Squeeky tickers

UK 156, 2002, 2.0JTS.

When indicating, the audible 'ticker' has developed an intermittent squeek.
At first I thought the indicators were interfering with the radio and the
sound was coming through the speakers, but no, it happens with the radio
off, so I presume it is mechanical and sounds like it is coming from
under/inside the steering column. I have made no attempt to remove trim and
try to locate the squeek as there is no time left in the world (I have kids
now!). Hopefully, with a little guidance, I can quickly locate the problem
and oil it or perhaps tempt it out with a little cheese!

Its been doing this for about a year (maybe longer now) and I just ignore
it, but my Fiance is finding it more and more annoying.

Can anyone shed any light on this - perhaps tell me where to squirt WD40 or
3-in-1 !! What does the 'ticker' look like and where can I find it?

Cheers,
GT

GT wrote:
> UK 156, 2002, 2.0JTS.
>
> When indicating, the audible 'ticker' has developed an intermittent squeek.
> At first I thought the indicators were interfering with the radio and the
> sound was coming through the speakers, but no, it happens with the radio
> off, so I presume it is mechanical and sounds like it is coming from
> under/inside the steering column. I have made no attempt to remove trim and
> try to locate the squeek as there is no time left in the world (I have kids
> now!). Hopefully, with a little guidance, I can quickly locate the problem
> and oil it or perhaps tempt it out with a little cheese!
>
> Its been doing this for about a year (maybe longer now) and I just ignore
> it, but my Fiance is finding it more and more annoying.
>
> Can anyone shed any light on this - perhaps tell me where to squirt WD40 or
> 3-in-1 !! What does the 'ticker' look like and where can I find it?


I suspect you will need to replace the flasher relay. It's dead simple

It's under the steering column, obvious when the shroud is released
which is in turn simply a case of removing some screws



--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Suzuki Bandit 600
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

>> UK 156, 2002, 2.0JTS.
>>
>> When indicating, the audible 'ticker' has developed an intermittent
>> squeek. At first I thought the indicators were interfering with the radio
>> and the sound was coming through the speakers, but no, it happens with
>> the radio off, so I presume it is mechanical and sounds like it is coming
>> from under/inside the steering column. I have made no attempt to remove
>> trim and try to locate the squeek as there is no time left in the world
>> (I have kids now!). Hopefully, with a little guidance, I can quickly
>> locate the problem and oil it or perhaps tempt it out with a little
>> cheese!
>>
>> Its been doing this for about a year (maybe longer now) and I just ignore
>> it, but my Fiance is finding it more and more annoying.
>>
>> Can anyone shed any light on this - perhaps tell me where to squirt WD40
>> or 3-in-1 !! What does the 'ticker' look like and where can I find it?
>
>
> I suspect you will need to replace the flasher relay. It's dead simple
>
> It's under the steering column, obvious when the shroud is released which
> is in turn simply a case of removing some screws

When you mention a 'relay' I imagine circuits not working properly and
immediately wonder if this is affecting the flashing of the indicator
lights?

Is this purely a 'cosmetic' thing? The tick still works and it ticks at the
same time as the squeek and I think my indicators are flashing OK!

On Mon, 14 May 2007 14:23:54 +0100, "GT"
> wrote:

>When you mention a 'relay' I imagine circuits not working properly and
>immediately wonder if this is affecting the flashing of the indicator
>lights?

Possibly not yet but the relay is on the way out and will fail at some
point. If it's over a couple of years old and you use it a lot then
just replace it.

>Is this purely a 'cosmetic' thing?

No the relay is in the middle stages of dying.

>The tick still works and it ticks at the
>same time as the squeek and I think my indicators are flashing OK!

