Turn Signal Switch Replacement - tutorial

[wt4speed#2]

Wow excellent article.

[Kansas 72 Ford]

Just did this last week. Excellent tutorial!

[stephen44]

Nice !!!!! - ty

-  Stephen

[TheEskimo]

Very nice tutorial, this will come in very handy.

[robroy]

Good afternoon M-MMan,

Thanks for photographing this and explaining how you did it!

I'm looking in to a turn signal problem and may need to pull the switch out to figure out what's going on, and I read your article to refresh my memory about how that stuff's put together.

I especially liked your note about how many turn signal switches are replaced by cutting the wires and crimping on new ones.  That's how mine is currently!  And all those clunky crimp-on connectors really take up a lot of space in there and crowd things even more than they already are.  I should probably just pull the wires out and find a complete replacement, but I'll monkey around with this setup first to see if there's any easier fix.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain this M-MMan,
Robroy

[gleno]

Wonderful article!  Your energy and dedication are making truck ownership a pleasure.  The two 1/4" square bolt that secure the head casting holding the turn signal switch were giving me fits.  Ultimately, I used a hybrid method to reassemble the pieces, which may help someone else.

Having no luck with the two bolts started with a turn or two on the nuts, I used the suggested tip of starting only a thread or two for the bottom bolt only, but for the top bolt, I put it into the steering column in anatomical position, with a smudge of grease to stick it a little. I then taped the nut for the top bolt to the tip of one of those pen-shaped mechanics magnets.  Then I assembled the pieces enough to stick the magnetized nut onto the tip of the top loose screw, carefully beginning the threading.  After snagging a thread, I pulled off the magnet and tightened up both bolts.

But I still could not have assembled the parts without the original tip.  Great photos, and I can really appreciate the quality of your composition.  Gleno

[Hemmi06]

Great writeup....

[jthulan]

Thanks for the awsome article. I should have read this last night as I replaced my TSS today, before reading this.
I have an auto shifter in the floor, and an "abandoned" manual shift collar I dealt with on my 71. My wires had been cut and respliced many times, and I just bought an entirely new switch from LMC. The new wires ended with the correct metal terminals, and each wire was slightly shorter than the next. When I was fishing the new wires though the steering column, I taped them as one to feed them down. This did not work. I then fed a stiff wire up through and then taped the new wires to it to pull it down through the column. This did not work ethier as I kept hitting something inside the steering column sleeve. What did work for me was to feed each new wire down individually.
I finally have two brake lights again and both rear turn signals!

[fordman]

thats the way i had to do the last one. i got most of the wires through by sending them down the tube by twos and threes.

[classic67]

does anyone know where i can get those springs

[91Bear]

Which ones?  The brushes?  Dennis Carpenter sells them.

[fordman]

the steering shaft spring. have you checked with the vendors to see what they have. i think they have them.

[91Bear]

Dennis Carpenter has the horn ring spring (C0DZ-13A807-B) for $3.00.  The contact brushes (C20Z-13A821-A) are $5 each.

[JL100]

Wow, thanks so much for taking so much time to do such a fantastic and detailed write up. For new owners like myself, this is going to just increase my confidence when I am taking apart my steering column. Two Thumbs WAY UP!  

[elgemcdlf]

A suggestion that may help folks. When you are ready to pull the turn signal switch out cut the wires at the top of the column. Now attach your new switch wires either singly or as a unit to the old harness. Pull it down through the column taking the new wires with it.