I have an 89 xj

First off, let me say that the front amber corner lights do not act like turn signals they act like marker lights, is this normal?

And here is the problem

With the headlights off:
-the right turn signals work properly (although very slow to blink, about 4sec)
-The left turn signal rear stays solid, the front does not light

Turn the headlights/parking lights on and the rear tail lights work properly the front right parking light works properly but the front left light under the headlight does not light at all. The in cab left turn signal indicator stays solid all the time even when no direction is selected.

With the headlights on:
-the right turn signal works properly (slow)
- the left turn signal rear stays solid, the front does not light


With only hazards on:
everything works properly (left/right front and rear blink normal speed about 1-2sec between blinks)

Does anyone know why this would be?

 

Inspect your light bulbs.. I'd start with the left turn signal bulb. Note if they are single or dual filament bulbs. Dual filament bulbs can be 'half dead' good luck

 

all the front lights are new which is why I am confused about what it could be, could it be the flasher relay or a fuse? I have checked all the under dash fuses are there under hood fuses for turn signals?

 

Mine is doing almost the exact same thing and have read several other people on the internet with the same problem. If you figure this out please post it and let people know! Thanks

 

grounds

 

I agree that checking the grounds throughout the car is the key. I've a similar problem, though intermittent, with the lights going out while in operation. Replaced the headlight switch, the dimmer switch, and have now checked all fuses. The car suffered from the dreaded Death Wobble, which I now believe is corrected, but that violent shaking didn't do ANY of the connections of anything, especially electrical connections, any good! I'm still chasing the electrical gremlins and would welcome any input from y'all out there!

 

I just bought this Jeep and it needed a lot of work. I am down to the wiring as my biggest need now. My right turn signal works fine, the left one stays solid when its turned on. With the head lights on none of the turn signals work and both indicators on the dash are all the time. I am going to start with the grounds and hope thats it.

 

Had the exact problem with my '87. I located all the grounds, they looked fine, replaced some bulb sockets, still no luck. Finally traced the problem to a harness in the rear that had corroded pretty bad. About half my wires were green with corrosion and once I moved the harness some of the wiring just simply broke away. It's a harness that's right behind the plastic panel where the spare sits....there's like 15 or so wires on it.
If you have rust like I do, what happened is it rusted a giant hole on the inside of the rear quarter behind the wheel and moisture worked its way up into the inside of the quarter panel, along with tons of mud and gravel in there, it never dried.

Worth checking....

I just went to a jy and cut a new harness along with an extra foot or 2 of wiring on each side of it and spliced. Fixed my problem.

 

I got it working but do not remember what it was that fixed it, I cleaned the front header panel connectors (a little corrosion), swapped the turn signal flasher with one from my other jeep and swapped all the front bulbs with my other jeep (different part number, I think somebody replaced the bulbs with the wrong part number and I, in an attempt to find the problem replaced the bulbs with new ones of the wrong part number) and now it works properly except for the right turn signal is always lit when the marker/head lights are on but not the actual exterior lights are lit. I can live with that

I also had a lighting problem on my new 88 Comanche, turned out to be a bad headlight switch, turn signal flasher, short to ground in the trailer harness, two short to grounds in the tag light wiring, a single filament bulb forced into a dual filament socket causing a short, as well as burnt bulbs and corroded connectors. Now everything works properly except for the right turn indicator always lit when the marker/head lights are on

 

Me, I've got a dome light that doesn't want to turn off! Obviously an open circuit somewhere and it flickers when I shut the driver's door but not the other 3 doors. . .I'll pull the door switches and take a look there, I guess. Anybody run into this particular issue before?

 

I am having this same problem with my 89 right now. I re grounded front and rear turn signals and it didn't help. I guess I will check the harness next. I did have some rust in the cargo area and I have already found a couple of coroded wires in the front harness.

 

1. Under the driver's side knee bolster, near the column, there is a wide, blade-type connector that links your multiswitch to the harness. This connector will occasionally come loose or become corroded from moisture and cause your lights to act weird. Disconnect, inspect contacts, clean and apply dielectric.

2. Under the driver's side kick panel there is another connector that links your exterior lights to the harness. It doesn't usually come undone but because it's near an exterior panel it can become corroded from moisture, check, clean, and apply dielectric grease to connector.

3. As mentioned, there is another harness connector located behind the spare tire quarter panel. It's fairly common to find a botched trailer light hack job in there that causes all sorts of issues and needs to be cleaned up. It's also susceptible to corrosion, being near an exterior panel.

4. Check grounds.

5. Check relays

6. Check bulbs

7. Trace each wire from multiswitch/headlight switch to the light it operates. Ugh.

Start with #1 and work your way through the list until they start working.

 

Also, the amber corner lights (to each side of your headlights) are marker lights, not turn indicators. They should come on with the headlights. Your turn indicators are the larger, clear-lens lights directly under the headlights.

 

Most likely a worn or corroded driver's door trigger. There is a plastic furl on there that breaks continuity when the pin is depressed (door closed) and if it's worn out or fallen out it won't allow that break. Also, if there is significant corrosion it can bridge the gap and cause unwanted flickering (<< industry term).

 

Always begin with the plug near the air cleaner. http://cruiser54.com/?p=35

If any of you have trailer wiring, check there also.

I don't know how grounds can LOOK good as I know I can't see electricity except during a thunderstorm.