Customs Replacing the turn signal switch on a 1960 Edsel....

As I've mentioned on here before, the right brake light has not worked since I bought the car in November 2015. It's not the bulb so it appears to be the turn signal switch in the steering column. I bought a new one (pictured below) and when I pulled the steering wheel a couple of months ago there was nothing in there that looked similar to it. I checked out some videos on YouTube and there was one of a guy with an early '60s Mercury who replaced his turn signal switch and his new one had several wires coming from it and mine didn't have any. So my question is did they sell me the wrong part and is it supposed to have wires coming from it? If so where can I get one? I was thinking about driving the car to the annual convention of the International Edsel Club in July in Michigan but I don't want to drive that far with only one brake light so I would like to get both of them working ASAP. Thanks in advance for any helpful comments....

 

Try cleaning the switch with contact cleaner & air. Many electrical parts are dirty or gummed up, but still are serviceable when not toasted.

 

I believe what you have pictured is the canceling part.

 

hopefully these pics will give you an idea what your switch looks like.I realize they are for a ford but yours should be same as some models of edsel were built on the smaller WB ford chassiss.in the one pic you will see the part you had pictured.if you are handy and have test light the wiring diagram should help you test rear light wire to be sure it is switch and not somewhere else.

 

What exactly is contact cleaner? Do they sell it at Walmart or Advance Auto Parts? Thanks...

 

The car is identical to a '60 Ford and was built (in Louisville) on the same line as the Fords. When getting parts I usually just tell them it's a Ford Fairlane. Unfortunately I'm not real "handy" which is why I still have the problem after 16 months but I want to keep trying. There is no power coming from the right brake light wire so I guess I'll try the contact cleaner idea and if that doesn't work I'll look for the mounting plate that you have pictured. Any idea who sells them? Thank you for the pics and suggestions....

 

The part you have pictured (as best I can tell), is the "cancelling cam" for a later Ford, it looks like the one that my 75 Lincoln uses. (It's not really the cam, but that's what they list them under in the parts books). the complete switch shown in the pics by 54Vicky is what your probably really looks like. If you haven't removed the steering wheel to look at it, you probably couldn't tell.

The 1960 Edsel is a Ford, mostly. The 58 models had small (ford based) and large (mercury based) series, but 59 and 60 are all the smaller Ford based cars.

I'm more of a take it apart and see what's wrong and fix it guy...so that's what I'd do. But you might first carefully check the wiring connections, unplug them and plug them back in, look for corrosion, etc, at the switch connectors, on the wire that is supposed to go to the light that is not working. Have you found a wiring diagram/schematic for the car, that shows what color each wire is?

 

That looks like the correct canceling cam. The part number is Standard TW-78C and fits a bunch of cars.

In the link below is yet another part that goes on the bottom of the horn ring, also essential to the turn signals operating right.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/302139269930?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Do what Jim suggests, you have to unplug or probe each wire on the connector where the turn signal harness meets up with the dash wiring. The colors on mine were impossible to read, the stripes were non-existent after 57 years. But you can narrow it down, I think there are only 8 or 9 of them. You need the schematic for the car, for brake lights the same year Ford should be okay.

Unplug the connector on the steering column, look for green connections and make sure all is clean. Next, I would start tracing the wire back from the light socket, how does the socket look? I used all new sockets when I wired my Ford, but used a newer GM style. Swap bulbs around first, funky bulbs can give you fits.

 

Yes, they sold you the 'canceling cam' as that's was what usually broke. But don't hold out much hope that 'cleaning' it will fix the problem. Ford used nylon bits in that era switches and generally if you got a bad connection, the contacts would heat up and partially melt the nylon, boogering up the contact alignment. If that's what you find, replace the switch...

 

Thanks to Jim, Bob and Steve for the comments. I don't have a problem with the turn signals canceling but I do have a permanently canceled right brake light. LOL. I do have a wiring diagram in my factory shop manual as well as a '60 Ford one I found online so I'll check the wires coming from the steering column. The socket for the brake light appears to be new. I did a search for the mounting plate with the wires but didn't see any with the part number in the pic from 54Vicky.

