My indicators have never self cancelled so I starting looking at why today. The bit that sticks out on the cancelling ring does not reach the white plastic bit on the indicator assembly. I wrapped some tape round it and got it working sort of. This wont stand up to daily use though. When looking around at the cancelling rings on the web it seems that they were changed mid 1974 and the ones on vwh and megabug are suitable for '74/75 onwards, my bus is 1975. The thought that occurred to me is that at some point my steering wheel might have been changed and an older one fitted and the cancel ring is not correct for it? Is this likely, or could there be another explanation like wear? I dont want to order a new ring and for it to have the same problem, alternatively I could glue a piece of plastic on it, but it might be difficult to get the exact thickness right, its going to need to be a very close fit to work properly.
Do you mean the alloy peg that sticks out of the bottom of the steering wheel - it flips the flipper in the indicator switch? May be that your wheel is too far from the indicator body - 2mm is the spec. Any more & it can't reach.
I dont have any alloy peg. Mine looks similar to this picture except it is black and has a vw logo on it. the bit that sticks out is plastic but it needs to be nearer the outside of the ring to make contact with the lug that sticks out when you turn the indicators on. maybe the earlier ones had pegs, I've seen pictures of beetle ones that are completely different that use pegs and an M shaped spring on the indicators mine is not like that.
Have you tried loosening the assembly below the steering wheel and sliding it up a bit? You may have to extract the shear bolt and replace with a cap screw. Alternatively the mechansim may be broken. On the pics below the projection from the steering wheel engages with the white nylon tag. I had to renew this bit. View attachment 4170
I came to the conclusion that there are missing bits from the mech. I cut a piece from some flattened copper pipe so the lug has something to push against Before and after pics. Working now. Lets hope it stays in there without springing out
Looking at my pics and your description we may be discussing different details. The picture is a bit hard to see but there is a white nylon bit which slides in and out, close to the W shaped spring. The way it works on mine is for the lug on the steering wheel to hit the inner tab. Perhaps on your mechanism it's intended to hit the sliding bit at a different point in which case the steering wheel is wrong? Anyway this was the weak point point for me. I found a duff indicator switch at a show which had the nylon bit intact and swapped it over.
Ah I see. I think you have the same as me and once you get the W shaped spring things will work much better.
Thanks, yes I think that spring is what I need, might be difficult to find one. There are some slidey nylon bits at the end of both the slots too, I have one of those missing too. I think they may be to do with stopping the cancel too soon if you happen to jiggle the wheel a bit while turning. I can live without that feature anyway. I've got used to not having self cancelling indicators for two years now, it's going to be weird at first now its working ok.
Does your switch work properly? Set the indicators going and poke the nylon tongue with a screwdriver. Does the indicator stalk jump back?
