Turn Signal Clamps - Making Them Tighter

[Deleted User 287]

What are your suggestions?

A piece of soda/beer can cut to shape on the inside curve?

Or bending the tabs outward to apply more pressure?
TIA

[ME 109]

Don't use a beer can Rob, you'll never be able to look at yesself in the mirror again.

Presumably that lug on the bracket is to stop the turn signal from spinning on whatever it is mounted to?
Wack it in a vice and bend the tabs a little as you say......but that depends on whether the inside diameter of the bracket is larger/same as the diameter of whatever it mounts to. In that case, pepsi can is your friend.

Did it come with pepsi can from the factory?

Edit: That carpet's a trip man!

[Roy Gavin]

There should be a notch on the end of the tube the tube the signal mounts to, that the tab fits into - if there isnt a make a couple of cut with a hack saw and bend the tongue in until it breaks off/

[Deleted User 287]

I'd be hard-pressed (ha-ha) to find a beer can on my property. These days I'll even have to buy a Pepsi special order!

That little tab goes into a slot on the stalk, which keeps it from rotating (Jeff, you've never had yours apart?). The slots in the stalks can wear, allowing the tab to move further than Herr Factory intended.

Why they lose their clamping ability, I don't know.
This is from a rear signal, the opposite side is quite well. I have a fresh panel (it's a Type 248-thing) on the front where the front TS's mount, so they are good, too.


The "carpet" is a microfibre cloth. It is blue, which makes for great background*, so I chose it.

*Unless you are photographing something blue, or borrowed, or new...

[Deleted User 287]

There should be a notch on the end of the tube the tube the signal mounts to, that the tab fits into - if there isnt a make a couple of cut with a hack saw and bend the tongue in until it breaks off/

Everything is original back there, just worn.

[chasbmw]

A couple of turns of self amalgamating tape over the tube and the cutout will work fine for a while

[ME 109]

(Jeff, you've never had yours apart?).

Right, now I'm with it.
Your photos made the clamps look rather large and I didn't recognise the part.
I did have one of mine off about 12 months ago for the same reason as you.
I just bent the tabs back.
Nothing wrong with my memory Roy!

[DanielMc]

What are your suggestions?
...bending the tabs outward to apply more pressure?

Having redeemed four indicators (turn signal bodies) that had been "modified" by this method in addition to the electrical tape bodge I resolved to find a more appropriate and less brutal solution; the secret lies with the other half of the clamp.

If you look in the black plastic casing you'll find a small piece of sheet steel with a serrated edge fitting into a slot. This metal edge grips the back of the signal arm when the bracket (shown in first post) is tightened. Overtightening of the clamp and general wear and tear blunt the teeth of the serrated metal piece, and also push it back into the housing reducing the amount of grip available. The solution is to remove the small serrated piece and, folding a very thin piece of sheet steel or alloy so that the serrated piece sits in it (a piece of soda/beer can cut to shape would work!), return it to the slot it came from. This raises the level of the serrated part of the clamp and the whole assembly can now be tightened up with no bent brackets or unsightly electrical tape bodging.

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I've successfully bent the tabs for my fix. And as indicated by the responses so far, a close examination of how they are supposed to work will lead to multiple solutions. I prefer bending the tabs.

There can be other things wrong that might demand a better approach. Talking about the plastic housings here, since I have no experience of the aluminum ones. There's a sort of plastic ferrule going into at least some of the housings. It's very noticeable, so if you have the problem you've already noticed. A bit of epoxy on cleaned gluing surfaces worked for me.

The other problem I have in mind is stripped or broken plastic threads in the housing. (Everybody who has taken apart the instrument housing on a /6 and up airhead probably knows what I'm talking about.) When that happens to me I intend to repair the broken plastic thread "barrel" with thin cyanoacrylate glue and then carefully redrill the hole for the stock or larger screw.


Ken

[vespajg]

I've used coke can shims in mine before and they never failed. Admittedly not elegant, but effective. I'd take the latter over the former any day...