Buick turn signal cancellation problem

[Guffin]

Finally I managed to get the steering wheel of my Buick 1940 thanks to help from friends of this forum. The turn signal does not return automatically so I guess something is missing, see attached photos. In the cancellation mechanism I found a moon shaped piece that, I believe, should engage with something on the wheel hub. Is this haw it should work? There is no sign of anything on the wheel hub that could engage with the moon shaped piece. Is the wheel from an earlier model without turn signal?

Jan

[Guffin]

Here is the mechanism. see attachment

[Pete O]

The hub on the back of the steering wheel should have a cam on it that the crescent piece rides against. The high point of the cam moves the crescent as the wheel turns, and cancels the turn signal. I can't tell for sure from the angle of the picture of the wheel hub, but it looks like maybe there isn't a cam on this wheel.

[Guest sixpack2639]

Jan, This is just a guess but after looking at your pics I wonder if the center hub of your wheel is eccentric and that is what cancels the turn signal. Look at your wheel and see if there is a mark on about 1/4 of the diameter of the hub. That would prove my theory. Also, if the dog is worn may be why it's not canceling. I also noticed the lubricant in the column looks like it has turned to a sticky mess (usually happend in these old gals) so a good cleaning and shot of white lithium grease might be in order. Carl

[Guffin]

Thank you Pete. That was what I thought. So I have to put a cam on the wheel hub. I will see tomorrow how it can be done. Anybody having a correct wheel for this car?

Jan

[Guffin]

The center of the wheel is not eccentric and there is no marks of a lost cam, so I believe the wheel center is for a different model.

It is some dirt in there and I will clean it before putting everything back.

On the "mechanism" photo, the top a spring around the wheel axle can be seen. What is this spring for? It makes some noise when turning the wheel so it should be fine if I could remove it, or, perhaps, it just need some grease.

Jan

[Guest sixpack2639]

Jan, I'm sure that spring is part of the turn signal canceling mechanisim so I wouldn't remove it. It will probably quiet down after cleaning and lubeing. Try Wheatbelt Auto for the correct wheel for your car. They are at www.wheatbeltbuick.com and if they don't have it contact Vicky Fannaly, at Fannaly's Auto Exchange, they may have it. The only way I know of to reach Vicky now is through Ebay. Her sellers ID is vfannaly but they do direct sales also. I have dealt with both companys and they are great people. Carl

[Guffin]

Thank you all for helping me. Today I went out to the car again and inspected the mechanism. I concluded that there must be a missing cam on the wheel hub even if there is no sign of one ever being there. So I made some measurements and vent into the workshop, drilled a hole pointing to the crescent, threaded it and put a screw in it. It worked! The head of the screw engage with the crescent and cancels the signal.

I did not remove the spring but cleaned and greased everything and the noise is gone.

The wheel itself is cracked and it should, of cause, be nice to have better looking wheel. The Wheatbelt has only cars from 1941 and later so I will check if the wheel is same as 1940. On the other hand I guess all wheels of this kind are cracked so perhaps I should have it restored instead. I have heard that it could be done, but i don't no where and if it is expensive.

Jan