TR2/3/3A TR2 Annual

[CJD]

I did the annual tune up on the TR2 yesterday. The "extra" items to be fixed were a turn signal flasher that had stuck on, and the common "horn will not honk". The flasher went quickly, but the horn didn't. Normally the horn is a bullet connector problem, as those connectors always act up. It turned out that the TRF trafficator horn button fell off. This seems to be standard in all the repro trafficators. I pulled the horn button and glued the contact ring back in, but the horn still didn't work. Hmmmm. "Must be internal", thought me. And, as I removed the last screw, kablammy...the whole trafficator blew apart...as I knew it would.

Well, 2 hours later, after collecting all the tiny parts from around the interior of the car and growing 3 extra hands to hold all the springs in place while re-installing the kablammy screw, I finally had it all back together.

And that is when I remembered that the horn ground depends on the trafficator being slid fully into the tube! I removed the kablammy screw for nothing!!

Anyway, the car runs great, turn signal flashes, horn honks, and I recieved my recurrent training on the trafficator, which is FAR more complicated than the TR2 engine. Just shows, it's easy to pull a rookie mistake even after decades of working on these cars. Never underestimate the complexity of the Triumph Trafficator!!

 

[mastaphixa]

John, oh boy! Been there. Luckily i had an unservicable, but complete trafficator assembly I could steal a few of the "tiny bits" that flew out of sight when I did the same thing.

 

[mctriumph]

I think the Brits call them "fussy". I for one have tried to re-hab several worn out
units over the years(when they were rare and $$). The worn bits often meant "two out of
three ain't bad" was how it ended.
What is worse is the grub screws freezing solid in the wheel and rounding off. If they do come out
replace them with allen heads that are OTC at Ace.
Mad dog

 

[broken wrench]

My TRF trafficator just stopped self canceling. Any ideas before I kablammy?
Thanks.

Steve

 

[RichB4493]

Most likely lack of lubricant or dirt inside. The self canceling is a mechanical spring/arc/wedge contraption. Remove the trafficator with a white towel underneath and refit with some lithium grease. There’s a nice tutorial document that was published long ago that really helped me refurbish mine.

 

[broken wrench]

Thanks Rich....worked a charm and no need to tempt Kablammy!

Steve

 

[glemon]

I haven't ever owned a side screen TR, but I did have an Austin Healey with a trafficator. I think I probably had that thing apart more than any other component on any of my British cars. It came apart many many times trying to get the flashers to flash consistently, I eventually achieved the flashing part, but the self cancelling never worked reliably. I eventually waved the white flag and settled for the on part working right.