Re: turn signals finally fixed!

Posted by David Grubbs On 2015/8/24 16:35:42

Just got back out of the garage. I cleaned both spare turn switches from the parts bin with Radio Shack contact cleaner, then blew them out with the air compressor. Then cleaned each contact with a q-tip, as well as I could without taking the switch apart. On one switch the orange (front right) wire wasn't making contact, on the other switch it was the white (front left) wire that wasn't contacting. Both of the non working contact buttons were on the far ends of the switch, where the pressure was the lightest. After a good cleaning, I would turn the switch left and right, and test the appropriate wire with the multimeter attached to the blue (hot) lead and the orange or white wire. This was all done on the work bench.

After cleaning, both switches tested good. I then unplugged the lead going to the turn signals from the unit in the car, and plugged in the cleaned units. Both worked fine! So the problem was just 64 years of dirt and grime. I don't know if I could have cleaned them as well in the car, but if you can do it, you don't have to disassemble the steering column cover. Or you can do what I did and cut the wires to the switch, then reassemble them with solder and heat shrink tape.

I'll post the photos in a few minutes.