Steering Column Swap - Now No Turn Signals

[spence]

Swapped in a steering column from a '93 XJ into my '88 MJ. Everything went smoothly, and all works well except that now I have no turn signals. I notice that the turn signal stalk does'nt want to stay up very well for right hand turns, so the switch might be bad, but the left turn position "clicks" in nicely and there's no action, front or rear, in the turn signal department. Is there a difference in wire positions on the steering column plugs between an '88 MJ and a '93 XJ? Guidance anyone? Thanx, Spence

[Akula69]

No real difference in the wire pattern, but when swapping the column some folks take the top apart for swapping the key switch and don't install the turn signal stalk quite right. There is a link (although it is for a Fiero and mainly for tightening tilt problems) that shows the assembly/disassembly here:

 

http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/088020.html

 

Let us know if this helps.

[spence]

Hey, Akula69! Thanx for the tip. I crawled (@57, it was more like struggled) up in there this afternoon and gave everything the calibrated eyeball. All looked okay so I went into the shop and got the old column out for a little old fashioned disection. After seeing and understanding how everything is supposed to work, and the function of each wire, I compared it to the new column. Noting that everything was the same, I figured that I either had a bad (poor) connection somewhere or I had gotten a column with a bad switch (the XJ WAS in the junkyard, right?). I unplugged and re-plugged each connector several times, making sure that I really scraped them in there, and when I finished, I crossed my fingers and tried the turn signals out. SUCCESS! I tried them with the headlights on, with the wipers on, with the headlights and wipers on, and in all combinations I now have my turn signals! The righthand turn position (up) is still kind of feeble, but I think with use and abuse, it will improve. Now for a new power steering pump......Thanx, Spence