Ugh I just feel sick, I'll get to why in a minute.

I can't properly test the headlights or the running lights right now because the dash is out of the vehicle. I can pull back the signal paddle and yes the brights do come on, they just don't lock on.

So I checked the ground, it's tight and clean like it just came off the production line...
I popped off the tail lenses and had a look inside. What I found was distressing. 2 blown signal bulbs, 1 large 1156 bulb (the reverse lamp?) completely rusted into the socket, a smoked up but working brake light.
Used wet graphite spray to dislodge the rusted in bulb, after that used a wire brush to clean the socket, it still looks fkd. Additionally the ground connection is loose on the socket. I replaced all the bulbs beside the brake lights, I didn't have any 1157 dual filaments laying around. Flipped the left blinker on and tried smashing that ground around inside the socket thinking it might pinch and I'd get a circuit. No dice, but looking back it was a reverse light so... Too late and tired to continue today, have a funeral to attend tomorrow.

Should I replace that socket? I mean.. it's the reverse lamp. I should have thrown it in reverse and checked it's function in hindsight.. just so tired.
Other than that one socket all the others look good.
After plugging in the new bulbs I thought maybe the signals weren't working because I had blown a fuse.. nope. Fuse is good. It's just still nothing works.

Something I just thought of.. when activating hazard lights.. do those small signal lights illuminate? Can someone check for me? If so, the hazards on mine do NOT illuminate these small bulbs. If that was the case that would be my first good clue through all of this!
Pictures:

 

TRUN SIGNAL FLUID IS LOW.... Reservoir is right to the left of the flux capacitor on the top side....... Or it's a GROUND Issue. Both would cause the same thing to happen.

 

whoops.. I wrote the following... meant it for THIS thread but somehow I posted on another... (facepalms)

You should have three bulbs in the tail light housings. Two larger bulbs, and one little bulb. Those little bulbs are back-up only, and respond to the switch from your tranny. They are not part of your running lights circuit. One of those large bulbs functions as a running light and as a brake light. It will have double filiments inside the bulb. One filiment lights up when you turn on your running lights. The other glows even brighter when you use your brakes.

The last bulb should be a single filiment. Thats the blinker/hazard light. Each single filiment bulb will have an individual power wire directly attached to its socket. And then the tailight housing, or the wiring harness, will have a ground wire that goes to the frame at some point.

A rusty socket will absolutely inhibit your blinker bulb from working. Rust is a FANTASTIC electrical inhibitor.
Clean it, wire-wheel it, scrape it... till you have bare metal to metal contact with the bulb body. A single filiment bulb will have a single wire going to the midfle of the socket that wire is the power, it wants to connect to the nipple at the bottom of the bulb. The bulb is grounded through its metal body contact to the metal socket body. So, you can see that a bulb that is loose in its socket wont get a proper ground.

The double filiment bulbs will have TWO hot wires going to the center of the socket. Each connecting to its own nipple on the bottom of the bulb. Again, ground is achieved via metal to metal contact between bulb body and the socket itself... then from the socket to the frame. Sometimes that ground is achieved via the blinker housing light mounting bolts to the frane, sometimes there is a ground wire that attaches to the frame at a central point on the vehicle, and sometimes there is a separate, ground wire that goes from the light housing to a nearby ground point on the frame/body of the vehicle.

Your blinker relay will not respond properly unless all of the blinker lights are grounded and have no blown filiments. If one bulb blows, your blinker, will blink, but at a rapid speed. Its designed to do that, to let the driver know they have a bad blinker.

this is what I would do. Id start with the back. Clean every socket, and make sure there is solid, metal to metal contact to the bulbs. Replace the bulbs with brand new ones. And use dielithium grease on each bulb. (Bulb grease) just smear on a thin layer. It helps prevent future corrosion and headaches.

I would test each hot wire at the bulb contact point with a needle tester clipped to a ground point on the body. If you have power to thise wires, but your bulb isnt lighting, your grond is broken somewhere from the bulb socket to the frame. Usually, a loose, or rusted socket is the culprit. But it is possible the ground wire in the lighting harness is broken. Ive never seen that happen tho personally.

Then I’d move up to the front. And do the same there.

‘Kay. I hope this helps.

Sorry for the misspellings an such.. I typed this all with a single finger on my phone.. pfpfttt

 

No one on the internet has spoke about relays in the wall behind the LR tail light... is this custom? I am so pissed I didn't hear them clicking away when the hazards were running.




Inside that wrag looking thing is an array of 3 relays, two of which click when hazards are engaged, one of those two has a corroded tab. If I can get the relay plug replaced, I'll patch it up and update with a new post, yay or nay.
Cheers

 

Went to a friends place, he has a 91 XJ parted out in a garage. I cut off a new relay connector, pulled all the terminals, and spliced one new terminal in and popped in a new relay. Would you believe it?
Still no blinker.

