Best Indicator Switch - Spitfire MkIV

[Mjit]

So, after 40 odd years of good service my indicator switch gave up a year or so ago - was just so worn it wouldn't stay on amd hand to be held down to get it to flash right and replaced as a Covid lockdown job.

Now, after next to no usage thanks to Covid the replacement from my usual go-to Triumph specialist also stopped flashing right (though would stay on). Clearly a bad earth, right...?  Well having traced it all the way back taking the switch cowel off dropped a collection of switch parts in my lap and inspection shows the right turn track has burnt out and fallen off.

The new one never cancelled either - the old one did and the 'clip' is there/aligned/at the right height, the 'tangs' on the new switch were just nowhere near long enough to reach it/be tripped by it.

 

So... Anyone bought a new switch in the last couple of years and recommend a supplier?

[Pete Lewis]

just been looking as a failed switch on a MkiV  the detent roller has departed and shorted the copper sweep to earth  .. lots of smoking 

works fine off the column but as soon as it contacts the cowl  kaboom  ...nice 

having trawled the suppliers for a lucas SA125 there are originals  and reproductions   the owner has not decided which to get yet 

but stick to lucas should be best  assuming lucas is /was lucas 

as for part numbers 147277 was superseded by 158966   

and prices vary wildly 

Pete

[dannyb]

I replaced mine on the Spit 1500 about 6 years ago. The price of a new one was fairly high if I remember, so I purchased one from a mini supplyers. Almost the same switch but the angle of the stalk was slightly different but is easily bent to the right angle. If I remember it was about a third of the price at the time. 

Danny

[PeteH]

Ehhh?. What happened to the "good old days". Down the local scrappy. Welly boots, `cos they was always muddy, Rummage about find what was needed, not necessarily from your vehicle, and anything else, "usefull". Give the owner a few bob, and back on the road.

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

10 hours ago, Mjit said:

So... Anyone bought a new switch in the last couple of years and recommend a supplier?

eBay... seriously! Some good NOS items turn up for little money. Make sure you have the one that suits your cancel setup on the column, there are two different types, but last one I bought was brand new for £15 including postage.

[Badwolf]

 I agree with Colin. Fleabay has been my major supplier for so many things over the past few years. Why go out to find and buy things and, where do you go??? Yes there is the odd 'turkey' but fleabay is very good about dodgy dealers, even the off shore ones. Got a scrappy not more than a mile away from me, "Triumphs mate, you must be joking", "wander 'round and look for yourself!! You must be joking..elf and safety you know!!" Good old days, gone. Got the hardtop that I am (laughingly) working on at the moment, as part of a job lot. Went around the scrappy, collected everything I wanted, to much for the car, "where do you work? Only just down the road, I'll drop it off Monday....£25 all in" ....and he did too. Happy times, well maybe not. Memories of that 'Golden Age'

[PeteH]

You are of course quite right. The modern day "Scrappy" has effectivly become E-Bay. The "Elfs" (and safety) have put the mockers on all that sort of thing, every business has a shed load of (costly?) paperwork to do just to stay open and satisfy their insurer, who want all the T`s crossed and I`s dotted, so some "ambulance chaser" dosent cost them money.

They assure me that is progress?.

Pete

[Anglefire]

Scrap yards are nothing like what they used to be.  You can no longer (or at least not around here) go and have a rummage.  They are now dismantlers - mostly to document the amount they recycle I suspect - that and elf and safety. 

[Paul H]

Gone are the days when I used to buy a Moggie Minor and deliver to to tip when it’s shelf life was up . On delivery a swarm of enthusiasts would strip it for its useful parts . 
Paul 

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, Anglefire said:

Scrap yards are nothing like what they used to be.  You can no longer (or at least not around here) go and have a rummage.  They are now dismantlers - mostly to document the amount they recycle I suspect - that and elf and safety. 

I remember a very happy afternoon in GB Sportscars where the owner handed me a screwdriver and told me to get the bits I wanted. I bought about three times what I needed.

These days most - not all - scrappies will take your order, go to a car, remove the closest bit, and not always the nicest-looking or best - and bring it back to the counter an hour later. Thankfully I have two local yards where they're still happy for me to ramble about and see what I can find, but the oldest car in either is probably mid-1990s.

 

[Badwolf]

I remember one spitfire..."up there mate" on top of three, straddling two piles. Good job I've got a good head for heights. Looking down through the rust and all the holes in the floor thinking if this doesn't hold my weight!!!! Pity about the 'elf's' though, a good afternoon out no longer.

[SprintAstic]

HI all, so back to the original question 2021 about a decent replacement 1500 Spit column indicator switch as mine is now intermittenter than ever and a sure MoT fail ...

A popular Triumph supplier offers a new RHD option, anyone had experience of this as the only Lucas ones I can find are LHD .. I ask as some years ago had a similar switch failure on a GT6 Mk3 and was supplied with a new (aftermarket ..non-UK ?) one which fell to bits in less than a month, fortunately the supplier then remembered they had a few Lucas units available and after fitting problem solved (why didnt they send that 1st time).

Also can someone advise which Mini switch/Part. No. is the possible alternative fit ?

thanks

[Clive]

The Lucas thing is a red herring, unless it really is old stock in a faded red box. 

I fitted a brand new (lucas green box) stalk when I put my car together. A few weeks ago it became very intermittent on main beam. That is 6 years, 32K. I popped the shroud off the column, ran a bit of fine abrasive paper between the contacts, then bent the contacts very slightly to give them some tension. All working OK, but for how long? It still feels a bit floppy, but unless I can find a genuine one there isn't much I can do (I actually got lucky and found a NoS wiper stalk for a TR7 which is a good fit)

[Colin Lindsay]

Try cleaning your current version. A good spray with Servisol or the like may work wonders. They're not difficult to remove, clean and replace and it may give you a few more years of life with it.

 

[AlanT]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265709879202?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=gsd0m8ZYTRG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[AlanT]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265709879202?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=gsd0m8ZYTRG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

@SprintAsticMine has this fitted.

The arm needs bending slightly as a bit close to the steering wheel. Perfect! https://www.minisport.com/21a2658-steering-column-switch-mk3-early-rh-indicator-stalk-76-84.html

[daverclasper]

My original one on Vitesse started smoking about 5 years ago. Bought a replacement from Moss (about £22, I think?), as only a bit dearer than other suppliers and local, so I thought any problems easier to sort out. There was a note in the box that said the wiring colour coding not correct, so connect it this way. Not inspiring, though switch has been fine.