Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1998 12:03:47 -0500
Reply-To: Bulley-Hewlett & Associates <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Bulley-Hewlett & Associates <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Subject: Fixing turn signals, was: Turn signals won't auto turn off
Tom-
This problem usually crops up when one or both of the springs come off the
"canceling cam" in your steering column. Sounds ominous, but it is not. You
may want a Bently or Haynes manual to fix it, but here is the thumbnail
description, custom written with the Vanagon owner in mind.
Remove the steering wheel. This requires prying up whatever horn-cover
mechanism your model van has, an activity that Volkswaggin' makes fairly
easy, once you figure out where to pry. Once you have the horn mechanism
safely destroyed through your prying attempts, take off the huge centrally
mounted bolt. Be advised, this bolt (which is 40 mm or there abouts) is
torqued on by two, 600-pound, African lowland gorillas which VW has trained
to use a using a fifteen-foot cheater bar for this installation.
Next, remove the steering column surround. There are two screws underneath,
and a clamp toward the bottom. If your clamp hasn't broken yet, now would
be the best time to break it. Look with amazement at the amount of
collected filth inside the surround. Send this to the lab to be cultured.
With the wheel and surround off, you are afforded full view of the turn
signal/wiper mechanism. These are housed in a plastic material, which,
dependant on the age of your van, may magically turn to powder in your
hands. However, odds are this mechanism will be fairly intact. Unscrew the
two (or is it four?) obvious straight-head screws, and unplug the switches
from the wiring harness. Take the open the mechanism somewhere flat,
well-lit, and wide. A squash court would do, but lacking a squash court, I
usually resort to the workbench. Carefully pull the mechanism to pieces. If
I remember correctly, there are little one-way latches you pry up, and then
you can open the case.
You will find two obvious springs, which have come dislodged from two
obvious posts on the turn signal arm. If this is NOT what you find (i.e.
the springs are missing, or the posts are broken off), stare in amazement
at all the little bits you have disassembled, and begin looking for a new
switch at the junk yard. If the springs are off, and the posts to which
they attach are still intact, replace them to their obvious places, and
re-assemble the mechanism.
Before closing everything up, smear your favorite grease on the wear
surfaces. I use all-vegetable Crisco, because my cholesterol is a little
high.
Installation is the reverse of removal. Beep-beep, zip-bang!
G. Matthew Bulley
Principal
Bulley-Hewlett & Associates
Communications for Organizational Development
www.bulley-hewlett.com
(888) 468-4880 toll free
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Harmon [SMTP:tharmon@RELAYPOINT.NET]
Sent: Monday, November 02, 1998 9:23 PM
To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Subject: Turn signals won't auto turn off
I'm not sure this is the way to post a message to the newsgroup. But I
thought i'd try anyway since the only help I can see on the archives is how
to search the archives:
I'm wondering what I need to do to make my turn signals automatically turn
off after the turn is completed??? I keep forgetting to manually turn them
off, which is dangerous!
thanx.... for any help. tom tharmon@relaypoint.net
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