FIAT DOBLO: Faulty nearside flashers

[donnymad]

FIAT DOBLO 1.2 MULTIJET, 2005, 108,000 miles

Got a problem with my flashing indicators. Well the nearside ones anyway! The offside flashers work fine, but when I operate the nearside ones the dashboard indicator flashers twice as fast normal. On inspection, the 3 lights concerned, i.e. front and rear indicators plus the side indicator, are only flashing intermittently, and then very dimly.

What I've done is this: renewed all 3 bulbs, cleaned the electrical contacts as best I could and removed any moisture that was present. This appeared to work......for about 15 seconds at least, then back to the above!

I'm now working on the assumption that it could be the relay/flasher unit. My questions are:

a) How many relays/flasher units are there? I'm guessing only one as it seems to operate ok when the offside flashers are working.

b) What is the location of the relay/flasher? There are 5 relays on the internal fuse box, but removal of these makes no difference, as I can still hear the clicking noise when the nearside flashers are operating.

c) Are there any other reasons to consider that might have caused the flashers to go faulty?

Many thanks in advance for any assistance that you are able to give!

 

[Mursal]

The technical term for this problem is a voltage drop in the circuit. The other side hasn't got one so it works fine.

Try the following:
Can you find the bad connection, retrace your tracks from cleaning to see if they start working again.
Give all the connecter blocks a good shake again watching the indicators
Playing with the stalk switch when indicating to see if things improve.
Play with the hazard switch to see if things improve.
Working back form the bulb can you see where the bulbs connects to the body? It may be one common earth point for the 3 bulbs and has become dirty/corroded. Or try a new wire to the body (dont hit the live or you will blow the fuse). Also leave the engine ticking over (charging) to try and pinpoint the fault. The higher voltage will help any bad connections to work better (easier to find)

Have you a multimeter?



It is very unlikely to be something as exotic as a flasher unit

 

[Burnerman]

A dodgy earth springs to mind.....when the flashers go dim, are one of the other lamps in the cluster (rear usually) trying to light up? Odd test, I know!
John

 

[Peter.N.]

Check the voltage on one of the bulbs when its flashing, if you have 12v it will be an earth problem, if less a voltage drop on the feed as Mursal says.

Peter

 

[donnymad]

Thanks for those replies, guys! Much appreciated. As soon as it stops raining here in Wiltshire I'll crack on with your suggestions! Will keep you informed as to how I get on.

Yes, I do have a (very basic) multimeter Mursal. I assume that I should be getting 12v at each live feed?

Thanks again!

JohnB

 

[Mursal]

First throw the meter across the battery to check the meter and see what the battery voltage actually is (8-14Volts possible).

Yes JohnB 12Volts, but if you can leave the bulb in place and probe it at the back of the holder you should have 12volts on and off. But you wont have 12Volts.

So use your own earth point for the black lead on the meter, if it now goes to 12Volts obviously the original earth to the bulb is weak/corroded.

Shout when you go at it, if you need a hand .............

 

[donnymad]

I guess you've all been waiting with bated breath to know the result of my endeavours? . Not good I'm afraid! I've put a lot of hours in over the last few days, and the result? Naff all. I thought for a while that it was the front indicator holder or wiring that was faulty, as the light came on when I wiggled the connections. Seems that this was entirely coincidental, as when I swopped the holder and bulb to the offside everything worked fine, whilst the offside holder and bulb also failed to work on the nearside. (Are you with me so far? )

After checking with the multimeter, feed and earth connections seem to be ok. I've located, (I think) the flasher unit; it's a grey plastic cylinder, with an orange connector, underneath the steering wheel. Seems to be working fine.

I've removed the rear cluster; cleaned all the connections of all the bulbs. Nothing obviously wrong there.

I'm left with the side indicator. The two thin wires from the connector just seem to disappear into the front wing. Can't seem to locate where they end up!

So that's it........so far! I'll give it another go tomorrow, and if the worse happens then it's down to the local garage

I'll keep you informed!

 

[Peter.N.]

Don't forget to check the voltage on the lamps, that will tell you which side of the lamp the problem is.

Peter

 

[donnymad]

Thanks, Peter. Will do.

 

[donnymad]

Don't forget to check the voltage on the lamps, that will tell you which side of the lamp the problem is.

Peter

Probably a daft question, Pete, but what do you mean by "which side of the lamp is the problem"? By side do you mean positive and negative?

Thanks!

 

[Peter.N.]

Well, yes but whether its on the live or earth side. Earth should be 0.00 volts, live side 12v or thereabouts.

Peter

 

[donnymad]

Got it!

Thanks.

 

[donnymad]

Just to keep you all updated: Not good news I'm afraid! Many hours of grafting plus help from neighbours and still can't find the answer. Booked in to my local garage this Friday. Will let you know the result!

 

[donnymad]

And the news is..................not good!

According to my excellent local garage it's the Multi Functional Control Unit, near the steering wheel on the driver's side, that's kaputt . This unit, apparently, controls the flashers, locking door mechanism, (doors don't lock actually), amongst other things. A new unit is in excess of £500, so at the moment I'm scouring eBay, without much success so far. Any ideas as to where I can obtain one?. The thought of having to go to the Fiat dealer in town and paying their exorbitant prices is not a pleasant thought!

The car itself is a 2005 reg., so not worth a great deal. I always intended to sell it in 2015, so I may have to bring its sale forward by about a year if the repairs prove excessive!

Any further help would be much appreciated!

PS Will any replacement unit have to be 'coded.'

 

[AlanE]

Try these as they will probably test and repair it if necessary-

http://www.bba-reman.com/uk/