Replacement windshield washer switch actuator lever for a turn signal arm assembly

A replacement windshield washer switch actuator lever is used in the repair of a turn signal arm assembly for certain models of motor vehicles produced by General Motors. The replacement actuator lever is comprised of a hollow sleeve for mounting on the turn signal arm assembly. One end of the sleeve is selectively configured as a lever for manual operation, and the opposite end is configured to engage the washer switch in the steering column. An aperture is defined in the sleeve to complement the position of the cruise control wire harness for receiving the wire harness therethrough. Sleeve aperture access means permit installation of the actuator lever without damaging or disconnecting the wire harness. Preferably, the aperture access means comprises a slot in the sleeve extending from the aperture through the lever end of the sleeve.

The present invention relates to a replacement windshield washer switch 
actuator lever for a motor vehicle turn signal arm assembly. More 
particularly, it relates to a replacement actuator lever for a turn signal 
arm assembly having windshield washer, wiper and cruise controls. Most 
particularly, the replacement actuator lever finds use in the repair of 
certain General Motors turn signal arm assemblies in which the original 
equipment actuator lever has been damaged. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In certain motor vehicles produced by General Motors, the windshield wiper, 
washer and cruise controls are located in a control housing on a free end 
of a turn signal arm assembly. These include, inter alia, certain models 
of Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Cadillac passenger cars built 
from 1980 to 1989; Chevrolet and GMC trucks built from 1980 to 1989; 
Suburban, Blazer and S10 trucks built form 1980 to 1991; and Chevrolet and 
GMC full size vans built from 1980 to 1991. 
If the windshield washer switch actuator lever on the turn signal arm is 
damaged, the entire turn signal arm assembly is conventionally replaced 
with a new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) part. This is because the 
OEM actuator lever is configured with an aperture for the cruise control 
wire harness to pass through. If a replacement OEM actuator lever were 
available, it would still be impossible to install because there is 
insufficient clearance to feed the wire harness through the aperture and 
install the actuator lever on the turn signal arm at the same time. 
In order to install a replacement OEM turn signal arm assembly, the damaged 
assembly must first be removed from the steering column. This entails 
releasing the arm itself from a switch assembly in the steering column 
through the disengagement of a spring clip. The cruise control wire 
harness under the dashboard must be located and disconnected. An auxiliary 
piece of wire is attached to the wire harness, and the wire harness and 
auxiliary wire are pulled up through the steering column. 
The replacement OEM assembly is then installed by attaching the auxiliary 
wire to the new cruise control wire harness, and rethreading it through 
the steering column. The new wire harness is then reconnected under the 
dash, and the replacement turn signal arm is aligned and engaged in the 
switch assembly in the steering column. Depending on the vehicle model, 
this process also requires partial disassembly of the steering column in 
order to remove and reinstall the cruise control wire harness. 
In addition to the expense of a replacement OEM turn signal arm assembly, 
the process of installing a replacement OEM part is time consuming and 
laborious. Thus, repairing a broken windshield washer actuator lever ties 
up the vehicle involved for a relatively lengthy amount of time. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a replacement windshield washer switch 
actuator lever for a motor vehicle turn signal arm assembly which has 
windshield washer, wiper and cruise controls located on it. The turn 
signal arm assembly is comprised of an arm and a control housing. The 
control housing is affixed to the free end of the turn signal arm, and the 
controls are located on it. A cruise control wire harness protrudes from 
an aperture located at a medial point in the arm. 
The replacement washer switch actuator lever is comprised of a hollow 
sleeve for mounting about the arm having one end selectively configured to 
complementarily abut the control housing. An aperture is defined in the 
sleeve such that the sleeve aperture is in alignment with the arm aperture 
when the sleeve abuts the housing which permits the wire harness to extend 
through the sleeve. The end of the sleeve is also selectively configured 
for manual operation. The opposite end of the sleeve is configured to 
activate a washer switch in the steering column of the vehicle. 
The actuator lever is configured with sleeve aperture access means to 
permit replacement of a broken lever without disconnection of the wire 
harness. Preferably, the sleeve has a slot which extends from the wire 
harness aperture in the sleeve to the lever end of the sleeve. The 
actuator lever is slidably installed on the arm by aligning the slot in 
the sleeve with the wire harness and axially displacing the lever until it 
abuts the housing. This results in the wire harness extending through the 
sleeve aperture. 
It is an object of this invention to provide a replacement windshield 
washer switch actuator lever for repairing a turn signal arm assembly 
having windshield washer, wiper and cruise controls located thereon, 
instead of requiring replacement of the entire turn signal arm assembly. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for replacing 
a windshield washer switch actuator lever located on a turn signal arm 
assembly having windshield washer, wiper and cruise controls located 
thereon. 
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the 
following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a repaired turn signal arm assembly 1 
attached to a steering column 2 in a conventional motor vehicle driver's 
side arrangement. The steering wheel is not shown for clarity. A 
replacement windshield washer switch actuator lever 20 is located on turn 
signal arm assembly 1. 
Referring to FIG. 2, the turn signal arm assembly 1 is shown in more 
detail. The configuration of the assembly 1 is compatible with a variety 
of models of General Motors cars and trucks produced between 1980 and 
1991. These include 1980 to 1989 Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and 
some Cadillac passenger cars; 1980 to 1989 Chevrolet and GMC trucks; 1980 
to 1991 Suburban, Blazer and S-10 trucks; and 1980 to 1991 Chevrolet and 
GMC full size vans. 
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the turn signal arm assembly is comprised of an 
arm 3 with a control housing 9 attached to the free end. The arm 3 is 
further comprised of a shaft 4 having a annular groove 5 and a projection 
6. The groove 5 is used to releasably retain the turn signal arm assembly 
1 in a switch assembly (not shown) in the steering column 2. The shaft 4 
is affixed to an end of a hollow tube 14, and the opposite end of tube 14 
is attached to control housing 9. 
