Varkias
Veteran Member
I know that a lot of people have been asking about this, so here goes!
Flakey Turn Signal Fix How-To.
By Varkias
!! Warning !!
THIS FIX REQUIRES THE REMOVAL OF THE DRIVERS AIRBAG. THIS IS AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE AND IMPROPER HANDLING CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. DO NOT ATEMPT THIS UNLESS YOU ARE TRAINED IN HOW TO HANDLE AIRBAG REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT. OBSERVE ALL WARNINGS. IF YOU ATEMPT THIS AND DIE OR CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY TO YOURSELF OR YOUR CAR IT’S NOT MY FALUT!
That being said there is a link to how to remove your airbag in post number 8 below. But I didn't tell you that.
The problem:
Random turn signal clicking after making turns or driving down the road. No lights flashing, just clicking.
It’s caused by a build-up of gunk on the contacts in the signal stalk; a simple cleaning and greasing will take care of the issue for quite some time. It took me about an hour and a half to get everything apart, cleaned and back together again.
Tools needed:
10MM Wrench or Socket for battery
T8 and T25 Torx drivers/sockets
Small and long Phillips screwdriver
Short flat screwdriver for airbag
Thin flat head screwdriver
M12 12 point bit for steering wheel
Q-TIPS
Contact cleaner
Di-Electric grease.
Step One:
Read the above warning.
Read through the entire how-to before starting.
Step Two:
Disconnect the negative battery terminal and remove the steering wheel and airbag. (I’m not going to go into how this is done, if you aren’t comfortable with this you should not be attempting this fix on your own. There are also lots of how-to’s on airbag removal out there already)
When done you should see this:
Step Three:
There are four Phillips head screws that need to come out, marked by the green arrows in the above photo. The two on the face are short and silver, the two that are accessed from the bottom are long and black.
Once the two lower ones are out you will be able to lift the top cover up and out of the way.
Step Four:
There are three T25 screws on the lower side of the steering column. Two are holding the adjustment handle on and the other is the last screw holding the lower cover in place. Here’s a photo:
Once the screws are removed take off the handle and lower cover.
Step Five:
Now that the covers are off, there is a retaining ring holding the signal stalk onto the steering column, loosen the T25 Torx screw and the stalk should slide forward.
There are FIVE different wire harnesses that need to come off, and they all come off a little differently so you’ll just have to mess around until you have them all off.
Step six:
Once the stalk is off you should have this in your hand:
There are three clips holding the ring on the stalk, it’s very easy to just pop off. Just remember the way that it was aligned for when you put it back on. If you don’t mess with it, it should just stay the way it needs to go back on as there is a spring that keeps it from rotating all the way around without the steering wheel attached.
Now you should have this:
The six green arrows show the four T8 torx screws and the two clips that hold the cover on the stalk. Remove the screws. The clips are a little hard to get to release, use a very thin flat head screwdriver inserted into the back of the box and GENTLY pry them loose. The cover should now come right off.
There are two small white plastic parts inside, make careful note of their locations as you take off the cover! The one on top is the canceling switch and the other is part of the HI/LOW beam switch (if you put this one back wrong you won’t be able to “flash” your HI’s).
Step Seven:
Now that you have the cover off pop out the signal lever and clean the contacts on the lever and in the stalk case shown in these photos (FYI I took them after I had already cleaned the contacts):
Be careful of the wire marked by the RED arrow above, you tear it and by-by cruse control.
Here’s a shot of mine greased up and ready to be put back together:
I used DeoxIT and CRC Di-Electric grease for the cleaning and greasing.
All done! Just reassemble every thing in reverse of how you took it apart. No more random clicking!
If you found this how-to helpful, please donate to TDIClub.com.
Flakey Turn Signal Fix How-To.
By Varkias
!! Warning !!
THIS FIX REQUIRES THE REMOVAL OF THE DRIVERS AIRBAG. THIS IS AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE AND IMPROPER HANDLING CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. DO NOT ATEMPT THIS UNLESS YOU ARE TRAINED IN HOW TO HANDLE AIRBAG REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT. OBSERVE ALL WARNINGS. IF YOU ATEMPT THIS AND DIE OR CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY TO YOURSELF OR YOUR CAR IT’S NOT MY FALUT!
That being said there is a link to how to remove your airbag in post number 8 below. But I didn't tell you that.
The problem:
Random turn signal clicking after making turns or driving down the road. No lights flashing, just clicking.
It’s caused by a build-up of gunk on the contacts in the signal stalk; a simple cleaning and greasing will take care of the issue for quite some time. It took me about an hour and a half to get everything apart, cleaned and back together again.
Tools needed:
10MM Wrench or Socket for battery
T8 and T25 Torx drivers/sockets
Small and long Phillips screwdriver
Short flat screwdriver for airbag
Thin flat head screwdriver
M12 12 point bit for steering wheel
Q-TIPS
Contact cleaner
Di-Electric grease.
Step One:
Read the above warning.
Read through the entire how-to before starting.
Step Two:
Disconnect the negative battery terminal and remove the steering wheel and airbag. (I’m not going to go into how this is done, if you aren’t comfortable with this you should not be attempting this fix on your own. There are also lots of how-to’s on airbag removal out there already)
When done you should see this:
Step Three:
There are four Phillips head screws that need to come out, marked by the green arrows in the above photo. The two on the face are short and silver, the two that are accessed from the bottom are long and black.
Once the two lower ones are out you will be able to lift the top cover up and out of the way.
Step Four:
There are three T25 screws on the lower side of the steering column. Two are holding the adjustment handle on and the other is the last screw holding the lower cover in place. Here’s a photo:
Once the screws are removed take off the handle and lower cover.
Step Five:
Now that the covers are off, there is a retaining ring holding the signal stalk onto the steering column, loosen the T25 Torx screw and the stalk should slide forward.
There are FIVE different wire harnesses that need to come off, and they all come off a little differently so you’ll just have to mess around until you have them all off.
Step six:
Once the stalk is off you should have this in your hand:
There are three clips holding the ring on the stalk, it’s very easy to just pop off. Just remember the way that it was aligned for when you put it back on. If you don’t mess with it, it should just stay the way it needs to go back on as there is a spring that keeps it from rotating all the way around without the steering wheel attached.
Now you should have this:
The six green arrows show the four T8 torx screws and the two clips that hold the cover on the stalk. Remove the screws. The clips are a little hard to get to release, use a very thin flat head screwdriver inserted into the back of the box and GENTLY pry them loose. The cover should now come right off.
There are two small white plastic parts inside, make careful note of their locations as you take off the cover! The one on top is the canceling switch and the other is part of the HI/LOW beam switch (if you put this one back wrong you won’t be able to “flash” your HI’s).
Step Seven:
Now that you have the cover off pop out the signal lever and clean the contacts on the lever and in the stalk case shown in these photos (FYI I took them after I had already cleaned the contacts):
Be careful of the wire marked by the RED arrow above, you tear it and by-by cruse control.
Here’s a shot of mine greased up and ready to be put back together:
I used DeoxIT and CRC Di-Electric grease for the cleaning and greasing.
All done! Just reassemble every thing in reverse of how you took it apart. No more random clicking!
If you found this how-to helpful, please donate to TDIClub.com.
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