Triumph Repair: spitfire indicators, fuse box, autoparts store

Question
QUESTION: hi.i have a 1979 1500 spitfire, when the lights, or a lot of power is being drained from the battery,the indicators dont flash on either side. any ideas how to solve this problem.thanks. glyn

ANSWER: Glyn,

When you turn the turn signal the light does light up?  Just not blink?  Or no light whatsoever?

It's not a bad idea to add in an voltmeter into the car.  One problem can be the battery and alternator can't keep up with demands such as the headlights.  

A more likely scenario is that one or more of the electrical connectors in the turn signal system needs to be cleaned.  Keep in mind that in the fuse box each fuse "clamp" is a separate piece... it's possible to have part of the circuits on a particular fuse work fine while the others are bad due to bad/dirty contacts.


Cheers,

Jim

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi,thanks for your reply. the green ind light on dash stays on and does not flash.sometimes after a few seconds it flashes once then stops again. they seem fine when nothing else is on.glyn

Answer
Glyn,

One other thing it could be is the flasher unit itself.  Just about any autoparts store should have the unit, it's a standard two lead flasher unit that should fit just about any car from the 50s up until the late 80s.  

Otherwise the flasher unit isn't seeing enough voltage to kick it.  That means dirty/corroded connectors.


Cheers,

Jim