So I have resolved my main issue of the car being immobilised (turned out to be broken connection to Inertia switch), but in the process of all my digging into the car, I seem to have caused the indicators (all four) to stop working. What I am getting is the double speed flashing of the lamps in the IC, as well as the small square lamps in the front wing, beneath the wing mirrors, flash very briefly, but not at the usual indicator frequency or duration. I have replaced all the bulbs on the off chance that one or all of them were causing the issue - no change. I cant find a relay that is specific to the DI, so I assume they are not controlled via relay, but I have checked the various fuses related to the DI.

I suspect the problem occurred after I removed the instrument cluster (during my previous investigations) or maybe after I was delving into the engine bay fuse boxes (pulling relays & fuses). Can anyone shed any light on this? If the IC has been damaged in some way, would that cause the DI to not work at all? Is there anything in the engine bay that can affect the DI?

 

Update:

I disconnected the connector from the BPM and measured for continuity on all four direction indicator lines. I am getting around 1.4 ohms on all, which suggests that the wiring is good. Not sure where to go from here, could it be that the BPM is the cause? Or is it more likely the instrument cluster causing this? Any input would be much appreciated.

 

When you say digging into the car - what exactly have removed or disconnected to find the broken connection for the inertia switch?

Are there any other lighting issues with the car, headlights, fog lights, etc. ??

 

Mainly pulling relays and fuses, but the items I removed are the J-gate illuminator module and the instrument cluster. These items were not related to finding the broken switch connection, rather they were just "red herrings" in my process of elimination. The problem with the indicators occurred directly after removal and re-installation of the instrument cluster. Although I don't really see how that could cause all 4 bulbs to not work, unless its just pure coincidence. Is it possible the stalk switch is the culprit? The switch seems to activate the lamps in the cluster, just not the actual indicators themselves. I have tested functionality on all the other lights, and they function as they should. There seem to be only two things common to all 4 lamps, and they are the stalk switch and the BPM, but a fried BPM seems unlikely, especially with indicator lamps being the only fault.

 

I have had my X308 for 12 years now and it has always had a similar problem with the indicators. My indicators work normally. However, about 50% of the time the indication on the dashboard will do its double flashy thing. Normally this is an indication of a blown bulb. Not so in my case. On the outside everything still looks normal, normal frequency.

Over the years I have checked every component, checked every wire for contintuity, cleaned every contact, tried different bulbs you name it.

I have opened up the BPM to check for poor soldering, Nothing helped. The one thing that does seem to help somewhat is my bi-annual clean of all the ground/mass points.

After many, many, many hours over the years my conclusion is that it must be in the BPM itself. As the indicators on the outside still work normally. (thank God for small mercies) I have learned to live with it. Not easy for a perfection nut case like me.

Let me know if you ever find the cause for your problem! Good luck

Jeroen

 

Thank you Jeroen. I have had my xjr for 14 years and up until September 2020 it has proved dependable, reliable and easy to maintain. However since I had this welding done in the footwell areas, the car has had so many issues, and has been off road all this time. I have learned my lesson! I never appreciated how careful you need to be when selecting who to work on your car.

 

Issue resolved!

I found there to be no continuity between BPM pin 79 and fuse no. 3 (B+ to the lights) in the RHS rear heel board fuse box. The fuse itself was good, but clearly there was a a broken cable in the loom. Resolved by splicing in a new cable to the loom.

 

excelent! Good for you. Glad to hear you manage to solve it. I might have another go at mine!

Jeroen