[T3] 65 turn signal switch

[Soren Jacobsen]

> On Aug 7, 2023, at 5:31 PM, Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:
> 
> On 7 Aug 2023 at 10:19, William Hoyer wrote:
> 
>> My 65 Notch turn signal switch works except it will not turn off when the
>> steering wheel is returned to center. How can it be fixed or does someone
>> have a switch that works correctly?

As Jim says, you'll need to pull things apart to have a look.  Hard to say what's wrong without more information/pictures.  The early turn signal switches have two main pieces: the lever portion and a contact plate that remains stationary in the steering column.  After you remove the steering wheel, you'll need to remove the lever (there's a thin circlip holding it on).

There should be two springs, and one of them (along with the discs that sit on each of its ends) is somewhat easy to lose -- I had a car that was missing that spring & discs.  Surprisingly, I found an image of that very issue in a switch that's for sale: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/pix/8639789.jpg  Notice that channel at 6-7 o'clock?  There should be a spring and two discs in there.

The contact plates have ridges that can also wear down after lots and lots of use.

> You're correct that later ones will not work. In many cases they are year 
> specific, but there are probably several years that will work for a '65.

Yes, and unfortunately you also run into compatibility issues between suppliers.  There were steering columns/turn signal switches from SWF and Koln, and you can't mix and match.  The whole early type 3 steering column is awful and I don't think there's anything I hate more in the entire car ;)

I probably have a good used lever/contact plate pair sitting here if needed.  It's a pain to replace the contact plate, though, and requires soldering.

Soren