Turn Signal Problem

[Herb]

My turn signal switch works very irregularly to indicate a right turn. No problem on left turn indication. I took it apart and tried to clean up the contacts and put some dialectic grease on the mechanism. It worked fine when I had it apart and worked for a while when I put it back together and then by the next day it was back to mostly not working.

Any advice on correcting this situation would be appreciated.

thanks

 

[mikesim]

Did you clean up the contacts or just put dielectric grease on them? There is usually some spring tension on the brass strips. It may be helpful to bend 'em slightly to make better contact.

Mike

 

[Brillot2000]

Did you clean up the contacts or just put dielectric grease on them? There is usually some spring tension on the brass strips. It may be helpful to bend 'em slightly to make better contact.

Mike

I'd have to agree with Mike in this one. Get yourself some of this stuff from Autozone to clean the contacts, CRC Electrical Parts Cleaner.

 

[Herb]

Thanks. I did a more thorough job this time. Took the metal indicator lever off and cleaned up both sides and it's working consistently now. We'll see if this is long term.

 

[mikesim]

Thanks. I did a more thorough job this time. Took the metal indicator lever off and cleaned up both sides and it's working consistently now. We'll see if this is long term.

Herb, that should fix it. The dielectric grease is good in preventing corrosion but it cleans the contacts not so good. The chemical cleaners as Bruce suggested are better, but still not as good as manually cleaning the contacts. I have a nifty contact cleaning pen that uses fiberglass fibers as an abrasive and it will fit in tiny openings. It was actually designed for paint prep but it works great on electrical contacts.

Mike

 

[ARKNT]

Even a regular lead pencil eraser can do a pretty good job of cleaning contacts.

Brad

 

[RedLdr1]

Even a regular lead pencil eraser can do a pretty good job of cleaning contacts.

Brad

+1 The harder the eraser the better...

Years ago I "stole" one of my wife's "extra fine" emery boards to clean electrical contacts on the road. It takes up virtually no space in my on board tool bag and has come in handy more than once.