Fixing the flashers

Whilst away in Cornwall the indicators stopped working for right hand turns. An onsite investigation with the multimeter showed that the switch was the root of the program. A quick web search showed that replacement would be costly so I thought I'd have a look and see what could be done about a repair.

When the casing had been taken off this is what was inside. A sealed unit with a metal cover and plastic base. A little exploratory probe with the  pliers showed that the tags were not going to bend so something more drastic was required. Time for the hacksaw.

Once the tags were removed the casing came off fairly easily and the contents carefully removed. The mechanism inside the box is actually very simple a few metal plates and contacts on the indicator arm held together with springs and plastic moulding. Fairly quickly the source of the problem became apparent. there was a build up of grease and dirt covering the contacts for the right hand indicator.

There was also a bit of damage to the plastic meaning that the contact was slightly sunken below the surface. To resolve the issue some decidedly low tech fixes were employed. A bit of cleaning with some white spirit and a little levering with a thin screwdriver to raise the level of the contact and the unit was in much better shape.

 
The cleaning finished all that remained was to put it all back together. In Haynes speak this would be the 'refitting is the reverse of removal' bit. Good job I took some pictures and looked carefully how everything fitted together.

The parts laid out ready for reassembly

All back together ready to put the cover back on