Why they go bad....
Yes, this is a common problem with Ford signal stalks. It happens on a lot of Ford models.
The reason they go bad is a poor contact issue. The supplier who builds the units does not put enough electrical grease on the contacts when the units are assembled. Ford routes major current through the switches, your headlights are often wired through this switch!! That's a lot of current. Not having enough elec. grease causes the little grease that exists to dry due to heat generated and the resulting arcing of contacts causes oxide to build on the contact surfaces. It snowballs from there...
However, it can be prevented and in some cases even fixed if caught early enough. The assembly must be carefully taken apart and electrical grease added in the right areas. ONLY USE ELECTRICAL CONTACT GREASE, other greases will not work! Sanding might be required if contact burns are present. Only disassemble yours if you have decent mechanical aptitude. There are small springs and bearings that will pop out when you take it apart.
My brother and I were driving over a mountain pass at night while it was snowing when his lights shut off! He had been complaining that turn signals weren’t working very well for a few weeks. We had to pull over and luckily had the tools to repair it on the spot. We would have been stuck if we didn't disassemble it and repair it. He bought a newer revised version after we fixed the existing unit to make sure the problem wouldn't come back.
Anyway, hope this sheds some light on the problem. Preventative maintenance is a must on these units if you don't want to replace them down the road. There are revised units that you can buy usually. These might have been designed and built correctly.
