a bad bulb.

[mistaz]

I swapped a working tail light bulb and socket and the problem still existed.I took the suspected bad bulb and socket and installed it on the working side and it worked as advertised. I checked for power on the R/h side using a multimeter checking the socket and staking the power lead for the directional and got no power with directional on in the R/h turning position. I checked for loose or frayed lines leading into light, none noticed. I ruled out the ground because the marker light and the directional both use the same ground.
After doing all of this I was puzzled, put everything back together and loaded my kids and wife in the truck for a drive to the store and just out of curiosity put R/h directional on for the heck of it and it worked! That was on Saturday 2/11/06 and now today Wednesday 2/15/06 I have no rear directional again.

[Fordace]

Dude, when I get back in town, I'll call my buddies down at the dealer, maybe they have seen this before, could be a bad connector from front to back that you don't know about.

I can also Check TSB'S....

[ekooke]

What about the 4-way flashers? Does the bulb work then?

[mistaz]

No the bulb does not work with the 4 way flashers.

[pro-five-oh]

It almost sounds like a worn out Multifunction switch in the steering column. (its the part that controls the hazards, turn signal, wipers, etc). $50 part at a local parts store, takes about an hour to replace.

[ekooke]

No the bulb does not work with the 4 way flashers.

It may be the MF switch, but since the 4-way and TS are separate circuits at the MF switch, with separate flashers, I'd suspect;
corroded socket or ground
pinched/broken wire going to that bulb's high side filament

Try cleaning the socket and local ground connection with a wire battery brush before spending $50 for a new MF switch.

[mistaz]

Today I took all of your advice and replaced the MF switch. I also found 2 wires broken off of connector on the back of the MF switch so I had to replace the connector block also because the wire locking tabs were broken which probably was my problem originaly but as you all know Ford does not return electrical components. Flashers now work as advertised. Thanks everyone for all of the help and if in the future if I have anymore flasher problems I think I`m going to just buy a baboon and teach it hand signals (right turn Clyde)!!!!!!!!!!

[pro-five-oh]

Glad you found your problem and fixed it yourself. Try selling the MF switch on ebay, odds are it fits a lot of other Fords.