Indicator and Wiper Switch Assemblies Removal and Repair

The first step is to remove the steering wheel
from the steering column. Before you start,
it’s worth straitening the steering wheel/front
wheels so that when the steering wheel goes
back on, you know where to line it up.
The steering wheel is fitted to a splined shaft
within the column and is fixed with a single
24mm nut.
To access the nut, the horn push in the centre
of the steering wheel has to be removed. The
horn push is usually made of plastic and is often
brittle, so prizing off with a screw driver or metal
scraper is not the best idea. I found that using
a finger nail was sufficient, working my way
round the horn push and lifting upwards (see
pic 1).
With the horn push removed, the 24mm nut
should be revealed and there will also me a
lead and crimp connected to a spade terminal.
Remove this crimp to disconnect the lead and
move to one side to create some space for a
spanner.
Using a 24mm ring spanner or socket and
ratchet (an open ended spanner can slip easily),
loosen the nut but do not remove at this point
(see pic 2).
Mark the position of the wheel in relation to the
shaft using chalk, pencil or paint pen to assist in
lining the wheel back up on fitment.
Now, with the nut still fitted, give the steering
wheel a tug upwards to free it from the splined
shaft. It should become loose but the fitted nut
will prevent you from smashing your face with
the steering wheel (believe me!).
With the wheel loose, remove the 24mm nut and
lift the steering wheel off too. This will expose
the indicator and wiper switch assemblies fitted
to the top of the column (see pic 3).
At this point, you want to remove the cap from
your windscreen washer bottle to depressurise
it (otherwise you will create a drinking fountain
later on!) if you have pressure in your tank,
you’re the exception

Now you can begin to remove the switch
assemblies. Undo and remove the 4 small
screws that hold switch assemblies inside the
steering column and keep them safe with the
24mm nut from earlier.
Now it’s time to disconnect the electrical
connectors from the switch assemblies. Around
halfway down the steering column, the plastic
shroud ends. Underneath this shroud is three
electrical connectors. The two nearest the
driver seat are the two plugs for the wiper and
indicator switches. Give these a gentle tug to
disconnect them and tuck them to one side,
they can’t be mixed up so don’t worry.
With the electrical connectors removed, you
can now begin to pull the switch assemblies up
and out of the steering column. Do this slowly
though as there are two pipes connected
to the back of the wiper switch assembly
for the windscreen washers. These can be
disconnected at this stage and should have
been depressurised earlier (see poic 4).
Now you should be able to remove the switch
assemblies, but be careful not to break the
plastic wiring sleeves as these tend to quite
brittle with age.
With the assemblies removed, I could now see
what had happened with my indictor lever,
the bottom part of the lever mechanism that
operates the switch had snapped ( see pic 5).
The indicator and wiper switch assemblies are
joined to form one piece but are easily split.
They are held together with four metal sleeves
and the two parts can be split easily using a
screw driver (see pic 6).
Once they are split, you can replace either the
indicator or wiper switch assembly (or both)
and fit the two back together using the four
metal sleeves.
Once back in one piece, fitment is the reverse
of the removal. The hardest part of the fitment
for me was locating the wiring plugs under the
plastic shrouding into the correct location to
push the connectors home. This picture helped
me to locate the plugs and they are shaped
in such a way that they can be guided into
position (see pic 7).
Once reconnected, I would recommend that
you test all of the functions of the switches
before refitting the screws and steering wheel,
in case you have to take it all apart again!
Don’t forget that you have marked the steering
wheel to line it up when you refit it too.
The last test should be the horn and don’t forget
to re-pressurise the washer bottle!

Phil Jones asked:
After some suggestions please – with colder
weather on the horizon has anyone got any
ideas to heat the cab whilst driving. We have
a heater in the back for when hooked up, but
warm airflow into the cab is non existent…
Thanks in advance!

