By Charlie Nowlin

Signals, Turn and Hazard

Or
Not all switches are created equal

Prologue....

Recently, Ben had his Series III XJ6 hazard switch break and fall off in his hand, and after securing a replacement, he proceded to install it.  This is where the idea for this page began.

Due to some part number differences, there was a problem in getting it to work using the schematic in the manual.  This was complicated by the fact that before the switch fell apart, it worked well, with the same wiring.

I worked two days with Ben via e-mail, trying to figure out what the problem was.

Another lister, Tim, had a similar problem with his Series II XJ6 car, and offered the solution.  The wiring, which eventually worked, was entirely different than that in the manual.  I will present here the findings of the two switches, and their differences.

Original wiring

As per my vehicle, and Ben's broken switch.

And which agrees with both the "ROM" and the "other" manual

The Brown / Orange wire, is the feed for the hazard switch.
It comes directly from the battery (fused) and allows hazard blinkers to operate with the key "OFF".

The Green / Blue wire comes from Pin 5 of the Ignition switch, and powers the turn signals while the key is "ON".

Turn Signal Wiring

The light green / pink wire supplies power to the flasher unit,
with the hazard switch in the "OFF" (default) position,
via the Green/Blue wire from the ignition switch.

(Light green overlay in the following drawing)

Hazard switch wiring

With the Hazard switch "ON", it supplies power from the battery to the flasher via the Brown/Orange wire.

Testing the Flasher Unit

STEP 1
remove the Green / White wire from terminal 4,
and
remove the Green / Red wire from terminal  7.
Connect these two wires together.

STEP 2
connect the Orange / Brown wire to the Lt. Green / Pink wire.

Now
If the flashers work front and rear, both sides,
        (Ign key and hazard switch are bypassed by this, so it won't matter if they are on or off)
flashing the instant the Orange / Brown wire and the Lt. Green / Pink wire are connected...

The flasher unit is OK.

If NOT, replace the flasher unit and retest.

---

The final wiring that worked for Ben was as follows:

#1 - Light green/blue wire
#2 - Light green/white wire
#3 - Light green/red wire
#4 - Light green/green wire
#5 - None
#6 - Light green/pink wire
#7 - Green wire
#8 - Brown/orange wire