turn signal only on one side

[TJ1978]

@TJ1978,
I had to laugh about that. While I was rebuilding my truck I didn't have turn signals, all that was out of the truck as the interior was gutted. I had to use hand signals. Now, I took drivers ed. way back in 1965 and back then drivers ed. was like a regular class you signed up for. It lasted a semester. Half the time was in class and the second half was on the road in a new Ford that had "three on the tree". You could really drive when you learned to shift to second gear while turning through the middle of a intersection making a left or right turn, I'll guarantee you that! But before that they taught us to use hand signals, people knew what they were in 1965. But today I doubt anyone knows what you are doing.

Yeah that's fair. I bet they think "why is this idiot not using his turn signal in that damn old truck ? He has his arm outside, use it to turn on the signal" probably.
Yeah. If they hit my Blazer, they will lose, for the most part.

 

[Raider L]

My new turn signal switch came in. An actual AC Delco no less!

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turn signal switch assembly.

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@Turbo4whl
All the wiring is just like mine except for these two wires. And they have these contacts on the back of the switch. Do you know what they go to? I'm sure they are for some other year car or truck or possibly some other lights. I've looked very closely and they are not part of the switch. The wires just go to these contacts. I thought that maybe they go to a different type horn that I've seen on another cancelling cam

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This tan and Dk Green wires. They're not on my schematic. You can see they stay separate from the group that go to the switch.

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[Turbo4whl]

My new turn signal switch came in. An actual AC Delco no less!

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turn signal switch assembly.

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@Turbo4whl
All the wiring is just like mine except for these two wires. And they have these contacts on the back of the switch. Do you know what they go to? I'm sure they are for some other year car or truck or possibly some other lights. I've looked very closely and they are not part of the switch. The wires just go to these contacts. I thought that maybe they go to a different type horn that I've seen on another cancelling cam

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This tan and Dk Green wires. They're not on my schematic. You can see they stay separate from the group that go to the switch.

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One of two items, most likely a key in buzzer or key light.

 

[Raider L]

@Turbo4whl
Huh.
I think what I might try and do first, no harm in tryin' is take a rounded punch and see if I can gently punch those nubs out a bit and see if that solves the problem of lack of contact. Yeah, yeah, "Then if you're going to fix it why did you waste the money on a new switch?" Well, I don't know if I can fix those plates yet. I sure wasn't going to pull the steering wheel off and remove that dang "lock plate" I hate taking off, and then the fix not work and take it all off again to put the new switch in. I'll try to see if a fix will get me down the road a bit while I've got it all apart. Then if it doesn't look like it's going to hold up, no harm, then I'll put the whole switch in.
Punching the nubs will be the first try for a fix, then what probably will work is to swap out both of the new plates, I know that will work. But what about the wear on the contacts on the old switch plates, the part with the wires going to it? They to may be worn down after fifty years, although they look like they aren't that worn. After all, it's not like the part that the turn signal lever's on is constantly moving, only once in awhile.
I can hook the switches up with the whole thing out of the column and plug it back into the connector under the ignition switch and put power to it just "hanging there". I like to see what I can do first before I just go the simplest route and replace the whole thing right off.
The only reason why I haven't tried to punch the nubs yet is I had to drive the truck. I'll down it this weekend and fiddle with it then.

 

[Turbo4whl]

Nobody... (paid mechanics) fixes things any more. Back when we had GMT400 trucks in the fleet the wipers would quit. The small PC boards would have solder joint crack. Resolder and fixed instead of replacing the whole thing.

 

[Raider L]

The one thing I will look at is whether or not this new plug will join with mine. It might. But I think if it has these two extra wires, it may not, it may be to long. I'll see.
It's like 10:52 pm and I worked on my son's Nissan for three hours this afternoon and I will attack this truck problem tomorrow.

 

[Raider L]

I fixed my turn signals today. And the choice I made was to use the new turn signal lever part with the new contact spring loaded plates on it, and replaced the old one. And I still haven't figured out why my turn signal cancelling thing won't turn my signal off after a turn.
And I hate fooling with that dog gone lock plate!!! I had to take it off three times and take it out to the shop so I could put it in the vise and straighten it out. You know when you put that tool on it, it has the tendency to push the tabs back bending them out of place. So I took my hammer and tapped the bars on the tool down so they were only making contact with the center of the locking plate in hopes the plate would reach the groove in the steering shaft and not bend before I could get the ring in place. I could only get part of the ring in the groove, but well enough to hold the plate. I did have it shoot off the shaft one time and hit the seat back. Thank God it didn't hit me in the face! I was waiting for it to happen that's why I had my head leaning off to one side as I carefully took the tool off, then sprang!! Then I knew the lock ring was stretched. I tried to tap it closed a bit more so it would snap into the groove on the steering shaft, but it just stretched out again. I need to get a new one and I guess I'll get a new locking plate to. But God! I hate taking that locking plate off!!
Sorry for the blurry pic. But you know what this is if any of you have taken your steering wheel off you know what a pain it is.
On the far left is the lock ring, then moving left to right is the locking plate, this is what the steering wheel locking pin goes into when you turn the engine off and give your steering wheel a little turn and it "clicks" in place locking the steering wheel, that locking pin will fall into one of the slots in the outside edge of the plate, next is the spring that places pressure on the bearing seat on the steering shaft, then the spacer that sits under the spring, and finally the upper bearing seat. You only have to remove the locking plate to get to the turn signal switch assembly.
Not shown in the order of things is the cancelling cam. It sits on top of the spring, then the locking plate goes on over it.
I just read the maint. book and it says to remove the plate just like I've been doing it. I guess my locking plate is another one of those fifty year old parts in my truck that needed to have been replaced a long time ago, especially the ring that holds the locking plate. The book says to replace that ring any time it's been removed. Did I? Nooo.

