Left turn signal having a problem...

[Kalgorn]

This shit is just... weird. When it's really cold out (every morning anymore), my left turn signal acts up. When I turn it on, it clicks like it's turning it on and off like it should (although slower than normal) but the little arrow doesn't blink on my dash. If I leave the turn signal on for a while, it will eventually start blinking on the dash. The turn signal itself still seems to be working so it should pass inspection in two weeks when I go for it.

 

Any ideas? Right signal works perfectly fine. Left works fine in the afternoon.

[supreme_style21]

Mine does that quite often in the winter. I bought a new switch for it last year... then it got warm and stopped causing problems. Now that its cold again, it'll act up once in awhile.

 

When it does that, pull the stalk back just a little bit... the arrow should light up... and its a switch problem.

[Crazy K]

do any other bulbs fail to react?

check that.

 

otherwise I would go behind teh cluster and wiggle or change the offending bulb and see if that makes a difference.

 

last step is I would take apart the steering colum and clean and relube the contacts of the turn signal switch.

[supreme_style21]

Pulling back on the stalk will quickly eliminate or prove either theory before everything is dismantled.

[Kalgorn]

I definately do NOT want to have to take shit apart and get behind the cluster. More work than I'd like to do. I'll try the pulling on the stalk thing tomorrow since it'll be real cold when I leave for work in the morning.

 

It doesn't seem like any other bulbs are having problems. I haven't noticed anything.

[Crazy K]

that was a better explaination. It is defineilty the signal switch.

I had this exact issue on mine.

remove steering wheel (you can get a loaner tool from advanced or autozone)

you should then have the upper housing open to you. You need to detach the signal stalk, disconnect it's connector and pull out on it, it should pop right out. The upper housing cover, held by maybe two torx (star) bolts and will come right off next.

Then you see the switch. You can seperate the mobile portion of the switch from the body, I discovered that the pot metal pivot for the moving portion can be pushed out, and doing so allows you to remove the movable "switching" portion of the switch. Clean all the contacts, tweek the springy contacts if necesary, lube it up with a little grease, and reassemble...

and make sure you put the wheel back on straight. good luck

 

p.s. it is very easy to get access to the lumina cluster. Remove the 7mm bolts across the bottom lip of the dash, and pull up on the pad to remove. You can see the rear of the gauges, and you could wiggle them at this step. If you take off the bolts that hold the cluster down (7mm again), you can tip it forward, (careful not to pull the wiring or the shift indicator in a tube below the cluster, if equipped) and the black plastic cover on the rear must be removed, (torx, or 1/4 or 3/16 inch, it varies.) you have access to the bulbs not.