Hazard-ous

[dietz520]

I have searched the archives, and I have read some good ones about the hazard lights... I think I have a good place to start. But I figured I'd throw this out there anyway.

I just bought the car, and the hazards worked 6 months ago before it was put in to storage. Now they don't. I felt pretty confident in my electrical abilities until I opened that center console and started reading haynes manuals, and restoration guides.

My first problem is that I have no idea where the hazard relay box is. The haynes describes the box very well... but not it's location.

here are the symptoms. With the hazard button in, my turn signals work. With the switch out, they don't and nothing happens... no hazards, no glowing red button (if it ever did glow red?). With the car off and the turn signal lever engaged (right or left) the signal comes on as a steady light (no blink) and the hazard button has no effect on anything.

This says to me that everything is fine, except the part of the switch that sends the signal, and load to all the lights at once. As it would stand to reason that turning on the hazards would disable the turn signal lever.... because why would you need another switch.

So should I start with cleaning the switch leads. And is there one wire I could pull from the switch and touch to another to activate the hazards while bypassing the switch just to rule out the relay.

I think I confused myself with all that Even more.

Any thoughts?

-adam

[Mike Self]

hazzard lights is the same one as used for the turn signals. The turn signals also get their power thru the hazard switch, but via a circuit that's live only when the ignition is on.

With the hazard switch engaged (i.e. in the "out" position) the turn signals won't work at all--but the flashers should. My guess is that the problem is in the hazard switch itself. They're kinda problematical...if you can borrow a known good one and substitute,that'll tell you in a hurry if the switch itself is the guilty party.

mike

[Guest Anonymous]

Six or twelve fuse? Is the hazard switch the push-on, push-off button or the pull-on, push off red knob type.

"With the car off and the turn signal lever engaged (right or left) the signal comes on as a steady light (no blink) . . ." This was common to early '02s. My understanding of this feature is that some European countries require parking lights to be illuminated in some situations.

Diagnosis of many electrical problems on an 02 should start at the fuse box. Clean the ends of the crappy fuses and the copper holders the fuses mate to. Both should be shiny clean. Fuses should be held tightly - bend the holders in if the fit is lose.

[dietz520]

It is a '72. It is the red push style button, that would flash red when working

And, yes, my understanding (I used to have a '76 300D Mercedes) is that hazards were only to be used in an actual emergency... the steady tail light was to be used on the road-side side if you were pulled over for a non-emergency. Don't know if that is correct, but that is what the former owner told me when I bought the Benz.

adam