1988 Buick Regal part Melted! Help.

[rocketraider]

With all that damage, I think you'll be better off getting a junkyard steering column. A loose steering wheel is not safe.<P>You can find the wiring diagram in the factory service manuals for your car. Starting around 1980 a lot of GM divisions had a separate electrical manual.

[Guest]

-My Question is at the bottom.-<BR>My father's Regal's turn signal has just gone limp. It's been hot here in CA and it seems to have melted. We tried taking the steering wheel off (we've successfully taken it off before) but this time it seem jammed and one of the bolts that went in to the sides of steering wheel (part of the tool to remove the wheel) broke off in the threads. Once we got the bolt out, the thread was so messed up, none of the bolts, even a bigger one, would hold. So the steering wheel to bascially stuck on, until we get a different tool.<P>We can get to the wires that go into the steering column, and we planned to mount a toggle switch (as a temp solution). The problem now is that we don't know which wires control the left and right signals coming out from the column. Anyone know where a diagram of the electronics of the steering column can be found?<P>Thanks, Kevin

[NTX5467]

If the turn signal switch "melted", there must have been a good bit of electricity flowing through it for some reason. If something's shorted out somewhere else in the harness, you will need to find it or the new switch will do the same.<P>Plus, remember that the stop light circuit goes through the turn signal swith too. What you propose with the temporary toggle switches would probably so complicated to operate in traffic that it would be more dangerous than no signals at all. In the mean time, remember "hand signals"?<P>Those switches don't melt from hot weather, they melt from getting hot from too much sustained "juice" flowing through them. First order of business should be to track the circuits and find the short or "excessive draw" or an unusual situation where some circuit is trying to find a ground through one of the circuits in the turn signal switch. Might even just be some chafed and shorted wires in the turn signal harness itself down inside the steering column. A Genuine GM service manual will be your best bet.<P>Enjoy!<BR>NTX5467

[NTX5467]

Once you get the steering wheel removed, you'll need to have a Lock Plate Depresser to depress the black plate under the steering wheel so you can remove the wire retaining ring (on the splined steering column shaft) that holds it in place against spring pressure. If you loose it, you can get another one from a dealer or make one out of a normal size paper clip.<P>So, you'll need the steering wheel puller/installer plus the lock plate tool to get to the turn signal switch.<P>NTX5467