A cruise control switch 7 is disposed in the housing 9. Internally 
connected to the cruise control switch 7 is a cruise control wire harness 
s which runs through the housing 9 and tube 14, exiting the tube 14 
through an aperture 15. 
The housing 9 is further comprised of a tapered portion 11 which necks down 
to the tube 14. A raised projection 12 extends from the tapered portion 11 
of the housing 9. 
A replacement windshield washer switch actuator lever which embodies the 
present invention, is shown in more detail in FIGS. 3-6. The actuator 
lever 20 is slidably disposed on the arm 3. 
The actuator lever 20 is comprised of a hollow sleeve 21 which has an 
interior selectively configured to complement the housing 9 and the shaft 
3. In particular, one end of the sleeve is flared to complement the 
tapered portion 11 of the housing 9. 
An aperture 26 in the sleeve 21 is located in a position complementary to 
the wire harness aperture 15 in the tube 14. A slot 24 extends from the 
aperture 26 through the flared end of the sleeve 21. 
A push lever 22 projects from the flared end of the sleeve 21. The other 
end of the sleeve 21 has two selectively configured projections 38 for 
engaging and actuating the windshield washer switch (not shown). 
The relative positions of projections 38 can be seen most clearly in FIG. 
4. With the push lever 22 shown in an upright vertical position, the first 
projection 38 is located 75.degree. clockwise from the push lever 22. The 
second projection 38 is located 210.degree. clockwise from the push lever. 
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, an internal projection 28 depends from the 
flared end portion of the sleeve 21 directly beneath the push lever 22. 
The projection 28 is designed to complementarily engage raised projection 
12 on the tapered portion 11 of housing 9 
In operation, the windshield washer is activated by applying force on the 
push lever 22 which causes the sleeve 21 to rotate about the arm 3. The 
internal projection 28 on the windshield washer switch actuator lever 20 
engages the projection 12 on the housing 9 causing the arm 3 and the 
projections 38 to rotate. This activates the windshield washer switch. In 
certain models, the projection 12 on the housing 9 is omitted and the 
switch is activated solely by means of the projections 38 engaging the 
washer switch within the steering column. 
The replacement washer switch actuator lever 20 is molded from a suitable 
plastic material. Preferably, ABS, which is a polymer consisting of 
varying ratios of acrylonitrile, butadiene, and styrene monomers, commonly 
available from variety of manufacturers such as Borg-Warner or Dow 
Chemical, is used. Preferably, the surface of the lever 22 is the natural 
black ABS molded plastic, or is vacuum metallized to provide a chrome 
appearance. 
Repair of a broken windshield washer switch actuator lever, as disclosed by 
the present invention, is much simpler and less time consuming than the 
conventional method which requires installation of a replacement OEM turn 
signal arm assembly. The repair requires the removal of the turn signal 
arm assembly 1 from the steering column 2 by disengaging the arm assembly 
1 from the switch in the steering column. The original equipment 
windshield washer switch actuator lever (not shown) is cut or broken away 
from the turn signal arm assembly 1 and removed taking care not to damage 
the cruise control wire harness 8. Cutting or breaking the OEM actuator 
lever is required because it lacks a slot or other means to allow for its 
removal. 
The replacement windshield Washer switch actuator lever 20 is installed by 
first aligning the slot 24 with the cruise control wire harness 8 which 
protrudes from the aperture 15 on the arm 3, as shown in FIG. 3. The 
replacement actuator lever 20 is then slid onto the arm 3 such that the 
first end 34 of sleeve 21 abuts the tapered portion 11 fixed control 
housing 9, and the wire harness s is located in the aperture 26. The 
repaired turn signal arm assembly 1 is then reinstalled into the switch 
assembly in the steering column 2. 
As compared to the conventional repair method, the disclosed method 
provides both cost and labor savings by providing a means for repairing 
the washer switch actuator lever instead of replacing the entire turn 
signal arm assembly. Additionally, the present method eliminates the 
costly labor required to disconnect the wire harness 8, unthread it from 
the steering column assembly, and rethread and reconnect the wire harness 
to complete the repair. When a repair using the above method is complete, 
the repaired turn signal arm assembly 1 will function identically to the 
original equipment part. 
Although designed as a replacement part, the slotted lever arm 20 could be 
utilized in the OEM assembly to provide an improved OEM turn signal arm 
assembly. The incorporation of the slotted lever arm into the design of 
the OEM assembly eliminates the need for cutting away the broken lever in 
the disclosed repair method since such a slotted lever can be slid off the 
arm assembly. 
As detailed above, the inventive replacement lever is preferably made in 
one piece of a rigid material. However, alternative functionally 
equivalent configurations are within the scope of the invention. For 
example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a replacement level 52 is configured 
with a closeable slot 53 having matingly engageable opposing slot edges 54 
and 56. The replacement lever 52 is made of a relatively pliant material 
to permit the slot to be opened to a sufficient degree to enable 
installation about the turn signal arm. For installation, the pliant 
replacement lever 52 is disposed about the turn signal arm and the 
opposing slot edges 54 and 56 are matingly engaged to secure the 
replacement lever 52 in its installed position. 
A third embodiment of the replacement actuator lever 63, as shown in FIG. 
9, is configured as two semi-cylindrical portions 64 and 66. Opposing 
edges 65, 67 of the two-semi-cylindrical portions 64 and 66, are 
configured for mating engagement. With this construction, the replacement 
lever is installed by snapping the two pieces 64, 66 together about the 
turn signal arm.