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{{ define "article" }}
<article>
<h2>{{ .Title }}</h2>
<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>
<figure>
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/images/Before.webp"
alt="Disassembled turn signal lamp assembly: housing, wire harness, contact that broke off wire, degraded rubber grommet, bulb, and lens cover."
width="1280" height="960" />
<figcaption>Lamp disassembled.</figcaption>
</figure>
<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>
<figure>
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/images/Cleaned_Bucket.webp"
alt="Sanded and re-foamed turn signal bucket" width="1280" height="960" />
<figcaption>Bucket cleaned.</figcaption>
</figure>
<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>
<figure>
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/images/Soldered_Harness.webp"
alt="Soldered and repaired turn signal harness" width="1280" height="960" />
<figcaption>Connector wires repaired.</figcaption>
</figure>
<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>
<figure>
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/images/Final_Front.webp" alt="Front of final lamp assembly"
width="1280" height="960" />
<img src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/images/Final_Rear.webp" alt="Rear of final lamp assembly"
width="1280" height="960" />
<figcaption>Final Assembly.</figcaption>
</figure>
<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>
<figure>
<video src="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/images/Flasher_Test.mp4"
alt="Turn signal test, and lamp flashes as expected" controls="" width="1920" height="1080"><a
href="/static/media/Jeep_CJ7_Turn_Signal_Repair/images/Flasher_Test.mp4">CJ7 Signal Test</a></video>
<figcaption>Signal testing.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now to repair the muffler I blew… but that's for another day.</p>
<p><b>Created:</b> {{ .Date }}</p>
<p>P.S. I did end up getting a new muffler on. That'll be a future post.</p>
</article>
{{ end }}
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