'71 Turn Signal Switch

[KevinS]

My left turn signal stopped working this weekend. Bulbs are all OK and everything else is working fine, parking, tail, brake lights, etc.

I believe it is in the turn signal switch located on the steering column. Since this item is NLA, does anyone have any experience with repairing these.

Any help would be appreciated.

KevinS

[KevinS]

Bump.

Anybody?

[Jim727]

I also have a '71. Last weekend I spend a bit of time with the rear light assemblies as they were behaving intermittently even though the bulbs checked ok. Discovered that corrosion of the contacts was the issue - used some heavy-duty contact cleaner (from radio shack) to clean up all the bulb sockets and wire connections and everything works fine; lights are brighter and the turn signals and brakes are noticeably better. 37 years is a long time for corrosion to grow.

I have also replaced the turn signal stalk/switch. All I could find was an aftermarket switch and it's a pos. Action in the new switch is anything but smooth. If you can't fix the problem by cleaning bulb sockets and wire connections, then you may be stuck with replacing the stalk. Think recycler (like EASY). If you do replace it, keep the old one - you'll probably want to experiment with repairing it.

As a final note, the headlight circuit goes through that switch (that's what killed mine). If you don't have headlight relays installed they should be at the top of your repair list.

Jim

[KevinS]

Jim,

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try and let you know what happens. Any adivce on where to get an after market stalk?

Haven't got a whole lot of feed back on this. Is this a rare problem?

KevinS

[Jim727]

Kevin, you can get them right here at Pelican.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/911E/POR_911E_ELswch_pg2.htm

You can also check a recycler for parts, like EASY (www.easypor.com)

I strongly encourage you, however, to start with the simpler things before doing the more complex and costly things. Our cars are old and corrosion happens. Even if corrosion of the sockets and connections is not the immediate problem here, you are doing yourself a big favor by cleaning up the contacts.

Also, you didn't mention whether you have installed headlight relays. All the headlight current goes through that switch, so even if you replace it you haven't yet "solved the problem". You can do a search for relays or "Markus Sucro" for lots more information.

Jim

[KevinS]

Jim,

No, I haven't changed the head light relays. Would that cause my blinkers not to work? I'll give the contact cleaning a try before I replace the stalk. Again thanks for all your help.

KevinS

[Jim727]

Cause your blinkers to not work? Not directly, but not having relays in place will cause your stalk assembly to wear faster.