If you look at that photo theres a 12V lead going into a protected 40A fuse, south side of the fuse leads the array of relays PLUS leads the hitch power. In addition to this 12V lead into the array, another hot lead comes off the array and powers both brake lights... what the f-

 

Note from DJ
You may have the factory trailer towing harness.
If you have a 5 pin flat connector or the round 7 pin connector attached to your trailer hitch this probably what you have.

 

Try unplugging hitch harness and reconnect plugs to factor harness see if every thing works.

 

You said that your hazards work, and your blinkers don't. If that is the case your problem is most likely going to be near the dash.

Just use a cheap volt tester and follow the wiring to pinpoint the problem. Don't use an alternative ground for testing. Use the ground that the blinker would utilize.

Also plug in a battery charger. It will take some time.

 

So I've done two things, the weather has been cold and miserable (wet and drippy) lately so my progress has slowed.

I have tried bypassing the hitch harness, no change. I also pulled the fuse from the turn signal slot on the fuse panel and used a test light on the posts. There IS 12V power to the fuse.

Craig, I will hammer down tomorrow on following the wiring, though I still have no idea if it's the front or rear harness causing the issue. Ugh, frankly getting pretty sick of looking at the mess of work I've made disassembling everything to get to the harnesses haha.
I'll check back in soon, cheers.

 

Note from DJ
Let’s try to keep this this testing simple for now.

The fuse that you tested for power should have been a 20 Amp fuse identified with the #8 or TURN-BU above it and it should only have power with the key in the ON or Accessory position.

You deed to have power to both sides of that fuse for the turn signals to work so recheck with the switch ON.

Another thing that you can try is exercise the Hazard switch ON and OFF several times. The reason for this is if it has not completely returned to the OFF position it's contact that returns control back to the turn signal system may not be closed.

Another thing to keep in mind is the Turn Signal and the Hazard system both shares the same wiring and bulbs etc. after they leave the dash area; so as long as the Hazard system blinks all four corners nice and brite I don’t think you have a problem with that part of the system.

The difference is the Hazard system is powered completely separate from the Turn Signal system; so one may work while the other may not.

If this was my Jeep this is the way I would check for the problem.

Grab your meter turn the key to ON and test both sides of the 20 Amp fuse for near battery voltage if OK on to the next step.

Leave switch turned ON and reach up and removed the Turn Signal Flasher and check for voltage at both sockets [Don’t jam the test lead into the socket as this might loosed it's contact ability] only one will test positive if this circuit is OK; you will have good battery voltage then on to the next step.

Turn the switch OFF and I hope you saved some of the wiring you replaced. If so cut off about 6in of a smaller diameter wire and strip back about 3/4in off each end and gently push the striped potion of the wire into the socket cavities of the Turn Signal Flasher [You now have bypassed the Turn Signal Flasher.] Now turn the switch back to the ON position and move the Turn Signal Switch lever to the Left or Right position and see if you have lights ON steady at the front and back and then switch sides and recheck.

Post back your results of this test if you decide to try it out.

I HAVE NEVER TRIED IT OUT BUT IT MAKES SENSE TO ME.

 

-The TURN fuse is 20A, with the key switch ON the left post is hot, the right post is not.
-The positive post on the fuse panel for the flasher is hot, the other is not.
-Bypassing the flasher had no effect

I noticed that one of the clips on the positive side of the TURN fuse was bent open a little further than I would have liked. Using the test light probe I attempted to bend it back into place. Doing so pushed the clip into the fuse panel. To see what had happened I took the fuse panel off and turned it around, the clip fell out. I broke it. So now I'll have to solder and wire in an inline fuse to get it to work. SMH FK. Anyways.. everything was hot to the flasher so I would think that the break in the circuit is somewhere past the flasher, correct?

 

So after taking the front piece of the fuse panel off to inspect the damage I caused to the TURN connector, I identified that the lead coming off the other side of the flasher ran to the turn signal switch in the steering column.
Something made me want to put the flasher and fuse back in and retest the connection. The TURN fuse was still sending power so I decided to test the turn signals again and wahlaa, the turn signals now work. I have no idea what I did. I have no idea why they work now as opposed to 45 minutes ago but they work.

The problem all along could have possibly been the fuse clip terminals in the fuse box.

EDIT: Found the problem, one of the female flasher relay terminals embedded in the fuse panel had broken off, creating an intermittent connection. In addition to the broken female tab, both terminals had suffered electrical damage. WOW

 

Thank you everyone for your help. Much love.

 

RCBRC

 

Note from DJ
As long as the Electrical Gremlin gave up that is all that counts.