Stalk Options

[danielbrookes]

Morning,

My Sierra indicator stalk has been a bit “iffy” over the last year. A couple of times the indicators have stopped working, a quick squirt of wd40 and some usage sorted them out.  Now they have stopped completely. Hazards, full beam all work just indicators do nothing at all.

My first ides was to buy a replacement stalk, wow they aren’t readily available are they!  So my options I think are:

1. Take it apart and give it a proper clean, will I regret that decision or is it fairly simple?

2. Fit alternative stalks. Are there any plug any play ones available say from an escort, focus etc?

I don’t want to be messing on too much with wiring as my car is booked in end of this month for a tune.

What are people’s thoughts?

Cheers.

[IanS]

I had this problem and also had a spare stalk sourced about 15 years ago.

Fitted the spare stalk and found that I now had 2 horn switches, one switched the live and the other switched the earth, 1 extre relay sorted and now both work.

So I took the old switch to bits, if you do this split it in a bag as bits go everywhere. I found that the plastic had aged (doner was 1983) and brittle. There were 3 copper bits that had been formed with a pip to interlock with the nylon carriers to allow assembly, the nylon carriers are now hardend and worn, I have only managed to get 2 positioned for reassembly at a time, getting the third locked often results in both the other 2 pinging off.

I have not given up yet, it has passed several boring hours of covid isolation.

I will attempt pictures latter.

[danielbrookes]

Hmm sounds like it’s a pain in the rear. I might try soaking them in contact cleaner, could get lucky.

[danielbrookes]

So cleaned the stalk, no joy.  I've taken off the stalk and found a sierra wiring diagram, if I check for continuity between the pin for left indicator (L) and the flasher relay (49A) I get continuity when the stalk is switched down.  Same when I check the pin for right indicator (R) with stalk up.  Wondering if this is an issue with the wiring rather than the switch itself.  Will check the earths for the indicators on the rest of the loom.

It seems strange how the hazard lights work but I am no expert, I thought they shared the same flasher relay?  I'll check my fuse\relay diagram from GBS...oh wait...I don't have one! 

Edited July 5, 2020 by danielbrookes

[danielbrookes]

Fixed - lesson learned, KISS! It was a blown 15A fuse.  Replaced the fuse, job done.  Oh well at least its kept me entertained for a few hours and hopefully my indicators are a little less "clunky" after their clean 

Gotta laugh I always look for the complicated solution when the answer is really simple.  I do have one frustration and that is I have no details for the fuse box, even though its a plug and play loom from GBS.  I now know what one of the fuses is for at least.

[IanS]

Glad that the simpler solution worked.

Got to wonder why the fuse blew.

[danielbrookes]

32 minutes ago, IanS said:

Glad that the simpler solution worked.

Got to wonder why the fuse blew.

Engines been in/out loads, rewired alternator and just finished fitting my supercharger. In my haste one evening I connected battery on wrong way in the dark - never again.  Thought I was lucky; I guess I was with only one fuse going pop! Thanks for the help.