Got one for ya.
I have 97 F150 V6 XLT 5 speed.
I just started having a problem with my left turn signal. If I push it down a little to change lanes it's flashes fine, but if I turn it on all the way, it flashes real fast, and no light on inside the cab. (the right one works fine) I've replaced the front left bulb already thinking that was the problem. (replace it because it was not flashing when testing to see what was wrong) I do have the tilt wheel, but it is never moved. Thanks for any help in advance!!

 

if you have no light flashing in the cluster and no light flashing on the front. but you do have a light in the rear. then yhou know the flasher is working. the flasher is before the multifunction sw. i would say you have a bad sw or wiring at the sw. the front light's are on the same circuit as the dash turn sig light. the rear are on a diff circuit. you need to check the wiring at the sw first. its going to be a light green with a white stripe. look for a broken wire or if the wire is comming out of the connector. if all is ok. i would say sw. good luck.

 

I thought it would be you that replied to my post. I've read a few post about this problem, and you answered all of them. I will give it a shoot and let you know the out come. I too think it is a switch, or wiring problem, but thought I'd come on here and ask on here. THIS BOARD ROCKS!! THANKS for your help Wino.

 

I have a similar problem. I have noticed though that is related to a connection in the tilt wheel because if I put a turn signal on and tilt the wheel I can make it start or stop itself. Since so many are having this problem, isn't this a safety issue? I have a 1997 Expy. built in summer of 1996. Only has 40K on it.

 

I have a 1997 F150 and had the same problem with my right blinker. At first I thought it was one of the bulbs going out but they were all working. Then I noticed if I just move the turn signal arm to the point where the blinker starts that it would blink normally. If I locked it into place it would start blinking real fast. This led me to believe that it was the multifunction switch. I took the switch out and opened it up. The contacts had some dried up green goo on them. I sanded the contacts and put some conducting grease on them and put the switch back together. My turn signal now blinks normally again.

Just be very careful with pulling the switch apart since there are serveral springs and parts which need to go back the same way they came apart.

Hope this helps.

 

found my problem. may be yours too? took off bottom cover on steering assembly by removing 3 screws. removed bottom cover. next find fourth hole in bottom cover. with cover off you will see a ball bearing lock mechanism on the iginition switch. remove positive battery terminal. put transmission in N and put key position the whole way on (against engage starter position. with key in push on ball bearing with a paper clip or small screwdriver while gently pulling out on key and tumbler. once out remove top steering cover with tilt wheel the whole way down. I got this info. from my local ford service manager. once I removed top cover I noticed that there was such tension on the top switch assembly that it broke the clip, probably last winter when the wires were very cold and contracted. the plug was partially in the socket. I then took a heavy duty rubber band and hooked the plug and connector together and reassembled in reverse order. it worked fine after I reconnected the battery. There is very little space under the cover to do much of anything. replacing the plug would be a nightmare.

 

UP-date:

Well I did want one of these post said to do on this problem. I moved the steering column around a bit, and it has worked ever senses. Just thought I'd up date this post.

This is a lease truck, is it wrong of me NOT to fix this the right way, before turning it back in??? It goes back to the bank in January 2003.

 

I have a 98 F150 and I experienced similar problems listed in this post. When I fully depressed the left turn signal until it locked, the flasher would click at what sounded like twice the normal rate. The inside blinker light did not blink. The turn signal lights did not light either. When I depressed the left turn signal just enough to activate the flasher, everything worked fine. I ended up taking the multi function switch out to inspect it. I used a an ohm meter to check for continuity in the switch as described in the Haynes manual. This test failed badly. I decided to open up the switch to see how the contacts looked inside. I had the same green junk all over the connectors, just as described in a previous post. I took a knife and scraped all of the green junk off the connectors. I then put the switch together and retried the test. Again bad results. I couldn't believe what the Haynes manual said to test, because the things that I knew worked (right turn, hazards, etc) were not testing consistently. I thought I would go ahead and see if the switch worked, and it did. So before you buy a new switch I would suggest examining the one you have. It takes a little bit of time, but it is not hard to get the switch out. The only issues I had was pulling the connectors out of the switch. A couple of flat head screwdrivers made that easier. Anyway, good luck to everyone on what seems to be a common issue............

 

Wbowlin,
so scraping the connections on the switch did or didn't fix it?

I just started having this problem with my truck's right blinker, never thought about it having anything to do with the tilt...

MAR,

So it was the connection betweent the wire harness and the switch?

I will have to try these two things before plunking down 50 buck for a new switch. iknow it isnt the flasher, or bulbs cause it works when I only lift the stalk a little way.

 

Well,
Today I took teh switch out disassembled it and scraped the connections inside the switch. Green goop just like ya'll said.
saying that there a quite a few pieces inside that switch is kinda an understatement. Anyway, replaced it in the truck and VOILA Blinkers work.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
this message board saved me at least 50 dollars

 

I've just gotta say thanks to everyone who posted a reply on this one. My truck started the same thing with the left turnsignal yesterday, and now I think I can fix it.

 

hhmmmm, I am having the same problem on my 97 XLT with tilt. I am gonna try to open it up and fix it now too!

 

Having the same problem with my 98 XLT SC. Will try to open the switch and scrape.

 

Having the same problem with my '98 F-150... sometimes my left blinker flashes way too fast, almost double the normal rate. My first thought was that the flasher module was bad, so I replaced it. The problem persisted. Next, I sprayed some contact cleaner around the turn signal stalk which fixed the problem for about a week. Now I am almost 100% certain that it's the "green goo" symdrome!

How difficult is it to remove the switch? Can someone post a quick set of instructions how to disassemble the steering column to get at the switch?

Blue BriGuy said he used "conducting grease" to lube things up... Not sure about that advice... I'd suggest using dielectric (non-conducting) grease.

Steve

 

BlueCrab:


took off bottom cover on steering assembly by removing 3 screws. removed bottom cover. next find fourth hole in bottom cover. with cover off you will see a ball bearing lock mechanism on the iginition switch. remove positive battery terminal. put transmission in N and put key position the whole way on (against engage starter position. with key in push on ball bearing with a paper clip or small screwdriver while gently pulling out on key and tumbler. once out remove top steering cover with tilt wheel the whole way down. I got this info. from my local ford service manager. once I removed top cover I noticed that there was such tension on the top switch assembly that it broke the clip, probably last winter when the wires were very cold and contracted. the plug was partially in the socket. I then took a heavy duty rubber band and hooked the plug and connector together and reassembled in reverse order. it worked fine after I reconnected the battery. There is very little space under the cover to do much of anything. replacing the plug would be a nightmare.


Here are the instructions that I followed. I learned from Mar's experience, and didn't break anything. I would recommend that if you can get into a heated garage, it will work better. Good luck