Technical Turn Signal Question - 53 Chevy

Yea I see... the reproduction ones are $129... kind of a lot for them to not work right but maybe someone knows like you said.

 

I'm using just the electrical part paid $29 so far so good. My original was eaten by previous occupants.

 

Thanks im going to put my switch back together and if i still have issues ill just buy the $29 part and see how it goes.

 

Actually I paid $21...

http://www.cl***icparts.com/mobile/1954-56-Turnsignal-Switch/productinfo/53-505A/#.VolrnF88KnM

I will say that most of my electrical gremlins lead back to bad grounds and dirty contacts. The rest were resulted from crumbly or chewed wire sheathing that were making good contact (aka shorting things out).

 

Thanks for that link! In looking at the dis***embled switch it looks like it's behaving as it should. If the center position is slightly off, it makes sense why the brake lights wouldn't light up. (I'm looking at the br*** pins and then the little spring loaded contacts to determine this). Since mine won't click into center/right/left positions it's probably an issue with the mechanism and not the switch.

Out of curiosity does yours nicely snap/click into each of the three positions?

 

Ok it appears, either I have a mismatched mechanism and housing, or the housing is quite distorted. The mechanism hits the housing preventing the ears from clicking/snapping/locking into up and down position.



The mechanism never quite goes to center position nicely. The reason is maybe the pivot bolt has wear or the rectangular metal spring isn't strong enough to pull it back to center position. I also didn't find a crush washer behind it. The washer previously seen is a lockwasher I had used for the lever arm so it wouldn't loosen up.



I wonder if I have a mismatched mechanism. Here are more photos:



The mechanism says part number 5942923 on the back.

One idea is to just buy that $129 full housing/mechanism ***embly and take a gamble it's an ok quality China made part. Another thought is to use a thicker rectangular metal spring so it centers the mechanism and allows me to have brake lights. As said before, the brake lights don't come on when stepping on the pedal if the mechanism is slightly off center. Right now I can move the mechanism to any position I want and it will stay there without returning to center.

I could live with holding the lever arm up or down when turning left or right if there was a stronger rectangular spring so it goes to center when I let off. Other than that maybe someone knows/recognizes if the housing/mechanism is mismatched.

I thought about taking to pieces of wood and a c-clamp and making the housing more round but I don't know if I even have the correct housing to begin with and if I'll make things even worse.

 

It looks like all the correct parts. The top should be round...put something round on it, about the same size, and see how egg shaped the housing is.

It's made of pot metal (zinc), which is rather unforgiving about bending back to it's original shape, without breaking.

 

Thanks just looking at the photo and from what I saw close up, it's definitely egg shaped. If that metal is unforgiving it looks like I'm out of luck. You can see in the photos where the mechanism hits the housing. I could use a dremel to cut a slit but the top one would be visible.... Looks like I need a new full ***embly and then have a body shop color match... Darn.

 

My original electrical part was very sloppy, the new replacement electrical part made a big difference.

 

Thanks that is good to know. Looks like my housing may be no good based on the photos I posted my he mechanism hitting it before the ears can lock in the up and down position.

 

Mine never locked up I don't think it should lock up but it does gently click bearely noticeable.

 

I see... I'm pretty sure the housing I have has been abused by the previous owners and body shop work so I guess I'm going to buy a full ***embly.

 

this one works pretty well. Sorry for the bad lighting, it's night, and not much light in the parking garage.

 

oh yea it clicks to each individual spot just nicely.... do you think my best bet is to buy that one that I referenced earlier?

http://www.cl***icparts.com/1954-56-Turnsignal-Cup-***embly/productinfo/53-531A/#

 

I don't know what your budget is, and what your parts scrounging skills are....

 

I was supposed to get myself a new wetsuit as my own Xmas gift.. owell... the $129 is not the end of the world but I obviously rather not spend it for now. I do want to put this back together soon so I can work on the other problems with the car. I've been looking on ebay for stuff and there isn't much on there in the way of parts that seem usable without risk of having the same issues.

The only last remaining option is to thin out where the mechanism hits the housing wall and perhaps even cut a little slit. The ears almost catch, it's not far off but you can see the housing is egg shaped right where the mechanism is hitting. Just a bit rounder and it seems like the elbows would click. A slit on the bottom side won't be noticeable only the top will but maybe I can paint the mechanism corner dark black so it's not as visible and later in time buy the whole new ***embly. I imagine a stronger (thicker metal piece) rectangular spring will bring it to center better.

