Turn Signal Q's

[Surveyor]

Spent a little time this evening trying to rehab an old turn signal. Current laws in LA require turn signals, etc. on surplus vehicles. This one came on mine when I bought it. Previous owner was trying to make it look like an A1. Tested it as per manual but no go. Tore it down, cleared the dust out of it and cleaned the contacts. Tests work fine now. Bracket was broken before I got it. Hope to fix maybe with JB weld and wax paper. Questions -

1) What bulb am I missing?
2) What covers the bulb? Was there a plastic cover or was it just the sticker?

[muttguru]

Surveyor.....

probably this:-

Ken

[SEABEE62]

Hi, Mine has a green bubble type shielding the bulb, with the number 1816 bulb on the copper casing. If the bulb is out, the signals will not activate. SEABEE

[rickf]

I have never even seen one of them! What is that from? The old ones I have seen had the bulb at the end of the stalk. I am sure mine all have raised bulbs at that point. And a pull out piece for the four ways in the front.

[m3a1]

Interesting turn signal switch.

Good to see folks rolling up their sleeves and digging into stuff. It is easy to simply replace certain things but one doesn't get a sense of what makes things tick doing that. I hope Surveyor has taken pictures throughout the process to share!

Cheers,
TJ

[Surveyor]

Thanks Guru. Looks like it was an early style Humvee signal. Later models are larger and include an extra ring piece for self cancelling. Not having much luck finding a cover or bulb # yet.

Not much to assembly. Will take it apart tonight and get some pics. Seabee - curiously, after cleaning it up it passed all the open and shorted tests without the bulb. Not sure what to make of that yet.

[muttguru]

Surveyor, try finding this bulb:-

Turn Signal - 1873 3cp 28v 5.6w

Ken

[rickf]

I am pretty sure my lights flashed without the signal bulb in place, I was testing a bunch of switches at one time and that was where I found out that the grounding to the column was ONLY to make that one bulb work on the switch. I had them just hanging from the harness and everything was working and I am pretty sure a couple did not have bulbs in them. Now I am going to have to go out and tear it apart to find out!!

[Hambone]

I may have a T/O if you're in need of one, just pay shipping.

[Surveyor]

Thanks Guru... looks like you can use a replacement 313 incandescent or LED according to

https://www.eriksmilitarysurplus.com/18burty313an.html

Tear down - First the design is simple. Everything is pretty much made so that you can't place something in backwards, etc. You need two Philips head screwdrivers, med and small.



Pin layout is simple. With interior alignment notch facing up, the center pin is the H pin and the rest go in order clockwise starting with A at about the 2 oclock position, B, C, D, E, F, and G finally at 12 oclock.

Removing the 4 back screws allows access to the contacts. Take notice that there is a small plastic notch for later realignment. Electrical cleaner and light application of emery cloth or similar on both sides did the trick for me. May need to bend tabs slightly if your assembly is severely worn down.



If you need to clean it out even more like I did you can go further and remove the next three screws inside and remove the plastic plate. Three screws are not symmetrical, again for later realignment. There are two springs and plungers under here so be careful. They should not pop out at this point unless you have a bigger problem.



Next, flip over and remove the top four screws. Notice the screw spacing. The handle can only be reattached one way. Here is the fun part. Once the handle is removed, the plastic piece with the plungers and springs is free to move out of the body. Unless you like getting down on your hands and knees with a flashlight, I suggest being prepared for flying pieces. There is also a small spring located on the Hazard button. The top of the light green piece has two rubber O-rings to keep water and debris out.



In the above picture, inside the center of the small o-ring you'll see a small slot on the left side. I found the remnants of a small piece of black twine with a knot in this slot. I believe it was originally used to help remove the bulbs or possibly to hold onto the cover to prevent loss.... the one I am currently missing.

Once cleaned up, reassemble in reverse. I tested the connections via the manual not realizing the switch wasn't specifically made for a M151 but they all now work as shown. Luckily I did not need to remove the pin connector and dig into it further. Forgive me if I don't do that now. One thing I've RELEARNED in working on this mutt is if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it.



Thanks for the offer Hambone. PM incoming shortly.

[m3a1]

Just a thought, but I'm guessing that bulb is going to be the same bulb you'd find in use on the instrument panel. No guarantees but it kinda makes sense.

Cheers,
TJ