I have a feeling I'm not going to get an answer other than "you'll just have to look it over to see if something not right" or "replace the turn signal switch", but I figured I'd ask anyway.
History:
When I first got Murphy (67 with a Grant wheel & adaptor kit), the turn signal switch had a broken spring so the left signal would over cancel and turn on the right signal when I turned. I'd been meaning to fix it, but I kept putting it off because I didn't want to mess with pulling the wheel.
A few months ago, the nut that holds the wheel on (that big 15/16" one) had worked its way loose (had bad u-joints & lots of vibration) and the steering wheel fell off . . . while I was driving.
Anyway, I figured it would be a good time to swap out the switch/wiring. I happened to already have an extra switch that I'd bought brand new for Sadie (also a 67 but with a stock wheel). I drove Sadie with the new switch for close to a year and didn't have any problems, then I parked her and she'd been sitting for about 3 years. So I pulled the switch out of Sadie, but in the process of getting the wires out of the connectors (have to do that to be able to pull it through the column), I messed up a couple of the metal wire ends (that snap into the connectors). I found some at the Ford dealership, but they came with wires already attached so I had to just splice them onto the ends of the existing wires. I got the switches swapped out and the wires spliced in, but there's a couple minor problems:
1) When I have the turn signal on (either left or right, it does it with both), once the wheel gets to a certain angle, the signal will stop flashing & stay on. Turn the wheel just a little in either direction of that spot, and it starts flashing again. One of the turns I go around when leaving work is at that exact angle and it's just incredibly annoying.
I looked at the switch today and the only thing I can find that seems broken is the little ring in the middle with the nubs that cancel the signal. There's a little spring loaded pin on one of the nubs that's supposed to fit in a little slot on the back of the wheel so that it turns with the wheel:
Not a mustang switch, but it's the best pic I can find on the net that shows it:
On my switch, that pin is a little loose and can get pushed to the side so it isn't entirely in the slot on the wheel. But I don't see how that can be causing the problem. Or if it is somehow causing the problem, I don't see how I can replace just that little part rather than the whole switch ($$$).
Problem #2 - When I turn the car off, if the steering wheel is turned at one specific angle (not the same angle as problem 1), either the tach light (aftermarket tach mounted to the column), or the seatbelt warning light, or both will flash like the turn signals, or the needle on the tach will jump a little like the turn signals (don't think I've ever seen the needle jump at the same time when the lights were flashing). Again, turn the wheel just a little, and it won't do it.
At first, I was thinking that maybe where I'd spliced a couple wires, one had managed to poke out a little and was sticking into one of the wires for the tach or seatbelt light, but I made sure all the wires weren't touching under the dash and it was still doing it. I also looked at my shop manual to see if maybe they were all on the same fuse, but they're not. Unless someone wired up my car completely different than the shop manual, all 3 things are on different fuses.
So, any suggestions (preferrably other than replacing the entire switch again)?
-Chelle
History:
When I first got Murphy (67 with a Grant wheel & adaptor kit), the turn signal switch had a broken spring so the left signal would over cancel and turn on the right signal when I turned. I'd been meaning to fix it, but I kept putting it off because I didn't want to mess with pulling the wheel.
A few months ago, the nut that holds the wheel on (that big 15/16" one) had worked its way loose (had bad u-joints & lots of vibration) and the steering wheel fell off . . . while I was driving.
Anyway, I figured it would be a good time to swap out the switch/wiring. I happened to already have an extra switch that I'd bought brand new for Sadie (also a 67 but with a stock wheel). I drove Sadie with the new switch for close to a year and didn't have any problems, then I parked her and she'd been sitting for about 3 years. So I pulled the switch out of Sadie, but in the process of getting the wires out of the connectors (have to do that to be able to pull it through the column), I messed up a couple of the metal wire ends (that snap into the connectors). I found some at the Ford dealership, but they came with wires already attached so I had to just splice them onto the ends of the existing wires. I got the switches swapped out and the wires spliced in, but there's a couple minor problems:1) When I have the turn signal on (either left or right, it does it with both), once the wheel gets to a certain angle, the signal will stop flashing & stay on. Turn the wheel just a little in either direction of that spot, and it starts flashing again. One of the turns I go around when leaving work is at that exact angle and it's just incredibly annoying.
I looked at the switch today and the only thing I can find that seems broken is the little ring in the middle with the nubs that cancel the signal. There's a little spring loaded pin on one of the nubs that's supposed to fit in a little slot on the back of the wheel so that it turns with the wheel:
Not a mustang switch, but it's the best pic I can find on the net that shows it:
On my switch, that pin is a little loose and can get pushed to the side so it isn't entirely in the slot on the wheel. But I don't see how that can be causing the problem. Or if it is somehow causing the problem, I don't see how I can replace just that little part rather than the whole switch ($$$).
Problem #2 - When I turn the car off, if the steering wheel is turned at one specific angle (not the same angle as problem 1), either the tach light (aftermarket tach mounted to the column), or the seatbelt warning light, or both will flash like the turn signals, or the needle on the tach will jump a little like the turn signals (don't think I've ever seen the needle jump at the same time when the lights were flashing). Again, turn the wheel just a little, and it won't do it.
At first, I was thinking that maybe where I'd spliced a couple wires, one had managed to poke out a little and was sticking into one of the wires for the tach or seatbelt light, but I made sure all the wires weren't touching under the dash and it was still doing it. I also looked at my shop manual to see if maybe they were all on the same fuse, but they're not. Unless someone wired up my car completely different than the shop manual, all 3 things are on different fuses.
So, any suggestions (preferrably other than replacing the entire switch again)?
-Chelle
