Lubricating trafficator mechanism

[palacebear]

One of my trafficators is getting a bit sticky in operation. Before looking for faults I intend to lubricate it. I'm aware that light oil, applied sparingly with a fine brush is the way to go.

Firstly - I'm unsure where to apply the oil. Is it to the arm pivot pin... can someone tell me please?

Secondly - It's a 4-door car. Can it be lubricated from outside simply with the arm raised or Is it better to remove the interior B-post trim and tackle it from inside?

[SteveClem]

I did mine from the outside with a drop of sewing machine oil. It's worked fine.

[myoldjalopy]

One of mine was sticking and I tried lubricating the pivot as advised in the operating manual but no joy. So I took it out and cleaned up the plunger rod with fine emery and some WD40 (there was some very light corrosion on it), wiped the rod clean and then gave the rod a very light smear of WD40. The dear old trafficator now flies out eagerly every time!

[myoldjalopy]

Just to add to this...........it helps to have a spare battery and a piece of wire with a bullet connector on hand to enable you open up the trafficator in the cleaning/lubricating process once you have removed it from the car. They shouldn't be forced open by hand as that can damage them........

[palacebear]

Update: I've taken a look at it. Luckily I decided to tackle it from inside the car where I found one of the fixing bolts was missing and the other had no washers behind it. I've fitted replacement bolt/washers and centralised the complete unit in relation to it's slot. I've used a VERY small amount of WD40 on the pivot. Great improvement. But the unit looks really dirty so I may well follow myoldjalopy's advice; remove from the car; clean the plunger etc., re-lubricate the pivot with 3-in-1 oil. I'm not too fond of WD40 as a long-term fix for jobs like this ... although I had to apply a load of it to the boot lock before the key would turn today!!

[myoldjalopy]

Yes, I only used WD40 for the plunger as it is a very light oil and I didn't want the plunger mechanism gumming up. 3-in-1 is fine on the pivot....