Bulb out / no warning?

[owlman]

I noticed one of my rear turn signals wasn't flashing, but it wasn't doing the fast flash and the message center said everything was OK. I just reseated the bulb and it started working again. Same thing happened about 2 years ago--same "fix". I guess something is loose with the bulb/socket/wiring, no biggie... but shouldn't the REM detect that there's a problem? Any ideas why it doesn't?

 

[joegr]

Yes, it should.
No, I don't, unless you or someone added load resistors at some point to support the use of LEDs. I would assume that it must be a defect of the REM.

 

[jeffyman215267]

ls ghost

my left side does it all the time,the socket was rewired by a previous owner,the right side comes up in message center,gettin good with the 3 bolts now.....

 

[Jim Henderson]

Could be loose connections etc as mentioned or it could be corrosion in the socket. If a socket is corroded, or the bulb, the resistance can be high enough for the bulb not to work, but for the computer to still see a resistance indicating an intact bulb in the socket, ie no light out warning.

Cleaning the contacts inside the socket may help, and or cleaning the bulb contacts. I have seen many bulbs with a greyish crusty corrosion, that cleans off nicely with sandpaper or a wire brush. Ditto bulb connectors, if you can get a brush in there. Dremel tools are handy in these cases. Just clean it up, don't grind away metal.

If you have water in the lenses or live in humid areas, this can be quite a problem.

Some electrical grease may come in handy to prevent future problems.

Jim Henderson