Quite likely. However it really is one of the simplest jobs to do on a
156 - I did mine once in an Asda car park (waiting on the Wife doing
the shopping) using the Alfa cross point screwdriver from the boot.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)

GT wrote:
>>> UK 156, 2002, 2.0JTS.
>>>
>>> When indicating, the audible 'ticker' has developed an intermittent
>>> squeek. At first I thought the indicators were interfering with the radio
>>> and the sound was coming through the speakers, but no, it happens with
>>> the radio off, so I presume it is mechanical and sounds like it is coming
>>> from under/inside the steering column. I have made no attempt to remove
>>> trim and try to locate the squeek as there is no time left in the world
>>> (I have kids now!). Hopefully, with a little guidance, I can quickly
>>> locate the problem and oil it or perhaps tempt it out with a little
>>> cheese!
>>>
>>> Its been doing this for about a year (maybe longer now) and I just ignore
>>> it, but my Fiance is finding it more and more annoying.
>>>
>>> Can anyone shed any light on this - perhaps tell me where to squirt WD40
>>> or 3-in-1 !! What does the 'ticker' look like and where can I find it?
>>
>> I suspect you will need to replace the flasher relay. It's dead simple
>>
>> It's under the steering column, obvious when the shroud is released which
>> is in turn simply a case of removing some screws
>
> When you mention a 'relay' I imagine circuits not working properly and
> immediately wonder if this is affecting the flashing of the indicator
> lights?
>

Doubt it, but it's an electro mechanical device, which is squeaking

> Is this purely a 'cosmetic' thing? The tick still works and it ticks at the
> same time as the squeek and I think my indicators are flashing OK!
>
I would expect they are



--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Suzuki Bandit 600
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

Zathras wrote:
> On Mon, 14 May 2007 14:23:54 +0100, "GT"
> > wrote:
>
>> When you mention a 'relay' I imagine circuits not working properly and
>> immediately wonder if this is affecting the flashing of the indicator
>> lights?
>
> Possibly not yet but the relay is on the way out and will fail at some
> point. If it's over a couple of years old and you use it a lot then
> just replace it.
>
>> Is this purely a 'cosmetic' thing?
>
> No the relay is in the middle stages of dying.
Well *maybe* It might go on for years

Or there might be a really small mouse trapped in it.

>
>> The tick still works and it ticks at the
>> same time as the squeek and I think my indicators are flashing OK!
>
> Quite likely. However it really is one of the simplest jobs to do on a
> 156 - I did mine once in an Asda car park (waiting on the Wife doing
> the shopping) using the Alfa cross point screwdriver from the boot.

It really is simple


--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Suzuki Bandit 600
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

>>> When you mention a 'relay' I imagine circuits not working properly and
>>> immediately wonder if this is affecting the flashing of the indicator
>>> lights?
>>
>> Possibly not yet but the relay is on the way out and will fail at some
>> point. If it's over a couple of years old and you use it a lot then
>> just replace it.
>>
>>> Is this purely a 'cosmetic' thing?
>>
>> No the relay is in the middle stages of dying.
> Well *maybe* It might go on for years
>
> Or there might be a really small mouse trapped in it.

I already tried cheese, but nothing came out!

[snip] - talking about replacing the relay on a squeeky indicator ticker...
>>
>>When you mention a 'relay' I imagine circuits not working properly and
>>immediately wonder if this is affecting the flashing of the indicator
>>lights?
>
> Possibly not yet but the relay is on the way out and will fail at some
> point. If it's over a couple of years old and you use it a lot then
> just replace it.
>
>>Is this purely a 'cosmetic' thing?
>
> No the relay is in the middle stages of dying.

Where might I get a replacement one and is there a model number I should
look for? Perhaps I could get one that makes an alternative noise to a
click?

On Mon, 14 May 2007 17:38:33 +0100, "GT"
> wrote:

>Where might I get a replacement one and is there a model number I should
>look for? ?

I've always just asked for an indicator relay for 2001 Alfa 156 at the
dealers - stock item, about a tenner IIRC.

>Perhaps I could get one that makes an alternative noise to a click

Once the clicking is on the way out you can have all sorts of sounds
from squeaking to buzzing to beeping... ;-)

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)

On Mon, 14 May 2007 15:29:37 GMT, Catman
> wrote:

>> Is this purely a 'cosmetic' thing? The tick still works and it ticks at the
>> same time as the squeek and I think my indicators are flashing OK!
>>
>I would expect they are

If it's contact bounce, they might be dimmer or flickery. Knowing how
difficult it is to replace front indicator lamps and worrying about
the noisy dc that might be being applied to the bulbs during
squeaking, I change the relay when the squeak is convincing (rather
than the occasional false alarm) without spending much time weighing
up the pros and cons!

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)