Turn signals are one of the essential features of any vehicle. They alert other drivers of your movements and ensure your safety.
You may have noticed your turn signal blinking faster than usual when you searched for this article and are wondering what might be causing this and how to fix it.
Below, you’ll find a guide to help you understand why your turn signal blinks fast and how to fix this problem easily.
Why Is My Turn Signal Blinking Fast?
If you notice your turn signal blinking fast, it could signify that one of your bulbs has blown or is about to get blown. However, it could also indicate bad connections or a bad turn signal relay or fuse. The blinking can be inconsistent, or it blinks twice as fast.
It might also be because you just replaced your turn signal bulb with a led bulb. A LED light attracts a slightly lesser amount of power, and it lasts much longer than a standard incandescent light, which is found in several cars.
As much as the lesser draw of LEDs has their benefits, if you want to replace the turn signal bulbs with LEDs, it’ll likely result in what is known as Hyper flashing.
It refers to the situation wherein the turn signals blink faster than your stock incandescent bulbs because your new LED bulbs consume so little power that the turn signal relay shows that the bulbs are out.
Also Read: Brake Light Blinking (Causes & How To Fix)
Causes of Turn Signal Blinking Fast
The following are some of the most significant causes of your car’s turn signal blinking fast.
1. Faulty Ground Connection
The turn signal wires will become old and worn out at some point, resulting in some possible disconnections, causing the ground connection to fail and preventing the turn signal from working.
However, the ground connection that has gone bad is capable of causing your car’s turn signals to malfunction.
It will help if you conduct a quick inspection of the wires to find out the problem. Tools like a test light or a multimeter can help you carry out this inspection.
2. Faulty Bulb
As we mentioned earlier, if your turn signal bulb is defective, it could result in the turn signal blinking fast.
Since the resistance switches will probably begin to malfunction, the control forces the light to blink continuously and rapidly.
If two bulbs in a given direction are functioning correctly, the flasher relay would be in a situation where it flashes light at the right speed. And if it happens, it means that both bulbs are draining at a specific current rate.
In contrast, if you discover one of the bulbs on either the left or right side is faulty, it will force the relay to keep flashing twice as fast.
3. Bad or Failing Turn Signal Relay
If you have issues with your vehicle’s flasher relay, it could result in the turn signal blinking faster than usual. The relay pins might become rusted if water enters the area, causing rust to form on the contacts.
Apart from that, the directional light blinking could be due to unmatching flasher relays.
The original flasher relay that comes with your vehicle is meant to operate with the manufacturer’s configuration on your turn signal.
It functions appropriately for the bulb’s voltage and releases the targeted blinking speed.
However, if you choose to replace it with any unmatched or inadequate brand, it will alter the turn signal’s blinking speed and, at the same time, result in your car’s turn signal blinking fast.
If you want to know when your vehicle flasher relay is working perfectly, you need to listen to the clicking sounds as they receive power.
4. Bad Turn Signal Fuse
Another possible cause of your turn signal blinking fast could be a burnt turn signal fuse; hence, it would be best if you inspect it to know if it is in perfect working condition.
When the turn signal fuse becomes faulty, you must change it to avoid more severe consequences. You can find many of them in the market, including maxi fuse, mini fuse, and micro fuse.
Note: The relay and fuse can be found under the hoods or inside the vehicle. Kindly check with your car manual to find out where the relay and fuse are located in your car.
5. A Low Voltage Problem
One of the possible causes of the turn signal blinking fast is insufficient voltage supply from the vehicle’s power mechanism.
In other words, it could be that there is something wrong with your car connection switch or it is faulty.
Also Read: Why Won’t My Brake Lights Turn Off (Causes & Fix)
How to Fix a Turn Signal Blinking Fast
Before you start fixing a turn signal blinking fast, you have to discover the root cause of the problem. We’ve made it more accessible for you to diagnose the problem with the steps provided below.
Following these steps will allow you to quickly find out your car’s lighting problem, which will allow you to address the issues as fast as possible.
Step 1: Inspect the Turn Signal Operation
While checking to know the root cause of any signal-related problem, you must carry out a fast walk around your car. A
s soon as you have toggled your turn signal switch from one direction to another, you can proceed towards verifying that the front and rear turn lights are working correctly.
