Right turn lever activates horn

Lotsa questions:

I'm guessing that black circle clip is what holds this thing together.  What can I expect when I remove it?

Nothing explodes out of there.  The clip holds the top bearing and directional lever in place.  Once the clip is removed, you'll have to reach down under the dash and feed some of the wire bundle up towards the steering wheel while pulling up on the steering wheel to remove the top bearing and switch.  The bearing is electrically isolated (with plastic covers) from both the chassis and the steering column but provides the ground for the horn from a wire going through the center of the steering shaft, across the steering box coupler to the steering box where it gets it's ground -- NOT from the directional lever.  Look around between the parts (bearing, directional switch and wires) to see what's touching the bearing to short it to ground.  You probably have a wire that has frayed at a connection on the switch.

I just don't want a bunch of springs and bits to come falling out.

They won't.

Left cancelling never worked, but the right did.

That is governed by a large tab sticking down from the steering wheel hub or the extension hub between the wheel and the steering column.  If the tab is mis-located, then usually one side will cancel prematurely or late and the other side won't cancel at all.  Re-position the hub/extension so that the tab hits both of the switch canceling levers equally should cure it.

Thanks Gordon.

I've seen that "tab" on conventional VW steering wheels on the SAMBA, but my hub doesn't have one. I did a search on that site but couldn't find a turn signal lever housing like mine that was being worked on.

As you can see, I had my dashboard tore apart to fit the new gauges. Funny how one project turns into 3. I guess rebuilding this is next. 

I do like the way the new gauges turned out. I just have to find a suitable alternator light.

Very classy cluster there, Carlos!

What's the far left gauge - Air/fuel ratio?

There are two different turn signal VW cancellation rings made they utilize the small screw holes in the hub to secure it in place.

I'm thinking battery voltage, if not A/F ratio.

I have a Grant steering adapter, they come with a bolt-on tab for self-canceling. I believe the tab is mounted at 3 o'clock with wheel straight ahead.

If you can't find one, maybe drill and tap a hole, insert a stud and lock it to the adapter with a jam nut. I'm thinking 10-32 or 5 or 6mm x 1.0 ought to work.

Gordon is right, though, on all other counts. Something is grounding out from the turn signal switch. But it could be as simple as the wire to the horn button.

@Carlos G posted:

I did a search on that site but couldn't find a turn signal lever housing like mine that was being worked on.

Are you talking about this?

He is. It is a late 60s VW assembly with the arm cut off, replaced by the tube and aluminum "knob".

I did this on mine, using stainless steel tubing. I hid a microswitch in my custom-machined knob, with a little aluminum button. I use this switch for Hi-Lo headlight dimming.

You beat me to it.

I had them remove any labeling. Of course, they said they couldn't remove their logo, but it's pretty small and I can remove it if I find going against my less if more moto.

The far left gauge is volts and fuel. I guess it's good to know if I have enough volts, whatever. The fuel gauge is supposed to work with our sender. We'll see. I'm not holding my breath. I'll still use my trip meter method now that I have a reliable speedo. If anything, it balances out the dash. There's the artist getting in the way again.

The center one is a large tach and small speedo, and the far right is the oil temp and pressure. The tach, alt light, oil pressure and temp are the only ones I'm concerned with. I still need to source the alt light. Right now it's just a bulb hanging by two wires.

I was going to do a head temp gauge, but budget constraints came into play and I didn't. My original plan was to have them at the bottom, but come to find out, there's not enough room.

I do have an O2 gauge, but it only gets pulled out and turned on when I need it. It lives under the dash on the left.

The toggles from left to right, hi/lo beam, backup light and fuel pump. There is another toggle under the dash for the O2 gauge along with a dimmer for the gauge lighting, the wiper switch, and a cigarrete lighter type power plug.

I removed the black cir clip, marked in red, and a spring came shooting out. It's all good, I can get it all back together. This whole mechanism is so cheesy. I don't see anything that I can rebuild to make it better, other than gutting it and letting friction hold the lever up or down. The cir clip in green is the bearing retainer that you had mentioned.

I'll figure out something.

Carlos, Speedhut gauges, correct? There are three LEDs in the tach.

I use mine for alt, turn signal, and oil pressure switch idiot lights, in that order, L-R.

If you do it that way, you'd only need a single extra LED for the Hi-Lo beam indicator.

The gauges with the pushbutton are programmable for whatever sending unit you have. The instructions should be with your gauges, but if not, it's downloadable from their website. So you will get an accurate(and NON-bouncy) fuel gauge in the end!

P.S.: I see your ignition key has "Al Blanchette disease" LOL!

@DannyP posted:

P.S.: I see your ignition key has "Al Blanchette disease" LOL!

I should've given a trypophobia  warning.

Yeap, Speedhut. They had a %15 off sale.

I've always used the high beam light for my back up light. I can see that I have the high beams on, that's happening out front. I've driven around in my truck with the BU light just shining away because I forgot it was on. It's much brighter than the one in the 550 though. It's dark around here.

