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Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 10:23 am
by JLT
I took off the steering wheel to make it easier to get at the dashboard insert when I replaced some of the dash bulbs. Now the turn signals don't cancel. Is it possible that I re-installed the steering wheel upside down... that is, 180 degrees from where it should be? Is that what might have caused the problem?

I did check to see that the clearance between the turn signal housing and the steering wheel was at the 0.040" recommended by the manual.

Re: Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 9:49 pm
by kreemoweet
It's entirely possible.

My manual says to set the t/s switch to steering wheel gap at .080 to .120 inch.

Re: Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 11:44 am
by JLT
kreemoweet wrote:
Sat May 14, 2022 9:49 pm
It's entirely possible.

My manual says to set the t/s switch to steering wheel gap at .080 to .120 inch.
Which manual? Maybe I missed the reference to the subject in the Bentley. I used another manual (maybe the Chilton or the Haynes.)

It looks like removing the steering wheel will be in my future again. I'm getting pretty good at it by now.

Re: Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 1:11 pm
by kreemoweet
Bentley, Front Axle, p. 29.
If your current gap is working OK, I would think there's no need to mess with it further.
Even so, changing it would not require wheel removal.
For undetermined reasons, the gap on my bus has never come out even all the way around, so a narrow
.040" gap would likely result in rubbing. 1 mm is a pretty narrow gap.

Re: Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 2:49 pm
by JLT
kreemoweet wrote:
Sun May 15, 2022 1:11 pm
Bentley, Front Axle, p. 29.
If your current gap is working OK, I would think there's no need to mess with it further.
Even so, changing it would not require wheel removal.
For undetermined reasons, the gap on my bus has never come out even all the way around, so a narrow
.040" gap would likely result in rubbing. 1 mm is a pretty narrow gap.
I know that changing the gap doesn't require removing the steering wheel. You just loosen the two screws that hold the turn signal assembly to the steering column, which Colin implores us not to strip in our Hulkness.

But there are two flanges or something that protrude from the bottom of the steering wheel, and these flanges trip the mechanism that cancels the turn signal. I'm thinking maybe that if the flanges are 180 degrees from where they're supposed to be, the turn signals won't cancel.

A friend of mine who owns a '71 says that his cancelers never worked. Maybe when I solve this mystery, I can solve his, too.

Re: Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 4:42 pm
by kreemoweet
There's a "cancelling ring" screwed to the bottom of the steering wheel. It has 1 tab hanging down, and it must
be on the left side of the column for the signal cancelling to work (properly). The turn signal itself has two little
arms sticking out towards the column, and one of them gets shoved into the path of the cancelling ring tab when the
turn signal is set for a left or right turn, and it resets the turn signal mechanism when the cancelling ring tab hits it
when the turn is completed. That whole mechanism seems to be very finicky, and ceases to function with age, to the
extent that working stock t/s switches have become somewhat rare. AFAICT the same could be said for aftermarket
switches when they are brand new.

Re: Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 4:48 pm
by JLT
kreemoweet wrote:
Sun May 15, 2022 4:42 pm
There's a "cancelling ring" screwed to the bottom of the steering wheel. It has 1 tab hanging down, and it must be on the left side of the column for the signal cancelling to work (properly).
I'm 90% sure I installed the steering wheel with the tab on the cancelling ring toward the left. But I guess I'll have to remove the wheel to be sure.

What's galling is that the cancel function worked perfectly before I took the steering wheel off. So I don't think it's the switch mechanism itself.

Such are the joys of working on old cars.

Re: Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 5:10 pm
by kreemoweet
JLT wrote: But I guess I'll have to remove the wheel to be sure.
Nah, just loosen screws and drop t/s switch a little, you should be able to see where tab is.
If you had the t/s stalk up or down when you reinstalled wheel, the cancel ring tab could have hit
one of those little t/s fingers and damaged it. I dunno.

Re: Steering wheel upside down?

Posted: Sun May 15, 2022 6:01 pm
by JLT
Thanks, kremeoweet. That would indeed save me a little time.

Will I see you at Maupin? (If you don't know what Maupin is, ask one of the Wet Westies.)