Pontiac Repair: Turn signal & hazard switch assy, oldsmobile cutlass supreme, olds cutlass supreme

Question
Dear Todd,
You have helped me in the past with various problems and always very satisfactorily.
Although you are named as an expert for Pontiac cars and mine is a 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupe, I assume that, as with previous problems,  this one will be similar to the Pontiac Grand Prix of that period.
My car (Olds Cutlass Supreme coupe 1989) has run  98000 miles and I experience the following problem with the Turn signal & hazard switch assy; this switch assy was replaced when the car had run 65000 miles, i.e now has been in operation for approx. 33000 miles :
The multifunction turn signal lever is composed of 2 parts. The left part (on the end of this lever) is the switch which controls the windshield wipers and also the cruise control contact; the other part (on the right, nearest to the steering column) only controls the windshield washer system (if it is rotated towards the front of the car).
Depending upon the position of this other (right) part of the lever, I experience the following problems:
If this other part is in a position slightly rotated to the rear end of the car, my rear right side turn signal light will not blink when the lever is tilted to give that signal.
If however this part of the lever is rotated slightly to the front of the car (but only
so far that the washer system is not yet activated) my right turn signal will blink upon request, but my right  Brake light will not come on and neither will the rear right hazard lights.
The left turn signal light  and the left brake light will always function normally.
I have tried to spray contact spray into the switch assy but without any success.
Does this mean that the total assy should be replaced, or is it only the lever malfunctioning?
Your help will be appreciated!
(Pls note that my e-mail address is .nl not .com)

Henk Niekoop – Eindhoven – The Netherlands (Holland)

Answer
hi Henk:

Sounds just like it's the switches. the contacts just wear out in them and there is nothing you can do to fix them. So I would venture to say you need both. Without seeing it I can't tell you for sure that it needs both but from what you described to me it sounds like both have gone bad the car is 23 years old so I would venture to say that they are both bad.
Good luck :-}