Introduction
The turn signal lever in my Barracuda has never self-cancelled the way it should, and the whole thing has always felt sloppy and worn. If not positioned exactly in the right spot after I manually cancel it, sometimes my rear taillights do not work properly. Finally, I aquired a donor steering column from a '64 Valiant and replaced the entire wiring harness, including the turn signal mechanism. Here's what I did, I hope you find this information helpful.

What you will need:

• 1 - replacement wiring harness, either from a donor car or reproduction.
• 1 - long shoelace
• electrical tape
• tools - assorted screwdrivers, wrenches, steering wheel puller

I suggest reading this entire article, before you do anything, then proceed in the following order:

Part One: Dismantle donor steering wheel
Remove the horn button and inner horn mechanism, then using a puller, remove the steering wheel from your donor steering column. This will expose the turn signal mechanism and the white plastic cancelling cam. Inspect the cancelling cam to make sure it isn't broken (Fig. 1, 2).


Make a drawing of the position of the wires, so you know where they go. My drawing shows the wires as viewed from the back of the plug; the side where the wires enter from (Fig. 3). Next you need to remove the white plastic molex plug from the end of the wiring harness, keeping the metal blade connectors intact. Starting with one blade connector, gently slide a small screwdriver down behind the connector (on the side where the wire is), facilitating the connector to push right through to the other side. Once on the other side, gently bend the prongs on the left and right of each blade connector in, this will allow the connector to slide back through the molex plug, the opposite direction, without difficulty. Repeat with each wire. (Fig. 4) shows a green wire ready to have the left and right prongs bent in, prior to pushing it through the opposite direction.

Remove the center screw holding the signal mechanism and the three smaller screws holding the metal bracket, then carefully pull the mechanism and wires through to safety! (Fig. 5) The turn signal arm will come loose. If the wires get stuck, the outer steering column sleeve can be dropped out of the way by removing two Philips screws that hold it in place (Fig. 2, 6). Be careful if the white cancelling cam comes loose, as the small parts within can easily be lost and are confusing to put back into their original locations. (Fig. 6) shows the cam removed, try NOT to do this, unless you only want to replace the cancelling cam. (Fig. 7) shows the complete wiring harness, ready to install in your car!

Part Two: Preparing your car
Repeat the above steps on your car. (Fig. 8, 9, 10) show my woodgrain wheel with the horn removed, then the puller doing its job, then finally my broken and abused turn signal mechanism with broken cancelling cam.

IMPORTANT: You will want to do the following: Before removing the old wiring harness from your car, attach a shoestring to the end of the wires using electrical tape. Be sure to keep the blade connectors flat and tight and attach the shoestring firmly enough that it will not come loose when you pull on it. Pull the wires along with the shoestring through the top of the steering column. When you go to install your replacement wiring harness, simply tape the wires to the shoestring and reverse the process (Fig. 11). This allows you to pull the wires down through the steering column in the original fashion. If you find they are too tight, see (Fig. 6) to see how to loosen the steering column housing to gain easier access. (Fig. 11, 12, 13) show the shoestring attached with tape and show it coming out the top, ready to accept the replacement harness.

Part Three: Install the new harness
Attach the wires of your new harness to the shoestring as noted above and gently pull the wires down through the steering column. If you don't tape them really flat, you will have difficulty and will need to drop the housing (Fig. 6). Once the wiring is in place, gently insert the blade connectors all the way through the molex plug, then gently bend the left and right sides out before pulling the connector back into the plug where it should seat itself tightly (Fig. 4). Replace all the screws, replace your horn button and steering wheel and finally your horn cap and you're good to go! (Fig. 14) You can see the new cancel cam as I put my steering wheel back on.

Final Thoughts I put electrical tape all along the length of the wires before inserting the wiring harness into my steering column. I felt this would help protect the wires and this was my only chance to do so. The blade connectors can break if you're not careful, so be gently when bending them. If you remove the white cancelling cam (Fig. 6) the inside of the mechanism can easily come apart. A few years ago I took all this apart in an attempt to repair it, but found the parts were worn and I had a hard time getting it all back together correctly!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. neilATcapitalmopars.com

Neil Brommell, 2004