signals

[1971superbee]

hey guys,

I have a '71 superbee and whenever I turn on the turn signals(left or right turn) I noticed afterwards that my steering column gets warm,almost hot to the touch.it stays this temp for a long time until I shut the car off,seems to cool down when I start the car again but gets hot again with the use of turn signals.I was wondering where i should start? flasher,turn signal switch,bad ground? any help would be great.

 

[MRHWS]

Are you saying only when you use the signals? Does it get hot down the thinner part of the column near the dash? If so, that sounds like the column harness. Not saying it couldn't be the ignition harness too. Either way, at this point, I would disconnect the negative battery cable. The column harnesses are prone to cracks, loose wire terminals and insulation breaks due to useage and age. I would put my money there. Have you also noticed any problems with brake or stop lights? They are all controlled thru that harness. It will need replacing if the original. Not a hard job, but you will have to remove the steering wheel and its horn adapter and lower the column. The hardest part is feeding the harness thru the upper part of the column.

 

[1971superbee]

no it does not get hot down at the thinner part of the steering colunm,seems to be only at the area around the turn signal switch inside the column.I recently drove the car for about 5 hours and it didn't get any hotter than when I first felt it.

 

[MRHWS]

It should not get hot. Do your signals or brake lights act up? To me, it sounds like a short in the harness caused by a broken wire or terminal or cracked wire covering. Like I said before, I would disconnect the negative battery cable and replace the harness. I had to replace mine because my brake lights didn't work. Turned out when I pulled the harness, part of the cancelling cam was broken and it pulled one wire off the signal switch. I didn't have a hot situation since the bare wire was not touching any metal.