C-Class (W203) 2001-2007, C160, C180, C200, C220, C230, C240, C270, C280, C300, C320, C230K, C350, Coupe

Turn signal won’t stay in place. Possible fix

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Old Nov 18, 2021 | 04:13 PM
  #1  
lbxpdx's Avatar
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2003 C240
Turn signal won’t stay in place. Possible fix

2003 C240 wagon with an ESP warning. I lost turn signals, wipers, etc. took it apart, cleaned the SAS and all is good, until I start the car up the following day, same issue. I probably need to get codes cleared. While thinking about the the possible issues causing this, I decided to take my turn signal stalk apart and. Check inside. I cleaned up the contacts as a fair amount of grease had migrated to the contact board and I started looking at the mechanical aspect of the turn signal, as my right turn signal rarely stays in place.

first off, sorry I didn’t take tons of pics. I borrowed the first two pictures from the web. I wasn’t planning on documenting the process.

Naturally you take the steering wheel and column off, unscrew the SAS from the column and separate the turn signal from the back of the SAS. two small screws, possibly T8’s need to come off and there are two small plastic clips that need to be detached to pull the black section from the metal housing.

It will look like this when separated.


next you will pull the stalk from the housing. There will be two pieces that slightly resemble a small motor brush with a spring between the two. The roller tips push up against black pieces of plastic that pivot. These pieces are in a larger piece of plastic that will also be removed from the housing.

Those pieces look like this.


The little black pieces are installed into the larger piece with two small tabs. One of the tabs is snap fit where the other is loose fit. You may break the snap fit ones if not careful. I used a small screw drive to push the tabs together to pull the black pieces out.

I realized the pieces are interchangeable with each other. One side of the black piece was worn from years of use against the rollers.





The other side of the piece has the same ridge, though unused, like this.




Put it all back together, it will probably take a few attempts to get it right, and it should fix the issue. Granted, I’m only on day one of the fox, but the stalk snaps tight into place when I make a right turn.

if needed, I can take detailed pics or do a quick video from a turn stalk from the wrecking yard. Hope this helps.
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Old Nov 19, 2021 | 01:03 AM
  #2  
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2003 C230K Coupe Orion Blue
There's a thread on this already, but thanks for posting the photos.

The only problem is that the black pieces then wear out on the other side. While the pieces can be flipped, it only buys a bit of time. The white pieces (the ones that the black pieces rub against) with the notch also wear out. Unfortunately the plastic bits cannot be purchased separately.

While you're at it, make sure that the steering column sleeve has a section of rail removed.

The only way to minimize wear on the stalk is to make sure you don't return the stalk to the neutral (ie no turn signal) position by hand. Only return it by turning the steering wheel and using the canceller mechanism. The turn signals work without engaging the notches (3 blinks if you move the stalk partially) so this is what I try to do when driving. Personally I'm on my 3rd stalk.

Last edited by slammer111; Nov 19, 2021 at 01:06 AM.
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