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{{define "description"}}Fixing the turn signal on my 1985 Jeep CJ7.{{end}}
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<p>A while back, I noticed that the passenger side turn signal on my 1985 Jeep CJ7 was out. The right turn signal indicator would stay solid when the headlights were turned on. I pulled the bulb assembly and found this:</p>
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/Before.webp" alt="Disassembled turn signal lamp assembly: housing, wire harness, contact that broke off wire, degraded rubber grommet, bulb, and lens cover." />
<p>The wire responsible for turning the bulb “high” was broken from what I assume is fatigue. The rubber meant to support the wire and contact pin was severely degraded and falling apart, exposing the bare wire where it met the pin. This also means the wire could freely flex at the joint, and going over bumbs or just general road vibration could have eventually wore it down. I didn’t see much in the way of corrosion around the wire, so that’s why I assume it was stress related.</p>
<p>Anyways, the bucket was severely rusted, and the gasket was a poor excuse for one, so I cleaned up the bucket with some sandpaper and gave it a light coat of lubricant to hopefully hinder the rust and cut a new gasket from two layers of craft foam. This is definitely a short-term solution, but with school fast approaching and the fact that this will be garaged for the next 9 months I wasn’t too concerned. Next spring is Jeep repair time, this summer is “cobble it together until then” time. I also cleaned up the driver side bucket the same way and cut a new seal just to try and keep it from rusting any more.</p>
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/Cleaned_Bucket.webp" alt="Sanded and re-foamed turn signal bucket" />
<p>Next, I got to repairing the harness. The pin was a crimp-on, and there was no easy way I was going to be able to uncrimp it for reuse. So I did the next best thing, soldering. Anyone that takes pride in soldering would probably stare agasp at what I did, but again, I’ll fix it correctly in the spring. I just trimmed back a bit of sheathing on the wire and soldered it to the bare copper on the side of the pin. Pretty or preferable? No. Does it work? Yes.</p>
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/Soldered_Harness.webp" alt="Soldered and repaired turn signal harness" />
<p>Finally, everything was reinserted into the bucket. I reused the dryrotted rubber piece that was still in the bucket because it needs that to keep the pins in place and put tension on the bulb to retain it. After it was all reassembled, I put some Shoe Goo (it’s what I had lying around) on the exposed end to try and prevent the same thing from happening again quickly.</p>
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/Final_Front.webp" alt="Front of final lamp assembly" />
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/Final_Rear.webp" alt="Rear of final lamp assembly" />
<p>Pretty happy with how it turned out given that I didn’t spend anything or go anywhere other than my garage to get it done. Here’s a video of it being tested:</p>
<video src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/Flasher_Test.mp4" alt="Turn signal test, and lamp flashes as expected" controls=""><a href="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/Flasher_Test.mp4">CJ7 Signal Test</a></video>
<p>Now to repair the muffler I blew… but that’s for another day.</p>
<p>Uploaded: <time datetime="2023-07-20">2023-07-20</time></p>
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