Yesterday, my 1998 Ford Explorer had a difficult time starting, as if the battery was low on juice. I jump started it with cables to get me to work. Several times during the day, it had difficulty turning over. This morning, I cleaned the battery cables and terminals since the negative was corroded. I made the cable ends and battery terminals clean and shiny to insure good connections. While the engine was running, I disconnected the postive cable and measured around 14 volts off of the positive cable to ground, so I assume the alternator and voltage regulator are working. However, on my way to work, I noticed the turn signals were not working. The truck still started after shutting it off, but I measured the voltage on the battery and I get around 10.5 volts, which is low.
So, do I just need a new battery and the turn signals not working are a coincidence? Could I have a bad turn signal switch or relay? I cannot determine which fuse is for the turn signals. The manual does not have the turn signals on the fuse list.