Andy Carter answered
Standard set up on my T2 will pump hot air into
the cab but it doesn’t seem to have an effect on
the temperature! I think it leaks cold air too much
from various places. Making sure the fresh air vent
is fully closed helps, as does stuffing socks into the
dashboard directional vents!
Other than that, gloves and a woolly hat are
all i have, so interested in what other responses
you get…

Graham Sims answered
We have taped over the windscreen vents with black electrical tape, stops a considerable cold draft.
Also socks in the circular dash vent pipe works a dream. Simply pull out vent cover, stuff in sock, replace
cover. Takes less than 5 seconds! Our cab sometimes gets too warm!

This instalment of The Mechanic looks
at how you can protect your VW for
years to come using Dinitrol products.
The biggest threat to any classic vehicle is rust
and unfortunately our beloved Volkswagens
seem to suffer badly. Rust is an iron oxide that
forms by a reaction between iron and oxygen
in the presence of water. With the British
climate being renowned for its rainfall we
need all the help we can to keep rust at bay.
There are numerous products on the market
to help combat rust, if you do your research
there are various opinions on the most suitable
solution. Waxoyl and Dinitrol seem to offer the
best results and the choice of which product
to use comes down to personal choice or ease
of application.
WAXOYL is a long established and proven
method for combating rust. It is a petroleum
based wax product with self-healing
properties that contains oxidation inhibitors
that slow down the growth of rust. It works
by covering the treated area, thus preventing
water and air contacting the treated area.
DINITROL is an oil based product that
contains rust inhibiting ingredients to treat
and stop rust after it has been applied. It also
forms a barrier that prevents further corrosion
occurring. Dinitrol is supplied in several
different forms, a cavity wax for use in inner
sills etc. and an under body wax that dries to
a flexible tough film to withstand rain and salt.
Waxoyl is generally suitable for use on vehicles
that have been restored and have fresh
metal welded into them, whereas Dinitrol is
designed for vehicles with existing surface rust
due to its rust killing abilities.

Guide For a Split, Bay or T25
The range of rear engine transporters are all
unique in their own way, but all suffer from
corrosion in the same way. One problem that
is particular to a Camper is that we create
more moisture due to us living inside, just
boiling a kettle will produce large amounts
of rust inducing steam, sleeping in the van
presents its own problems as we sweat and
breathe out moisture. The underside of any
Van is straight forward to protect. The usual
suspect areas such as inner sill, front valance
etc are easy to access from underneath, but
the inside structure is more challenging. The
front and side door cards are easy enough to
remove but the rear will require removal of the
interior furnishings and panels to gain access,
a time consuming exercise but worthwhile!

Oil is one of the most important components
of your engine. Without oil, an engine will
overheat and fail. Many Dubbers keep a close
eye on oil levels and top up as required, but
is this enough? Keeping the oil in your engine
at optimum temperature is as important as
maintaining the correct level.
Monitoring the oil temperature in your classic
VW has always been tricky and normally
requires the fitment of an aftermarket system
that can look out of place, be challenging to
install and leave a large dent in your wallet.
However, there is a simple yet very clever
product called “Save My Bug” that can help
you to monitor the oil temperature without
breaking the bank.

“Save My Bug” is an oil temperature dipstick
that replaces your original dipstick and
connects to the oil pressure switch with an
18” wire included in the kit, allowing you to
monitor the engine oil temperature without
the use of an aftermarket gauge.
The oil light on your dash will now not only
operate as an oil pressure warning light, but
will also become an oil temperature warning.
In normal conditions the light will remain
off, if the engine oil temperature starts to
get too hot it will flash, if the light comes
on steady, the engine temperature is
excessively hot (or there is an oil pressure
problem) and you should pull over and stop
the engine immediately.
This has made keeping an eye on oil
temperature whilst driving a doddle and the
installation takes less than 10 minutes for all
levels of ability.
It is available for both the Type-1 engine and
Type-4 engine from most well known aircooled VW specialists for around £30-£40
depending on application