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'96 SL - rattling handle, turn signal oddity?

Hi, everybody. Two things in the minor-annoyance department today with my otherwise blissful 1996 SL:

  1. The "Jesus handle" above the front-passenger door rattles sporadically. Sometimes, opening the windows stops its silliness, but that's not always an option.

I'm trying to come up with something a bit more elegant than stuffing a tennis ball between the handle and the headliner, such as putting rubber washers inline with the mounting screws, but don't see an easy way to get the small covers off of each end of the handle.

This may be related to the dashboard rattle which occurs even more rarely and only when there's a passenger in the right front seat, and which occasional attempts at fixing over the years have failed to diagnose and correct. Suggestions?

  1. This morning, my left turn signal blinked rapidly from home to work, but normally from work to the auto store. When I checked signals before driving and finding the fix, the left front bulb wasn't lighting, and the back was fine.

While it's nice that "serviceman syndrome" fixed it this time, I'd prefer to figure out the problem once and for all, if it is one and not just a fluke. I've replaced the occasional exterior bulb over the years but I don't think this one. Electrical contact issue perhaps?

Reply to
Fustanella
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sporadically.

stuffing a

  1. A small standard screwdriver should get the covers off. They just pop out. The first thing I would try would be to tighten the screws that are under the covers.
  2. I have seen blown bulbs have the filament weld itself back together if the broken ends touch just right. Not very often, but I've seen it happen a couple of times in the last 30 years. Otherwise, I would look for corrosion in the socket, that the contacts on the bulb are still in good shape (I've seen them get worn enough so that a good contact is no longer made), or that stray, sometimes faulty sometimes OK ground. For the low cost and ease of replacement of the bulb, you could replace it while examining the socket and see if that takes care of it. Not really worth the time or effort to take it apart twice.

Ken

Reply to
Napalm Heart

Thanks, Ken. Will check into those suggestions and get back to you. USEnet rocks.

Reply to
Fustanella

Reply to
Wesley Thiessen

Always go for the easy fixes first!

AMEN!

failing

Reply to
Napalm Heart

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