turn signal switch/arm question issue identified and solved
Success - I found the flaw in the repop turn signal switches and all the ones I have looked at have the same issue. Installed in new switch is a metal bushing. The screw that attaches the turn signal arm to the switch passes through this metal piece and screws into the arm.
There is a ridge in the end of the arm that is supposed to fit in a V cut in the bushing. After extracting a couple of these pieces from dead original switches it is clear that the V in the repops is more narrow than the one in the originals. Original is silver and the repop is black.
WE NEVER SEE THIS, because you install the switch in the column and then thread the arm in through the column housing, BEHIND the switch and screw it in place. You literally cannot see the fit of the two pieces when installing the switch. Without the ridge fitting in the V just the slightest lack of pressure in the screw over time lets the arm move in the switch until in doesn't actuate the signal, and the post on the steering wheel will hit the switch in the wrong place and break plastic pieces off the self-cancelling mechanism.
The solution is to either find the bushing in an original switch which would outlast the plastic switch and wiring and swap the one that comes in the repop, or remove the piece from the repop and file the V wider until it fits the arm snugly. Do not do this while it is in the switch because the metal filings can wreak havoc in the switch. It's pretty easy to get it out.
Success - I found the flaw in the repop turn signal switches and all the ones I have looked at have the same issue. Installed in new switch is a metal bushing. The screw that attaches the turn signal arm to the switch passes through this metal piece and screws into the arm.
There is a ridge in the end of the arm that is supposed to fit in a V cut in the bushing. After extracting a couple of these pieces from dead original switches it is clear that the V in the repops is more narrow than the one in the originals. Original is silver and the repop is black.
WE NEVER SEE THIS, because you install the switch in the column and then thread the arm in through the column housing, BEHIND the switch and screw it in place. You literally cannot see the fit of the two pieces when installing the switch. Without the ridge fitting in the V just the slightest lack of pressure in the screw over time lets the arm move in the switch until in doesn't actuate the signal, and the post on the steering wheel will hit the switch in the wrong place and break plastic pieces off the self-cancelling mechanism.
The solution is to either find the bushing in an original switch which would outlast the plastic switch and wiring and swap the one that comes in the repop, or remove the piece from the repop and file the V wider until it fits the arm snugly. Do not do this while it is in the switch because the metal filings can wreak havoc in the switch. It's pretty easy to get it out.