Before I start tearing into the steering column, should the turn signal stalk 'return' to the off position after a turn an Mini '80 Saloon.

 

Yes, unless the return mechanism is broken, or a replacement wheel has been installed without the cancel mechanism.

 

Yes, it does have a Mountney wheel. I figured the cancel cam would be further doiwn in the column though. Maybe it is and just broken. Off come the covers tomorrow.

 

i have the same problem, however mine retuns sometimes.

best of luck to ya--i havent hadd the time to tear into mine yet.

 

On my 78 the return mechanism is at the top of the steering column directly under the wheel which has a lever that protrudes to trip it...

 

Of course, the next logical question is.... If the lever is gone or broken, is one available from anywhere? THAT should be an interesting adventure

 

this has the part # anyway ....

http://www.minimania.com/web/CatPage...perCatalog.cfm

 

My 78 (Australian) has the aftermarket wheel off center, and the signal returns when I turn the wheel far enough to trip the mechanism, which is not often. Since the car is louder than the flasher, I was leaving the flasher on with out realizing it. I went to Radio Shack and bought a "piezo electric" beeper. Wired it directly across the flasher contacts. It beeps quite annoyingly so I notice it and cancel the turn signal. I adjust the loudness by taping a bit of cloth over the hole in the beeper.

John

 

LOL - car is loader than the flasher! You got that right. And they put the flasher under the bonnet to make it even worse. The buzzer is a good idea - I may do the same - maybe get a fancy electronic chime and mount it in the dash

 

The cam was intact. Basically, its a sleeve that rides on the steering column. It has a key on the wheel side that presumably fits into the bottom of a factory wheel. My Mountey has no such matching fitting, so the sleeve did not turn when the wheel did. The solution was to drill a small hole through the sleeve and into the steering column, then insert a self tapping screw. The tripper that engages the turn stalk must be positioned opposite the stalk before the hole is drilled. See the attached pix, the nylon piece is the actuator sleeve. The added screw is circled in red.
FWIW.

 

mine only works when i turn the wheel far enough. which, like jdewey, isn't very often.

J: what beeper did you get and how did you hook it up?

 

STLMIni, does it do that in either direction? I haven't driven mine since I fixed it, so mine may do the same thing. But I did try it sitting still (which I'm sure was wonderful on the rack ) and it seemed to act properly. The tripper is opposite the turn stalk, so it only takes a half wheel turn or so to 'set' the tripper - get it around to the stalk side so that when the wheel returns, the tripper can trip the little nylon stalk lever. Point being - maybe your tripper has slipped on the steering column so that it takes more of a turn in one direction than the other.

 

Nothing to do with turn signals, but my ignition switch WILL NOT turn my key loose. No amount of jiggling or cussing works. Tried lubrication, a tap or two with a soft mallet - no joy. Apparently my luck is not all bad. I found a switch on Ebay - new old stock in the BL box - and paid $49 for it. About $150 from the major suppliers.

Another subject - anyone out there in Mini land have a stock plastic steering wheel they might want to part with? Mine looks like this and I'd like to find a better one.

 

i'll have to check and get back to ya on that!

 

take it off and paint it w/epoxy....

 

Correction on my positioning of the turn signal tripper. I drove the car the other day and quickly realized that you had to do about a 180 turn for the tripper to return the stalk to center/off. So yesterday I swung the tripper around to the side of the column that the stalk is on, aligning it with the center line of the stalk and that fixed the problem. Same solution - drill a hole thru the nylon sleeve into the column, but drill when the tripper is on the on the stalk side!