From: JJ&A (w7ls@blarg.net)
Date: Fri Apr 05 2002 - 00:44:11 PST
Thanks to Joe (the deuce wizzard) Young, I got my blinkers running, again. Here were the symptoms: right front blinkers didn't blink. Every other blinker worked fine. Possible failures were 1. bulb (checked ok on ohmmeter), 2. wiring junctions inside right front fenderwell (no juice as checked with my trouble light), and the turn signal switch, itself. As Joe pointed out, the turn signal switch on the steering
column can be taken apart easily. Sure enough, it had some corrosion, and the contacts were black-dirty.
I did not suspect the switch, since I figured that only one wire would come out for each side of the vehicle. Not so. Each and every one of the blinkers has it's own switch contacts in there. Hence, you really can have one fail without the other one on the same side failing.
Taking the switch apart is very straight forward. Clean the contacts with contact cleaner that you can get at any Radio Shack. I manually pressed the contacts together while sandwiching a business card between the contacts, soaked in contact cleaner. Make sure you have the switch arm in the neutral (off) position before putting the switch back together, or you could bend the contacts. I also put some Lubriplate
grease in there on the parts that could use it. Contact points are to remain dry, though.
Somehow, I managed to mess up the green light that blinks in the cab, but I can address that another day. I'd like to see a repository set up with hints and tips for maintanence on these beasts. Info like Joe told me is not found in any of the military manuals. They expect you to toss the bad switch and put a new one in there. My Scotch ancestry precudes such behavior. Thanks, Joe! Jim
JJ&A wrote:
> > Joe:
>
> This could well be the problem. I removed the backing guard plate inside the fender and checked for juice there. Nothing. The big cable bundle doesn't do any more branching until it gets inside the cab. I made sure to file a bare spot on the bumper for the test light ground and tested the light, too. There is simply no juice coming down the big bundle. I'll pop open the blinker switch. Thanks, very much. Jim
>
> >
> > Subject: Re: [MV] M35 blinker problem (Autobahn style lights)
> >
> > Many a time it turned out to be the turn signal switch on the steering column.
> > I have taken them apart and cleaned the contacts in order to get them to work.
> > In the ones I've worked on, there is a separate set of contacts for each
> > light.
> > Joe Young
> > joe@joeyoung.com
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