Ok so I seem to have some electrical gremlin(s) in my 120y. Seemed to start after I drove my car through a a fair bit of water. Shallow, but it was for quite a way with a lot of splashing around.

Straight afterwards I noticed that the right hand indicator no longer flashed but stays on. Didn't think much of it at the time. However next time I drove the car I could smell a burning insulation smell. Driving the car home and I think I saw a waft of smoke coming up by the steering column. Pulled over, waited, turned everything off I could (headlights, fan, radio) then nipped home (about 1km). Smell didn't seem to return. Haven't used the car since then.

Everything seems to work except the right indicator. I have the car running now idling for 20 mins (no lights, fan indicators radio etc on) and can't detect anything like a burning smell.

So how to troubleshoot this? I am moderately handy with a multimeter, but have dealt with few electrical issues on the car. Going to start by removing the clamshell / steering column plastic and look for toasty bits. Also check continuity on suspect circuits. I am suspecting something to do with the indicator or lights.

What did you find under the column cover?

Reminds me of when smoke came out of the steering column on my 1200 ... it turned out to be the turn signal switch was loose. It has two bolts that tighten it to the column, and after I tightened them no lasting harm

1200 switch, 120Y is nearly the same

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  19662 B110 turn signal & high beam switch.jpg (96.56 KB)

Here is the 120Y indicator/high-beam switch. There are slight differences from the 1200 switch, it has the same 4-pin large connector but it has a 2nd square wire connector instead of the three individual wires, looks very close in any case it fastens to the column same way with two bolts that need to be tight

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  6722W B210U turn signal & high beam switch.jpg (118.96 KB)


  6717W 4-pin, no cover over switch.jpg (145.62 KB)


  6722W Niles 4-pin connector.jpg (40.17 KB)


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I managed to fix the indicators by replacing the front right indicator/parker lamp assembly, which was badly corroded.

But I also found that the headlamp fuse is running very hot, and had a 20A fuse instead of 15A. I did not find anything burnt under the column cover but I'll take another look at the turn signal switch.

I'll also take a good look at the fusebox and clean the terminals and check resistance on the headlight circuit.

sounds good. keep that vintage car going with a little TLC

Fuse Box Cleaning