Blinker Problems pissing me off!!

[camarostripes96]

I have a 96 lt1 trans am , and my blinker fuse keeps blowing, cant figure out why, i will put a fuse in and turn my blinkers on and everything is fine until i put my car if reverse and then it blows the fuse!!! What the hell is going on here??? anyone know what to do

[Pitchlock]

Not 100% positive on the 96, but the blinker is not the only power that goes thru that fuse. You should have other positanal lights. There for every time you go in reverse it blows the fuse, I would look into the wireing that goes to your reverse lights for a short. Try reading out the power to ground and have a few fuses handy, so you will need help with someone putting it in reverse so you can read it out before the fuse goes out.

[camarostripes96]

is there a reverse switch on the transmission? cause i only does it whenever i put it in reverse.....

[35thAnniZ28]

sure you got the right fuse?

[camarostripes96]

positive bro, its the right fuse

[35thAnniZ28]

must be a wiring problem then..take it to a pro...

[bigrondownhiller]

check the reverse light bulbs. they are on the same circuit.

[camarostripes96]

there is no bulbs in the backup lights at all, every since i got the car, the backup lights never worked. and i just checked and there isnt no bulbs at all in the backup lights

[bigrondownhiller]

try putting some in. without a bulb the contacts might be shorting on themselves.

[JOHN_DEERE_LS6]

arc ing across the bulb socket your thinkin... hmm i hate electrical problems.... i feel for ya on the blinker problem tho my right one keeps fillign up with water and trashin my socket and bulbs bad idea to moutn them socket down so the water can settle in them and rot them out....

good luck

[bigrondownhiller]

arc ing across the bulb socket your thinkin... hmm i hate electrical problems.... i feel for ya on the blinker problem tho my right one keeps fillign up with water and trashin my socket and bulbs bad idea to moutn them socket down so the water can settle in them and rot them out....

good luck

try drilling a small hole just before the socket. that way when water gets in there it has somewhere to go.

[camarostripes96]

well i never had the blinker problem for a year and now all of a sudden it starts doing it , and the revers lights have never worked or had bulbs in them since i have had the car

[JWSmythe]

I have a 96 lt1 trans am , and my blinker fuse keeps blowing, cant figure out why, i will put a fuse in and turn my blinkers on and everything is fine until i put my car if reverse and then it blows the fuse!!! What the hell is going on here??? anyone know what to do

I was just working on a friends '00 Camaro SS, with EXACTLY the same problem.

She asked me to have a look, because her turn signals weren't working. I found the blown fuse, and replaced it. With it sitting in the driveway, the turn signals worked fine, so I left.

She went for a drive later that day, and told me the turn signals were broken again. I pulled the fuse again, and yes, it was blown again.

I went through diagnosing everything from the steering column back, looking for a short. I couldn't find any faults in the wiring, but I would get a dead short when I put it in reverse. I had my volt meter set to measure amps, and hooked up to replace the fuse, so I could get a good measurement. About 4A with the signals on. Dead short as soon as I put it in reverse.

She has the 6 speed stick. This is a LS1, but it should be VERY similar for the LT1. The reverse switch is on the passenger side of the transmission, and is very easy to reach with the car on ramps. It has a green and brown wire in it (2 wire weatherproof connector). Testing each wire individually (one going to the lights, one going to the dash, with the fuse out), I had no voltage and no ground on either one. That tells me the switch is faulty.

I left it disconnected at the transmission, and everything but the reverse lights are working fine.

If you want to test the wire segments, I found a few connections that you can undo.

1) On the steering column, there's a flat connector with about 12 pins. That'll disconnect your turn signals, and something else (radio controls maybe?)

2) On the transmission on the right side, you can disconnect the wires from the switch

3) In the trunk of the car, behind the trim on the drivers sid, you'll see a wiring harness coming into the car from behind the tail lights. Follow that up, and you'll find a disconnect, real close to the rear drivers side corner of the truck, attached to a metal tab.

With the car off, set your volt meter to ohms, and put the negative lead on a good ground. Touch the positive to each wire you'd like to test, and see if you find a short. This will tell you if it's a wire problem, or just the switch.

Usually unless you've done something to the wires, they won't short. Because some wires are under the car (to the switch), it's possible that you can have a wire cut by road debris.

The Camaro apparently has an option for automatic on headlights. With the fuse blown, they didn't work either. There's no mention of any automatic headlight option in the troubleshooting, nor in the wiring diagram, so I'm glad it wasn't that. :) The lights are working normally now, so I'm guessing that is also on this circuit. With the fuse blown, her lights worked with the headlight switch only.

I'm glad our TransAms don't have that. :) It'd be really annoying to have the lights flipping up on their own, especially on my '98, which has a stripped gear, so I have to grab it to move it all the way open. (gotta fix that sometime soon)

I was referencing a Chilton's (or was it a Haynes? Can't remember) with a wiring diagram. In their troubleshooting, they specifically mention the switch can be faulty. It looks easy enough to replace with normal hand tools.

I found your question because I was searching Google for the part number, to see if I can get one cheaper online than in the local stores. :) I figure if I'm going to pull it out, I may as well have the new one in hand when I try.