<VV> Almost Home-Blinkers Busted

[norman.witte at comcast.net]

Tim, before you order parts, disassemble the switch.  If the switch is similar to the 65 (and I don't know that it is), there are a group of leaf switches inside that may simply need adjustment.  Mine was repairable without buying any parts.

See my previous post pasted below or read in Bob Helt's book for more information.

Norm


-------------- Forwarded Message: -------------- 
From: norman.witte at comcast.net 
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org 
Subject: 1965 Turn Signal Switch 
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 13:47:35 +0000 

I've been messing with the turn signal switches on my two '65 Corsas, both of 
which have the standard, non-telescoping steering columns. The shop manual has 
precious little information in it regarding the turn signal switch and I just 
had a few "Hoover" moments, so I thought I would share what I learned with the 
list. 

First, a tip about removing steering wheels. Just before I start cranking on 
the steering wheel puller to pop the steering wheel off, I put a piece of tape 
over the gap between the wheel and the mast jacket and cut it with a knife. 
It's not fool-proof, but I have found that by doing this I am far more likely to 
get the steering wheel on strai ght to start with. 

Now, for the switch. The problem I had with my convertible is that the left 
front turn signal and the dash blinker light would not come on unless I put a 
little extra pressure on the turn signal lever. The turn signal lever is 
attached to a "C" shaped arm. The arm has a blade the protrudes downward into 
the switch and moves a set of contacts. I figured that there was a problem with 
the contacts, but because I didn't understand how the contacts worked, I messed 
them up on my first attempt, with the result that the front blinkers blinked 
like 4-ways regardless of the position of the turn signal lever. After a little 
more study, I came to understand how the contacts worked and I want to pass on 
what I learned. 

The illustration at this link 

http://www.motortopia.com/album/ssp/p/cars/a/990/i/turn_signal_diagram 

will be helpful in understanding my explanation. 

As the illustration shows, there a re three contacts and six posts. One contact 
is tied to the left taillight, one to right taillight, and one to the front turn 
signals. Separate contacts for the front and back are required because the 
brake lights only illuminate in back. In my illustration, you can see that 
contact A is normally in contact with contact C, as is contact B. This closes 
the circuit for the brake lights, so that when the brake light switch closes, 
both brake lights come on. As for the front turn signals, it is important to 
note that their contact comes close to posts D and E, but DOES NOT TOUCH THEM 
unless the turn signal lever is moved. When the lever is moved to indicate a 
left turn by pulling it down, the blade on the lever pushes both the left 
taillight contact and the turn signal contact so that they both touch post D. 
At that point, the circuit for the blinker is closed through the lights on the 
left side of the car. Of course, just the opposite oc curs w 
hen the turn signal left is moved to the right turn position. 

The concacts bend easily, so it's easy to screw them up if you don't understand 
how this little box works. Knowing this, you can make sure that there is the 
proper amount of clearance from all of the posts when the switch is in the 
neutral position and that there is full contact when it is in the right or left 
position. 

Norm Witte