How to recondition an old 1960-1962 turn signal switch.
 

Turn signal switches go bad. On this old of a vehicle, the turn signal switch is not electronic, so the only cause of a bad switch is the contacts not making connection. While this can have multiple causes, there is probably no reason to throw these switches away generally.

Here is how I repaired mine.

First, I took a flat head screwdriver and pried the tabs open so that the back could come off.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/76953923/20...2013.06.46.jpg

The contacts were covered with what looks to be dried lithium grease.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/76953923/20...2012.58.10.jpg

After I scraped them clean
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/76953923/20...2012.54.25.jpg

The entire switch was dirty, so I cleaned up everything and put dielectric grease over the base, and on the backing plate so that the slider slid smoothly.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/76953923/20...2013.12.27.jpg

After this, put it back together, press the tabs back down to hold it together, install, and everything should work good.

One thing to remember is that the little contacts on the slider have springs behind them. You should be able to push them in and have them pop back out without coming off the slider. If they don't, adjust how the sides are bent. If it is coming off the slider, bend them in. If they aren't springing back, bend them out.

I hope this helps other people with the same problem.