Also, in the wiring diagram below it looks like the wires from the back of the car go into some plugs or junction boxes in the front part of the trunk area. I couldn't find anything like that in the trunk or under the back seat so what exactly is that supposed to represent? Thanks again....

 

Mine didn't work like yours when I first bought it. The switch is on top of the steering column on the right after you remove the steering wheel. It is just under the horn ring. It has a plastic rod made in it that catches the cam. You will see the wires coming out of it. They go through the back plate and down the side of the steering column inside a metal conduit. I cleaned it by flushing all around the switch itself it with lighter fluid allowing fluid to get down in the workings of the switch where the contacts are. I worked it by hand while rinsing it with fluid. Then I put a little WD40 in it for a light weight oil. It has worked ever since. Be careful with the wire that goes to the horn ring. Mine came loose and I had to solder it back on. Hope this helps

 

Both turn signals work in the front and back of the car and the driver's side brake light works too.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll pull the steering wheel and try your idea. Did you have one working brake light or none?

I'm going to have to wait a couple of days to get to it because this evening my wife discovered that the water line to our house is leaking in front of the house. I was out there for a couple of hours digging up the mud to get to the water line and that's what I'll be doing tomorrow too (in the rain). I had to shut off the water to the house from the water meter in the front yard so that job is obviously going to take priority over the car. Hopefully it will be fixed by Monday. Thanks again....

 

Does your Edsel, like most American cars, share the same bulb filament for brake and turn signal function? (1157 bulb) If so, and the turn signals work on the same bulb that doesn't function as a brake brake light, then it would suggest, to me at least, that the wiring and sockets and bulb are all operating from the signal switch to the light bulb. So, the brake light switch inputs it's 'signal' (current) to the directional switch to be distributed to both brake lights.......unless it gets interrupted to one side or the other when the signal switch is activated. Since the opposite side brake light operates, the brake switch must be working. Sure sounds like an internal problem in the signal switch, as you have surmised. As I see it, that leaves the 'cleaning' of contacts about the only chance to avoid replacement of the switch.

hope the water line problem is easily corrected.

Ray

 

A couple months after I bought the car I rewired the rear lights and turned the backup lights into the turn signals and brake lights (after I painted the lenses red) and left the outside lights as the tail lights. I thought that might solve the problem but it didn't. I left the single filament bulb in the backup lights since the other filament is for the tail lights which I don't need there. After I get this problem resolved I'd like to return them to they way they were originally.

I'm not looking forward to digging in the mud all day. My 65 year old back is already telling me to take it easy after last night's digging so we'll see what happens. Thanks for the reply....

 

The Edsel (and my Ford) came with 1034 bulbs, but the 1157 fits the same and I feel is brighter. I'm more inclined to think you have a bulb or socket problem than anything else.

The factory style sockets are a little fiddly even when new, they have a spring in them and a phenolic disc. I went with a pop-in GM style on my car. I had to open the hole up to 1.125" but the socket is 1-piece and fits snug. But the factory types are available, NAPA should have them or they can order one. All the Ford online parts houses have them.

 

btw if you post a picture of the turn signal switch area on your car, folks might see what it is you're working on. The pics I found on the internet show the 1960 Edsel column to be very similar to the 59 models, so I would guess that that picture of the NOS 59 switch in the box in the fourth post in this thread is what you are dealing with.

That's a switch I would be inclined to take apart and see if it could be repaired, if the problem is indeed in the switch.

 

after spending a couple of hours searching.the only place I found the switch listed on was evilbay.once you stop your nose bleeding from the high altitude prices you should definitely try to repair yours.there have been good suggestions as too repairing it.if you are open to using used you may want to try owens salvage.they seem to come highly recommended by others I have read over the years.I wish I was close as I would try to solve your problem.as squrrel said tackle it.keep us updated. 54vicky

 

I found a site that may have one for a more reasonable price.ironically it is where the picture I posted earlier with the ford box.if you decide to make the trip before fixing it remember to keep you hand closed.that is if you remember hand signals from back before signals came on cars as a matter of factalmost forgot site it is 2040- parts.com.

 

Put in my phone number & email.. item is no longer available.