 

Well, if you're thinking of replacing it anyway. How about trying to use a hose clamp to get it round again. Tighten it fully around the egg shaped part and then back off the clamp again and see if it stays, if not place 1 or 2 thin shims in the fat area between the egg shaped part, and the clamp and then tighten again. Adjust accordingly.

 

Thanks I'll give that a try and hopefully it won't break but if it does I'll buy the one I referenced earlier.

 

I don't see how hose clamps will apply the force in the direction it needs...????

 

A c-clamp might but I don't know if it will break the housing violently... It needs to be rounder where the mechanism hits on the top and bottom. The housing looks flatter (making it oval) in those spots.

 

Maybe put 2 pc.s of 2x6 or 2x8 together & jigsaw a hole to diameter required centered where the boards come together. Hardwood would be the best. Separate the boards and use them with pipe clamps to gently & slowly over a few hours to squeeze the piece back to round. Place on the ends of the egg to start to push it back to round.

 

Squirrel, It may not, but it'll only take a couple minutes and can't hurt trying. It may also help support the casting if you leave it on and then try a c clamp over it?

 

Taking it a step further. How to make a reasonably accurate pair of split wood dies that I mentioned above.

To determine the diameter of the hole. Take masking tape & stick it on your jeans or shirt then pull the tape off to remove most of its stickiness. Wrap the low tack tape & 2 regular layers over that tape around the top of the hub & cut where they overlap. Lay the wrap flat & measure the length which will give the perimeter measurement for the round irregardless of its current shape. Divide the measurement by 3.1416 (pi) and that will give a diameter to cut in the wood dies. The reason to use a low tack tape is to have an easy release when it is removed to prevent it stretching. The low tack is only needed on the first layer. The additional layers will prevent stretching to give a decent measurement.

This may be the kindest way to try to restore is shape as it will spread out the forces that are be exerted on the pc... Pot metal will let you know when it has enough so it is good that parts are available.

 

Or cut some slits vertically in the housing and then clamp it. Maybe 3 or 4 would allow it to shape-shift enough.

 

Thanks that is good to keep in mind. I think I need to much work to restore proper turn signal operation.

 

Yea, I also tried just a c-clamp and I can change the shape but the metal goes back to its original shape. I would need to keep manipulating the metal past its range of elasticity to get it to permanently change shape and I'm not sure I want to break something given the switch and mechanism aren't working that well.

 

I meant to play with the housing, etc yesterday but San Diego got some heavy rains and the garage the 53' is in flooded (luckily only 1 to 2 inch standing water puddle).

 

Ok I took one last stab today. I was going to buy the full ***embly but something makes me want to try a bit more with this one before giving up.

1. I re-dis***embled the switch. I sanded down all the contacts flush. One of them had a decent sized crater/hole which maybe caused the center position to want to stray a little and cause intermittent brake lights.

2. I put the switch together and it stopped being intermittent in the center position. This is good.

3. Next I ground down the ears/arms a little and now they click in the up and down position. Great. I didn't mess with the housing again. I only needed to dremel about 1/16th of an inch. (see photos below)

4. I lubed everything with silicone spray just for now ( I can come back with lithium grease later). The ***embly still takes a little effort on the lever but it's not too bad but I suspect the rollers where the ears/arms click have wear. The main problem is that the rectangular metal spring isn't strong enough to push the mechanism back to true center. I have to do it by hand more or less and I don't want to be off by too much that the brake lights don't come on. This can happen on occasion from trying a bunch of times.

Here are some photos:




If I can make the ***embly self center I think I have bought myself plenty more time and it will work fine. I thought about jamming a stiffer coil spring (maybe I can get one from Home Depot or parts store and cut to size) or using a thicker piece of metal for the rectangular spring. I'll need to find something and then cut it to size with a dremel tool. I may also need to sand the pivot bolt and pivot hole smooth. The bolt had some horizontal indented lines from wear.

I don't see how the missing crush washer for the pivot bolt will help much?

Anyone think I'm on the right path?

 

The washer provides the location for the pivot bolt, so it the ring can move freely on it.

good to see progress!

I doubt you'll be able to find a replacement for the flat spring, keep in mind it's spring steel, not normal steel.

 

I see. Hmmm what should I do then? Jam a coil spring, maybe even drill a hole in the rectangular spring and use a small screw to keep the coil spring in place? Will that washer help to reduce the friction? It seems like the pivot bolt location is fixed by the threaded hole. The washer would maybe make a smoother surface for the mechanism to spin on as opposed to the surface on the housing?