As many have experienced, one of the turn signal directions on my '72 F250 Camper Special 390V8 doesn't cancel any more and despite my best intentions I still find myself driving along forgetting to cancel the turn indication. The available replacement part I've found doesn't appear to be worth buying per the reviews (brittle plastic that doesn't last)
I'd read suggestions of using a piezoelectric beeper for a need to cancel warning and I finally decided to give it a try.

I picked up an inexpensive Piezoelectric Buzzer from Amazon for just over $5,
Measured the voltage on the flasher terminals to determine the positive terminal
Soldered some hookup wire to the flasher terminals
The flasher doesn't quite fully seat in the socket (with the new leads) but it's in plenty far enough to work and not have any concerns about it falling out.
Connected the buzzer leads to the hook up wire leads and it worked! But way too loud.
To mitigate the noise, I cut off the thumb and index finger off of an old pair of leather gloves (too stiff to wear) and stuffed the buzzer inside the index finger and then those into the thumb. I used a tie wrap to close the package. Better but still too loud.
I cut two tiny pieces of dense rubber, stuffed them into the center hole of the beeper, wrapped the beeper with electrical tape to keep rubber in place, then back into the "glove package". That made it livable! I tucked it up underneath the dash. It's still a little louder than I like but not too bad and it won't be missed above the engine and road noise.

I've ordered a different buzzer from Ebay that is supposed make a "click" sound and is rated at about 25db less. But it's coming from China (sigh).
Still it's only little over $6 total and I'd prefer the click to the high pitched tone.
Regardless I'm happy the tone works, the noise level is reasonable and if the one that clicks works, all the better!
(now if I was only a better mechanic for some of the other needs)
I'll update this after I've gotten the one that clicks and have given it a try.



Hookup Wire attached to flasher

Stuffed it inside the glove finger to dampen the sound but it was still too loud

Added some dense rubber to the center hole of the buzzer, squished it down and wrapped the buzzer with electrical tape to hold the rubber in place.

The whole package. I added a tie wrap I thought might be needed to mount the buzzer but I just stuffed it up behind the dash. The hookup wire I soldered to the flasher gave me plenty of lead length. Wire nuts will make it easy to try the alternate "clicking" buzzer when it arrives.

 

Interesting solution, thanks for sharing. Let us know how it works out with the new device.

 

Here's the update, I tried the one from EBAY that was supposed make a clicking noise and no it didn't click. It was larger, a little quieter, a slightly lower pitch, but without any sound mitigation still much too loud. I saw no advantage in changing it compared to what I had already done.
I don't drive my old truck a lot, just for chores but I took it out for a short spin using the original piezoelectric beeper (with the "glove" sound dampening) to judge the alert volume with road noise. In a perfect world it might be a just a little quieter but over all it's down town and no blinker will be forgotten!

 

Thanks for giving us an update.

 

The parts that you need to cancel the turn signals under the steering wheel are the same as a 60s Mustang.
Most likely all you need is a new turn signal switch which is easy to replace.
Dennis Carpenter also has the the parts you need.

 

I agree with Kenny what you need is a new TS switch or just replace the cancelling cam with one from Shee Mar. If you just replace the cam you need to remove the switch to do it right. Rock auto sells Shee Mar switches they are as close to the originals as are you can get these days. www.Shee-Mar.com

 

@kenny nunez @Crop Duster I took a load to the wood recycler yesterday and the alert I put in was spot on, on the freeway with the windows cranked part down I had no problem hearing it, at idle it's not obnoxious. Maybe the parts you're directing me too are better than what I have seen in reviews, but I've read quite a few posts of folks installing the new parts only to have them fail rapidly.

For me, this was dumb, simple, cheap and there really is nothing to break. With the prompt, it's just another background task of driving, hear the alert, flick the lever with a finger. The hardest part of the project was trying to lower the decibels on the alert. If I run across another buzzer for free, I may try putting a dab of silicon in the center hole where the vibrating plate is as an alternative to the somewhat funky solution of stuffing the buzzer in parts of a glove, but right now there is no upside to messing with close to perfection (as viewed for my needs).

 

I think the alert idea is great. We did that in one or two of our old 60s cars, but with buzzers that were kind of designed for that task.
Very minimal buzzing. Not enough to need mitigation like yours did.
Also, what helped me with my bronco originally was adding a “loud-click“ flasher relay.
When I was younger, I was actually pretty good at turning the turn signals off after I use them. But I don’t think I could remember that far ahead anymore!
And yeah, a lot of them are crap. Even back in the day, when they were made in the US, supposedly, a good cold snap in the winter and you’d get another kind of a snap inside the steering column.
My original ‘71 broke in about 77. Then the other side broke the next year. Both in the middle of winter.
And even at that, it was a pretty mild winter because we’re here in California.

Even with your now working buzzer, the next time you are under the dash you might consider putting one of those loud clicky clickity click flashers in the circuit.

 

@1TonBasecamp A loud clicking relay was what I started out to look for but without much luck, if you have a part number in your pocket I'd love to have it and it would be a great add to this thread.

The backup was to go with the buzzer, which optimally would be one quieter than the one I bought but as with the loud click relay I didn't really find one. The 2nd buzzer that I bought off Ebay that was supposed to click didn't click, the buzzer was a little quieter with a bit lower pitch but it wasn't that much better. I spent some time looking but I didn't make it a life goal.

 

I’ll see if I can get a number. Likely it’s vague back in the memory.
If I can get out there anytime soon and dig under the dash, I’ll just pull it out. See what it has written on it.
But I remember the last couple I bought were literally in a bargain basement box in the local parts store.
The last one was at Autozone if I remember. Might have it laying around in a corner of a drawer somewhere.

 

What size hat do u wear cuz you got a lot of brains...........

 

Not sure , but I believe a post from this forum many moons ago maybe, stated that the t/s switches have always been cheap & break quickly, even the factory ones & Carpenters also.
So are the SHEE MAR cams a partial fix to these so called cheap & unreliable t/s switches

 

First time I've heard that name too. Wondering if it's an acknowledged winner in the crap-shoot that is our parts game these days.
And if so, just what else do they make? Be nice if they made lots of stuff that was better than the average for whatever category.

Paul

 

BTW, whatcha been up to RTT? Haven't seen you around as much. Truck working too well and don't want to jinx it?

 

THANK-U FOR ASKING...........MY life has been in the negative universe mostly, so I took a break from said truck.........I went for a test drive several moons ago & did some damage to truck because of my deficiencies in brain ... that & many other negative wavelengths & biorhythms & hurricanes & low tides, & my local Holiday Inn closed
I have been in LaLa "Land of a Thousand Dances"
I do appreciate your inquirie