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Trafficator is Killing Me!

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Thanks John. Took it out and put the canceling tab at 12. It worked out, but when I put it back in it didn't. I think the problem is in tightening it into place with the grub screws. I don't think they are grabbing the back plate properly and are going behind it instead of in front. Also the bakelite rotates a little when I turn the wheel. Any suggestions?
 
Hi Scott,

Yes, the backing plate needs to fully seat against the steering wheel so the grub screws can contact the bevel on the front face of the backing plate. Make sure you unscrew the grub screws quite far to clear the path for the backing plate. Try keeping constant pressure on the bakelite as you tighten the grub screws. Still having problems? .. There are a series of pressed bumps on the inside of short trafficator tube in the 12 position that align with the slot in the stator tube. Perhaps your stator tube is a bit too high and not allowing the trafficator to be fully inserted into the wheel. If you loosen the nut/olive at the end of the steering box you can slide the stator tube a small amount to remedy this. The bakelite rotating can be caused by a wide gap on the stator tube slot. The sloppy fit can be adjusted by removing the tube and carefully closing the gap with a vise or visegrips. If the tube slot is cracked you will need do a weld repair or buy/fabricate a new tube. I guess another possibility for the rotation is the nut/olive at the steering box is loose. Good luck!

Cheers,
John
 
Yep SHG, all those things can be part of the problem.If you still have the original grub screws I might suggest you pick up a set of ALLen/Bristols as replacements these will snug down very tight.---Fwiw---Keoke
 
Can you tell me a little more about using a vise to tighten up the tube. Does it matter whether I squeeze top to bottom or left to right? Also, what are Allen/Bristols? I've tried tightening the grub screw with pressure on the face, and the face appears to be pretty tight to the front of the wheel, but it just doesn't seem to catch the bevel. There are a lot of little details in this job. The wiring harness was a lot easier.
 
Hi SHG, Allen or Bristols are a set of wrenches that fit the center of that type grub screw. What john was refering to is the slot in the long part of the stator tube that the raised portion on the short section attatched to the head keys into.If it has been deformed it will allow the head to move over too great a range or for a sever case just let the short tub rotate without activating the cancellation mechanism . As an aside the preferrd grub screws I mentioned eliminate the potential for the slotted head ones to break.They also insure that you do not scuff up the steering wheel hub when the screwdriver used with the slots jumps out or gets too wide when the screws are near their bottom position. Testing the interface between the two tubes can be done by inserting the head properly and then with the grub screws clear of the plate attempt to rotate the entire bakelite assembly by hand. If it moves excessively you may have to close the long tube's portion up a bit by carefull crimping it in a vise, On the otherhand, the dimple in the short portion of the tube may require the reshaping --Keoke
 
I thought the Allen/Bristol with some special type of screw. I already have Allen head grub screws in there, but I haven't been able to get the backplate tight enough against the hub to get the grub screws in front of the plate instead of them coming in behind, even with pressure. I guess I just have to keep trying and eventually will get the properly situated. Since I haven't changed anything when I removed the trafficator, and it fit properly before I started, I have to assume that the stator tube isn't too high in the hub and that I just haven't gotten it right yet. I may try having my wife push the trafficator in while I tighten the grub screws to see if that helps, though the thought of her complaining the whole time makes me cringe. I will, however, make sure the olive is tight.

As for the rest, I'll give it a try today and see if the short stator tube is loose or what. I wish I could do something to pay you guys back for all the help you've given me. If you ever get stopped by doppler radar, I'd be happy to explain how to beat the ticket.
 
Hi SHG, Loosen the olive at the bottom of the box just enough to allow the long tube to move {Keep the cancellation knob at 12:eek:o] and see if the assy will move in closer to the top of the steering wheel's hub.Do not twist the top assy to make it go in just gentile downward pressure.---Keoke
 
boy, messing around with that olive when you're by yourself is a major pain. Getting the lever to stay at 12 took 10 tries, since it wants to pull to the left when you tighten the olive, but finally got it close enough (not really, but can't do better unless I have someone up there holding it. Anyway, managed to get the trafficator to seat and lock in properly. AND...still doesn't cancel. AARRRRGGGG. I would hate to just pull it out again to keep playing with it since I have such a hard time getting it back in.

On top of that, yet another problem. The front blinkers are working, but the back are not. I checked the wiring diagram here (thank you, thank you, thank you) but don't see why one would work without the other. Jeez, I'm just not getting a break on this one.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Jeez, I'm just not getting a break on this one.

[/ QUOTE ]
After loosening the olive and pushing the unit in,Immediately tighten the grub screws, then lightly hold the end of the tube poking out the bottom of the box with a small pair of chanel lock pliers while you retighten the olive.----NO Missus required-- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif--Me thinks its time to take one!----About them lights I will have a look at the circuit and see if I can come up wid sumpin---Keoke
 
oddly, that's exactly what I came up with and I managed to get it done. Still can't get it to cancel, and I bent the cancelling tab down a bit, but I've decided that's why god gave me two hands. Any ideas on why the blinkers work front but not back?
 
[ QUOTE ]
I already have Allen head grub screws in there, but I haven't been able to get the backplate tight enough against the hub to get the grub screws in front of the plate instead of them coming in behind, even with pressure.

[/ QUOTE ]

Scott, I realise that you finally got the trafficator in but next time you pull it, make sure the grub screws you are using come to a point. There are types of Allen head set screws with a flat bottom making it very difficult to get it in front of the backing plate. Sorry, but can't give you any good pointer on the front/rear flasher problem but hopefully someone else can.

Cheers,
John
 
Hi John. The grub screws had the pointed ends. I can't complain about the parts. It was the mechanic (me) who failed to put them back properly.

I've been thinking about the failure to cancel, and wonder if I put the two springs back in the right place. The one holding the cancelling roller is longer than the other, and I wonder if I used the shorter spring for the roller at the bottom. Do you know if there is any way to tell, such as the shorter spring won't cause the roller to make contact at all? It would save me from having to take the whole thing apart again to find out if I made the mistake. I know that I'm making this quite a problem, but it's killing me to have gone through all of this and still not have the trafficator working properly.
 
HI SHG,About those rear lights that won't play right. It is possible that the relay contacts are just dirty or that portion of the relay is not fuctioning. If you did not put the springs back in the correct order I would think it would not allow the cancelling arm to lock when moved to the left or right hand turn signal positions.But sumpin is wrong in there.?---Fwiw---Keoke
 
With the springs, I'm not talking about the springs on either side of the semi-circular rod, but the two that are on the lever handle. There is one that pushes the handle away from the contacts (the short one) and another inside that pushes the pin and wheel downward so it contacts the cancel pins (the longer one). I think I may have changed springs (I don't know, but it would explain why it's not canceling) but would really like to avoid taking the whole thing apart again to find out that I did it right and just wasted the day.

About the rear lights, I have no bloomin clue. But since I need a new 50A fuse to replace the blown one, that may be the problem, and I figured I would wait for the fuse before going nuts over that one.
 
Hi SHG, I am referring to the spring that goes behind the litte roller! Naw ,just go to the parts house and get you a 35A slowblow fuse and you will be OK---Keoke
 
Went back in and checked everything. It's all exactly the way it's supposed to be, looks absolutely perfect and it's still not canceling. Time to call it a day.
 
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