After that, repeat the process with the turn signal switch in the other direction.
Step 2: Check for Power or Ground to Inoperable Lights
If you discover that any turn signal light is not working correctly, you must diagnose if they properly deliver power and ground at the corresponding plug.
You can do this by removing the bad bulb and using a test light to probe the prongs of the receptacle.
With one end of the clamp test light glued to the ground, a prong of the bulb receptacle should be hot and subsequently illuminate the test light.
On the other hand, a touch with the other prong of the box should light up the test light, as the light’s opposite end is connected to a 12-volt power source.
Step 3: Replace Faulty Bulbs
When you find any damaged turn signal bulb during the check turn signal operation (carried out in step 1), yet power and ground delivery were well verified, you need to install a new bulb.
After you have completed the installation, make sure that the bulb shines and flashes as it ought to. In most scenarios, the new structure will also restore the flashing of every turn signal bulb to its average speed.
Step 4: Replace Turn Signal Relay (If Necessary)
If your car is one of those that uses standard non-LED bulbs, still the new bulb that is replaced fails to address the issues, then the possible cause could be a faulty turn signal relay.
This component is available in virtually every auto parts store, and you can buy it for a significantly lower cost.
Generally, installing a flasher relay is as easy as replacing a fuse. However, you should consult factory-specific service literature to help you find a suitable module.
Step 5: Fix Resistance-Related Problems
After you’ve recently replaced your car’s standard turn signal bulbs with replacement LED turn signal bulbs, and the problem persists, there could be a resistance-related problem.
Since a car’s flasher module depends upon resistance in the circuit for proper functioning, installing low-resistance LED bulbs can force a flasher to rotate too fast to show that a bulb’s filament was open.
If you want to address this problem, you have to buy and install specialty inline resistors, which will help to restore a flasher module’s tropical functioning features.
Frequently Asked Questions – Turn Signal Blinking Fast
How Do I Test a Turn Signal Flasher Relay?
You are free to access your vehicle’s flasher relay after discovering where it is positioned in your car. However, the settings differ in every vehicle, and you can refer to your vehicle’s manual for guidance.
After that, you can turn on the car’s ignition. Next, bring your test light and probe the primary wire connected to the vehicle’s relay.
When you notice that the lights have turned on, it simply means that the relay is now functioning. Move further by bringing out the relay and testing with the multimeter, which can be done by placing the meter’s wire to the control and power terminals.
Where Is My Turn Signal Relay?
The turn signal relay and fuse can be found under the hoods of your car, protected with plastic that prevents them from getting soiled with moisture.
Once you unveil the hoods of several vehicles, you will often discover that the relay and fuse are inscribed on the plastic cover.
However, the location may differ from vehicle to vehicle since several model features relay within the car. Therefore, you can also inspect the turn signal box under the steering wheel.
Kindly go through your car manual to know where the relay and fuse are located in your car.
How Much Does a Turn Signal Relay Cost?
Most vehicles’ turn signal relays are quite affordable, so it’s often a great idea to replace them when they go wrong. These relays cost about $65 on average, which seems reasonable.
By changing your car relay yourself, you can save some money you would have paid to a mechanic.
If you’re hiring someone for the job, the labor fees should range somewhere from around $100 to $120. It doesn’t matter if your turn signal blinks fast sometimes or every time; a damaged relay is the cause of the problem; a replacement is the best way to fix the problem.
What Is a Led Flasher Relay?
LED flasher relay is simply an integrated circuit that acts like a semiconductor, going on/Off. The light releases diodes depending on how the vehicle was programmed or did so sequentially. However, these lights only receive their power from the vehicle’s battery.
You can only access this power through the help of the relay, which provides the energy required for the LED to give off light.
But if the relay becomes defective, the LED will no longer receive power and will stop turning on the lights.
Conclusion – Turn Signal Blinking Fast
If you notice your turn signal blinking fast, it could signify that one of your bulbs has blown or is about to get blown. However, it could also indicate bad connections or a bad turn signal relay or fuse. The blinking can be inconsistent, or it blinks twice as fast.
Indeed, the turn signal is essential to enhance safe driving, and when you see the turn signal blinking fast, you should stop driving and try to fix the issue immediately.