[ray_mcavoy]

Hi Rick,

Those tests I posted in that other thread were aimed primarily at finding an open circuit that was preventing the turn signal from operating. You could do a similar continuity check between the light blue "front left turn" & yellow "rear left turn/brake" wires on the switch and the steering column jacket (ground) to check for a pinched / chafed wire that is shorting to ground. But since it's still blowing the fuse when using the jumper wires (which takes the turn signal switch & column wiring out of the circuit), I think you're correct in figuring that the problem is outside of the switch.

It's been a while since I've had one apart, but I do seem to recall there being a plastic sleeve around the turn signal wires where they pass under that retainer piece on the column. It doesn't sound like you currently have a problem at that location but it might be something to consider for future protection ... especially if it looks like that retainer is leaving indentations in the wires.

I assume you're not having any problems with the brake lights blowing the fuse, correct? That would rule out a problem with the yellow wire that runs to the left rear turn signal (and is shared with the brake light). So you can concentrate on searching for the problem in the left front turn signal circuit.

The light blue wire for the left front turn signal usually has 2 branches. One that runs out to the front of the truck and another that goes to the indicator on the dash. So if you haven't done so already, you might want to try temporarily unplugging the instrument cluster connector to see if the short is possibly in the cluster indicator portion of the circuit.