For the '59 Ford, the P/N is B9A-13341-A. Carpenter and C & G Ford carry repair kits with new wires and the column connector contacts, but no switch.

 

I forgot to mention one thing. I did take my tail lights off and cleaned all the grounds. I also added an extra ground to each tail light assembly. I am sure the brake light problem was in the turn signal switch though because it didn't start working until I cleaned the switch.

 

I'm going to try some of these suggestions tomorrow. My brother-in-law came over at 10:30 this morning and we worked on the leaky water line until 6 PM when we finally had a successful conclusion to the problem. It included a LOT of digging because it was under 3 feet of very heavy mud and we also had to make a trip to Lowe's. Thanks for the ideas and I'll let you know what happens tomorrow....

 

Lebowski

If the wiring diagram above is correct for your car,the wire leading FROM the t/s switch to the right rear bulb is orange and blue.

Simply disconnect the t/s switch under the dash where it runs into (and up) the steering collum.

Take a test lead that is 12 volt hot from anywhere and apply 12 volts to the orange /blue wire going back into the wiring harness. (Not up the collum)

If your wiring is good all the way back to the right side - applying the voltage will make the right side bulb lite up.

Its the direct wiring "hot" path from the t/s switch all the way back to the right side.

If it lites up (as I suspect it will) then your t/s switch is fubar !

If it does NOT lite up then start looking for a problem in the wires path such as bad grounds,poor connection at a junction point,broken wiring harness in trunk,etc.

Your old back will just love laying under the dash.

Hope this helps,Oldmics

 

It may be simple for you but unfortunately it's not that simple for me. I have one of those test light things with the wire with the alligator clip on the end that you clip onto something metal and then stick it in a wire to see if it lights up. Will that work? If so I stick it in an orange and blue wire at the bottom of the steering column and see if it lights up? Thanks for the tip...

 

No, that will not work. A test light only 'reads' current...does not conduct it. You need a wire, ideally with two alligator clips, to perform the test recommended.

Ray

 

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Ray has it correct. Any wire can be used as long as it can be attached to a 12 volt "hot" location that will send voltage thru the wire and connect into the orange/blue connection point.

The t/s switch HAS to be disconnected from going into the steering collum or the test is invalid.

Generally alligator clips are used so that you can attach the wire , preform the test and get out from under the dash and see if your lite is working.

Oldmics

Oldmics

 

I beg to differ that the test light will not work.it requires a ground on the clip end then probe the wire with the tip.I have used this method for over 40 years.I use a booster cable from negative post on battery to insure a good ground.the booster cable not only insures a good ground but it allows the short wire on test light to reach.oldmics suggestion is what I would and have done over the years.goes without saying grounds are very critical as others have said.if you try the probe method make sure key is on if required.of course no need for key if using battery power to test wire to taillight.make sure to sharpen tip on test light it will be easier to probe wire if it is needle sharp.

 

The wire coming from the right brake light is solid orange. There are 4 wires coming from behind the steering wheel and down the steering column but the closest one is orange with a black stripe. It plugs into one wire under the dash. Is that what I'm looking for or is there supposed to be some type of plug that several wires go into? I made a wire with 2 alligator clips so should I unplug the orange and black wire from the other wire and put one alligator clip on a hot fuse in the fuse box and the other end on the end of the orange and black wire that goes up to the steering wheel and then jam a 2x4 between the brake pedal and front seat and see if the right brake light works?

 

if I understand what you are saying you do not need to step on brake pedal.by running wire from fused source you are only trying to simulate stepping on brake pedal.if this lights the light then I think you have problem in switch.I hope I understood what you asked.do not feed power to the switch only to the rear brake light.I think there should be at least 6 wires going to switch you may have missed one.one wire feeds power to switch from flasher then one from brake switch other 4 are LF RF LR RR.my old eyes can not make out colours in diagram.to check that switch is good then make sure you have a good ground for test light find the right brake wire orange?from switch to rear turn on key to power switch probe the orange wire it should flash if switch is working.but you need to be sure you have good ground or you will be chasing your tail.hard to explain all possibilities when not there in person.post 24 explains what I tried also