55.2-59 1957 Turn signal help needed

[WIDESIDE72]

Any tips on getting my turn signals working? I have power on the pink wire at the flasher. Nothing appears to be stuck broken or missing. I sprayed PB blaster on a few spots. I don’t see anything broken. I’d rather pay ~$30 for a new switch vs ~$130 for the whole cup and switch, but have to figure out how to get TO the switch first…

[dsraven]

grab a can of contact cleaner
spray down inside where the contacts are
work the switch back and forth several times to help clean the contact surfaces
allow to dry, doesn't take long
check if signals work
check power at the output of the flasher. using an old fashioned incandescent bulb style of tester as they actually draw more power to make the flasher flash. the flasher should respond by flashing slowly. another way to check the system is to use a jumper wire across the flasher plug in terminals so you know power is getting through (like remove the flasher and use a jumper wire in it's place) this should light up the signals, front and rear, if there are no other wiring or switch problems. usually a switch will not fail all the connections at once unless there is mechanical damage, so a left will work or a right will work, whichever. the other thing that can throw a wrench into things is the brake light circuit because it uses the same bulb filament as the signals. do your brake lights work?

[dsraven]

sorry, for some reason it posted twice.

[B52bobardier1]

The front turn signals on my '59 Apache also don't work and I think . . . . ???? . . . . never did since the truck was new. Here in the U.S., there was no Federal requirement for front turn signals until 1968.

The rear signals work fine but only parking lights up front.

Rick

[dsraven]

does anythng work exiting from the switch, in any position? just thinking it could be a broken wire going up the column somewhere, if nothing works it may not actually be getting power from the lower end of the column.

[WIDESIDE72]

Originally Posted by dsraven

grab a can of contact cleaner
spray down inside where the contacts are
work the switch back and forth several times to help clean the contact surfaces
allow to dry, doesn't take long
check if signals work
check power at the output of the flasher. using an old fashioned incandescent bulb style of tester as they actually draw more power to make the flasher flash. the flasher should respond by flashing slowly. another way to check the system is to use a jumper wire across the flasher plug in terminals so you know power is getting through (like remove the flasher and use a jumper wire in it's place) this should light up the signals, front and rear, if there are no other wiring or switch problems. usually a switch will not fail all the connections at once unless there is mechanical damage, so a left will work or a right will work, whichever. the other thing that can throw a wrench into things is the brake light circuit because it uses the same bulb filament as the signals. do your brake lights work?

Thanks for the help! I got them working this past weekend! I took the switch apart. I was pretty gritty so I cleaned the contacts with electrical cleaner, then put a little dielectric grease on the contacts.

[dsraven]

Nice work. Probably good for a long time past a new aftermarket version.