Hey everyone, does anyonne know if it is easy or hard to replace the internal mechanism for my turn signal switch. Here is my problem with it. the lever will click down for left and disengage when i bring the wheel straight again. For right signal i have to hold the lever up to keep the blinker going. kind of a PITA to make a right turn and try to shift and steer at the same time. last time i had the steering wheel off i took a peek at the switch mechanism. the lock engage/disengage for the right side was broken. just a little piece of plastic that snapped. The turn signal lever is nothin fancy. Just the old Ford style lever with no headlight/dimmer controls on it. the only other thing the lever controls is the tilt wheel. Any info will be appreciated.

 

I am not 100% sure but I believe you might have to replace the whole multifunction switch. And as long as you are not all thumbs, they are not too too bad to replace.

MercMan
-96 F150 5.0L

 

MercMan
The multi-function switch wasn't used until '92 - his is a '90.

Jr.
You can buy a replacement "cancel cam" from many parts stores, but the HELP! brand ones suck. They aren't molded quite right and are a pain to install because you have to adjust them yourself. If you just can't find any other, then get the HELP! part, but try to avoid it. Ford only sells the whole switch assembly for about $120.

I lucked up & found a junker that someone had butchered the column in, so I cut out the OE cam, but that's rare.

 

Good luck...I just went through this w/my '88 150...one of the "tangs" busted off the plastic cancelling piece. Went to get a "generic" for the parts store and no such luck. That piece is rivited in...Ford wants about $85-90 for the new switch and pigtail. Don't know if the setup is different for non-tilt/non-cruise, which is what mine has. You might try drilling those rivets out and cobbling a replacement from the junkyard...I lucked out and found the broken piece down in the bottom of the column cup and was able to SuperGlue it back on. So far, so good...

"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy..."

 

Yes, non-tilt uses a different switch.

 

When I had the wheel off last I saw the little plastice piece that broke. The clip that holds it until the wheel turns the other way. If i can i will try and superglue it back together. BTW it is not the multifunction switch. it just does the turn signals and tilt mechanism.

 

Well...I'll tell you my story. Mine did the exact same thing. Right broke.....but left still worked. Parts houses had the plastic cam..and I verified that it was for my year truck. I took it home.....put it on....and the blinkers and brake lights would not behave correctly. Some didn't even work. I put the old one back on.....the lights worked. I put the new one back on..the lights didnt work. I compared the two cams.....as near as I could see....identical.

I gave up!!

I bought the whole plate...whatever you want to call it...(this is an '87 but it has the blinkers...the hazard switch and all on it...and the long pigtail to the bottom. When you pop the connector on the bottom of the column...draw the connector and write down what color wire goes to which pin. OPen the connector and pull all of the wires out. If I remember right there was a red plastic insert that you pop out of the middle of the connector and the wires just pull right out. Take out the screws for hte plate at the top of the steering column and pull the plate out..fishing the wires through. I taped a piece of wire on and pulled it back through....to help me get the new pigtail back DOWN in the column. ONce I put the new unit in....screwed it down....re-pinned the connector at the bottom..(remember to put that red plate back !!)....and connected it up...all worked fine. The plate was just under $100 and the dealer wanted about $200 to put it in.

Good luck on yours.....
Bob Ruth

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 06-Dec-02 AT 09:11 PM (EST)]I replaced the turn signal switch in my 77 F150 without tilt. It required that the switch plug at the bottom of the steering column be disasembled. Make a diagram of which wire go in each position in the plug. This is a lot easier then it sounds. It made to come apart by removeing a red insert. Tie a string on the end of the old wires before pulling them out. Tie the string onto the new wires and pull them through the column. Put the wires in the plug using your diagram and insert the red insert.
I checked with Advance Auto Parts online, they have the switch for $39.99 and the cam for about $12. I doubt that super glue will hold it.