1970 Bus Blinker Switch / Stalk Assembly

[sped372]

Oh, the things you wish you wouldn't have lived with.

We've had our bus about five years and the blinker switch assembly (just below the steering wheel) came with a massive wrap of electrical tape holding it in place. Everything worked it just looked like crap if you actually looked at it.

I know the assembly is getting expensive to replace, but yesterday I finally got brave enough to open Pandora's box - and got lucky. I unwrapped all the sticky old tape and found that its sole purpose was to keep the assembly from "spinning" on the steering column. Nothing was "broken" actually.

Separating the two halves of the assembly reveals a removable metal "C" that acts as a clamp to lock the unit in place on the column. Since nothing looked broken I assumed my "C" must have lost its clamp. I used my bench vice to deform it ever so slightly - making it a "(" by exaggeration - and put the whole assembly back together. Nice and snug now with no hideous tape.

Why didn't I do that earlier!?

[Hippie]

Why didn't I do that earlier!?

Why don't I do that now that I read how?
No tape but it's got the spins.

[ruckman101]

No spinny, but suddenly, every time I use the signals, the fuse blows.


neal

[dtrumbo]

Since we're thread-piling... do any of you '70 (aka early bay) owners have this problem? In my wife's '70, the signals work great electrically, it's the mechanical action of the signal lever that's hinky. When you push or pull the lever to turn on the signals, nearly half the time the signal lever pops back to the neutral or off position. I've replaced the switch with a different used one (new ones are NLA) and it does the same thing. If you turn the steering wheel off of centered (left or right), it seems to make it better as the canceling mechanism is in a different location. This makes no sense and I'm pretty much just rambling now, but has anyone else experienced this? If so, what did you do, if anything, to correct it?

[Amskeptic]

Since we're thread-piling... do any of you '70 (aka early bay) owners have this problem? In my wife's '70, the signals work great electrically, it's the mechanical action of the signal lever that's hinky. When you push or pull the lever to turn on the signals, nearly half the time the signal lever pops back to the neutral or off position. I've replaced the switch with a different used one (new ones are NLA) and it does the same thing. If you turn the steering wheel off of centered (left or right), it seems to make it better as the canceling mechanism is in a different location. This makes no sense and I'm pretty much just rambling now, but has anyone else experienced this? If so, what did you do, if anything, to correct it?

Take it apart and look for the spring over-center track in the plastic. That is what holds it in position whilst signalling. The cancelling tab overpowers the detent and lets the spring bring it back to off. Methinks judicious and craftspersonlike lubrication may help you.
Colin

[sped372]

Why didn't I do that earlier!?

Why don't I do that now that I read how?
No tape but it's got the spins.

Do it! Report back - I'll feel better if I motivated someone else to fix it as well.