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[Raider L]

Well, I drove my truck just a little while ago and lo' and behold my turn signals click off now after I make a turn! Now, that may not sound like such a big deal unless you've seen my pics on rebuilding my whole steering column just to discover my signals wouldn't click off after a turn. I made the determined effort to put the old and new part, with the turn signal lever on it, up against each other to make sure they were the same and they were identical in every way.
I could never figure out how it worked to be honest with you. But when I put this lever part in yesterday in the column, now all of a sudden my signals are tripping off after a turn. I don't understand what I did that was any different than all the other times I had the steering wheel off, that suddenly something changed and now it's working?? I can't even say I'll get back to you later with an update because I don't understand how it works anyway. Yesterday when I was changing out the lever part I put the horn/cancelling cam in the end and turned it real slow to try and see what it is that makes it trip off, I couldn't make it work. So I couldn't tell you a thing about it, even after staring right at it. I know there is reference that indicates it's those two curled springs on each side of the lever part that trips the signal off....really?? I turned the cancel cam 'round and 'round and nothing happen. The cam wasn't even close to those springs to cause the lever part to trip. It's a mystery to me! But now it's working? What changed?
If anyone knows please show me.

 

[Raider L]

I just ordered a new (to me) lock plate to go along with my new (actually) lock ring. After looking for two days for a lock plate for prices all over the road everything from $35 to $99 I just kept working the sites. You know when you are on Ebay looking at a thing, down near the bottom will be other things like the one you are looking at. Well, after clicking a bunch of them I finally found a site for a locking plate for a Camaro/Firebird for $6.95!! That's right, six bucks and ninety-five cents. Not 35 dollars, not 40, not 55, 65, not 88.75, and sure as heck not 99.95 like one site I saw. For a piece of steel from some old car?? Yeah, yeah, hey all it does is lock the steering wheel that's all. And is that important? Sure. The night my truck got broke into it was the steering wheel lock that kept those guys from driving off with it, that is if they could have ever figured out how to start it. But every junk yard in the country that has a car or truck from '68 to '91 regardless if the column is tilt or not has got a plate in it. It's just not worth all those prices. How much would I liked to have paid? I guess about $10 bucks. I can hardly afford to even step foot in my local wrecking yards they've gone up so much on parts these days. It's stupid!

 

[Raider L]

I probably need to be putting this under "steering" and not electrical for the turn signal, but you do have to remove the lock plate and the retainer ring to get to the turn signal switch. But I don't want to be to picky, or do I?
Anyway, I got the retainer ring in. I was supposed to have gotten the lock plate in Saturday but now it won't be in until Monday. That's par for the course.

This ring came from Corvette Central and was about average for the price, I did shop around. It was $11.05. Yeah, I know, that sounds high for a little metal ring but it fits our truck steering shaft. It's for a '69 - '78 Vette and I'm sure a lot more years but if you need one for your truck here is a source at least. "P/N 563060 '69-'78" (Corvette), but trucks, mine is a '74, and I wonder why just this span of years? What was the change in years after '78? Does anyone know? Did GM change the steering shaft somehow and this ring doesn't go like it does in our trucks? And Camaro's and no telling what else, even some years CJ Jeep's had the same steering column and shaft as the one that's in our trucks to, "Steering Column Shaft Lock Plate Retainer Ring". Shipping and Handling was $9.06, and whatever tax if your state collects it. Louisiana does.

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Below, a closer look. Ends together like they're supposed top be. My ring is in bad shape it's been off and on so many times. It doesn't even snap back into the groove anymore. I tried to tap it closed and get it back on there and the ends are just barely hung in the groove. I figured, what would happen if the ring popped off and the locking plate was to come unglued in the column while I was driving. Well, if I was lucky and the plate didn't jam the steering column and I couldn't steer the truck, I just hope I wasn't on interstate doing 75 mph. in the middle of a curve! Of course the big nut holding the steering wheel on would keep it in place.
No, about all that would happen is I wouldn't be able to lock the column. Like I read in the factory maint. book I have, it says you are to throw the old one away and replace it with a new ring. And that's for each time you take one off. Well, we can't all be so frivolous.

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