1963 Volkswagen Beetle Turn Signal Lever Switch Repair

A few weeks ago the turn signal switch lever on my 1963 VW bug stopped working. When I pushed the lever up or down it would feel like it was stuck so I decided to take it apart to see what was going on. This was my first time attempting to repair a turn signal switch so I didn't know what to expect.

To get to the switch lever assembly I first had to remove the steering wheel. Then, I removed it from the steering column, and assuming that it would have some small parts inside, I set it on a table on a well lit area to take it apart. To disassemble it I just had to remove the large c-clip holding the two assembly body pieces together. While removing the top, some small pieces fell out of it, they had come apart inside and that's why the switch didn't work.

I wasn't sure how to put it together. I decided to clean, lubricate and inspect all the parts; Luckily nothing looked like it was broken. It felt like trying to figure out how to put a puzzle together. I searched on the Samba forum to see if I could find any posts that showed how to put this thing together and found a couple of threads with pictures. None where exactly the same as this turn signal switch lever that came out of my '63 bug, but those posts gave me a better idea of how to put it back together.

As you can see in the pictures, I did figure out how to assemble it back. Hopefully the pictures are clear enough to show how the pieces go together.

I then installed the switch lever back in the car and tested it. The turn signals worked! As well as the self-cancelling mechanism. Now the lever feels very smooth when activating it, thanks to the cleaning and lubricating.

If you are trying to do the same thing I hope you find this post helpful. Send me a comment if you have any questions.