I just might also use only one light for the signals and use the third for the alternator. It'll save me the trouble of drilling another hole. Doesn't the alternator require a regular bulb though?

I fixed that annoying right turn/loud air horn going off thing. I ran another wire up the steer tube that is connected to the wire that used to ground the column.

Done, next.

I do have plans for a better looking horn button and horn actuating mechanism.

Now, what to do with the clean fuel tank leaning up against the wall.

.

Carlos, it's take-the-easy-way-out Mitch here.

I also had turn signal cancelling issues when I got my car. But mine were cancelling too soon — in both directions. The slightest nudge of the wheel and the signal would cancel.

Like you, I found a cheesy mess when I opened it up. Any attempts at adjusting were just going to break more stuff, and any easily found replacements that fit my column were the same kind of junk. I gingerly pieced it back together, and also thought, "I'll think of something."

I just needed something that would turn the signal on and keep it on reliably.

I found a decent quality, large on-off-on toggle switch, hooked it up in parallel with the existing switch, and mounted it lower down on the column, out of sight but where I could reach it.  So, if I just need the signal on for a second or two, I hold the normal stalk on with my hand. But if I need to make sure it stays on for longer (like if I'm exiting the freeway or approaching a busy intersection from a long way off), I reach down to the hidden switch and flick it on. But, you do have to remember to turn it off, too.

Somewhat sketchy side benefit: With two turn signal switches, you can use one to signal left while using the other to signal right, and presto — instant four-way flashers.

And oh, it's been about eight years now and I still haven't gotten around to really fixing this. Maybe next week.

.

@Carlos G posted:

I've always used the high beam light for my back up light. I can see that I have the high beams on, that's happening out front. I've driven around in my truck with the BU light just shining away because I forgot it was on. It's much brighter than the one in the 550 though. It's dark around here.

I just might also use only one light for the signals and use the third for the alternator. It'll save me the trouble of drilling another hole. Doesn't the alternator require a regular bulb though?

That's exactly what I was saying. Three lights: 1st one on left, alternator. Second center one gets hooked up to the flasher output so it works on both  L and R. The one on the right is the oil idiot light.

Yes, the alternator needs a resistive load to both make the voltage regulator work AND light the light key on, engine NOT running. Call me tomorrow, I have specifics.

You can use an LED for the alternator with a resistor in parallel.

To really replace the incandescent bulb, wire the LED in like this:

I assume the ign wire will be fused already before the ign switch.  If so, ignore the above fuse.

Tricky part is determining which way to put it in - it won't work backwards and neither wire going to the bulb goes to ground. Take the old light out. Switch on the ignition without starting (not "acc", but "on"). Measure in the lamp socket to ground on each side. One side will be +12V, the other near 0V. The resistor hooks to the +12V, the cathode of the LED (and anode of the 1N4004) hooks to 0V.

And where is "Radio Shack" when we need them????????

I just wanted to show what the new gauges with the new horn button looks like. So far...

I had a slice of what I used for my last shift nob, so I shaped it to fit. I also made a new aluminum ring out of 1/8" aluminum. Next time I'm messing around with some wood, I'll experiment with another design.

I also added some strips, of what I used for my floor mats, to dress up the gauges. I'm not completely sold on it yet, but it does break up all that "aluminum".

I still want to have a lone alternator and oil pressure light, but everything is LED now. Summit Racing has a few. I don't want to use the turn signal lights as Danny suggested. They're just too small. I am using the high beam light for my backup light though.

@Gordon Nichols where can I source that resistor that you had mentioned to make the LED work with the alternator? Thanks.

I only have about 50 miles with them. The tach is smooth and doesn't jump around at all. Now I know how fast I'm going, just in case I care. The tripometer works, and I'm sure won't break if I'm rolling while resetting it. I haven't driven it enough to tell if the gas gauge works, but I did manually program it for empty and full. I now know what the oil temp and pressure is.  I might need to relocate my temp sensor though. My sensor is screwed into the sump. My gauge will read 150 while a thermometer stuck down the oil dip stick hole will read 170-80. I guess this is my new normal.

While I was at it, I installed a stainless water bottle cage for my water bottle on the left wheel well. Now my bottle isn't rolling around on the floor.

That's figgin' sweet.

@Sacto Mitch posted:

.But, you do have to remember to turn it off.

Only one of my motorcycles ever had auto-cancelling turn signals. It’s second nature to me to catch the stalk with my pinky halfway through a turn to turn my Spyder TS off.

@edsnova posted:

That's figgin' sweet.

I especially love the 917 key. I’ve been procrastinating buying a real Porsche switch for years so I didn’t have an Ace Hardware ignition key.

My temp gauge reads 20 degrees cooler as well. I even bought another new temp sensor from Speedhut. It still reads the same.

I've adapted to it.

@Carlos G - well done, man. Seriously well done.

Yeah, that looks really cool. Well done. I was tired when I read this last night.

@Carlos G   I use the new "Radio Shack" for all my small parts - Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=100...ef=pd_sl_ier7g3mwh_e

Nice work, Carlos.  Can't wait to see it in September.