turn signal switch problem

When I push the switch signal down, turning left, sometimes it doesn't flash on the dashboard, just clicks fast. What's failing is power to the "front" left turn signal light. The rear left blinks but not the front left. The bulb looks good, works about half the time though. I can fiddle around with pushing the turn signal switch to go left, that will get the right front blinker going. The initial switch down works about half the time. It's not a big deal but it gets annoying to have to mess with it half the time. Is it probably the switch itself? I see they aren't that expensive. btw I've taken it out and cleaned the contacts, sprayed with Deoxit, no change.
I found a cleaning vid, I'm going to try what they did in the morning.

 

The problem is not in the switch if the rear light is blinking. The problem lies with the front turn signal bulb or related wiring/socket.

When both the front and rear turn signal bulbs are functioning properly the electrical load on the circuit will cause the flasher to operate at the correct rate. When you remove one of those bulbs from the circuit, like when one bulb burns out, the load is reduced and the flash rate changes.

The first place I would look is the front bulb and socket. Replace the bulb even if it LOOKS good and go from there. If that doesn't work, obtain a replacement socket for that bulb and replace the socket. That repair should be accomplished with solder and shrink tubing so that the repair is durable.

 

Problem solved! Since I checked the lights alone, one of the blinkers must of started working or stopped working as I walked to the other end of the truck. It turned out to be the turn signal switch after all. I cleaned the worn out contact, solder flux, got it hot, tiny bit of electrical solder, a slight grind down and works great now. I think it took about 20 minutes. I know, seems like the solder would pop off but I tried and it's stuck on really strong. It was a very simple fix.

 

Resurrecting this to say, I fixed mine this way too! Thank you. My signal would sometimes not engage when turning right. It wasn't the bulbs or flasher but the switch. At first I replaced the switch with one from oreillys but that one is so stiff I didn't like it. I saved the OEM one to fiddle with, and found the internals of my switch looked just like yours with the middle terminal worn down . I soldered on a glob of solder which didn't turn out nearly as pretty as yours, but I popped it in and it works! I think o'Reilly's gets like 80 bucks for one of these switches so this was worth the effort for me. $5 at harbor freight for a soldering iron and solder. 30 minutes at the kitchen table.

 

Just did this fix on my 98!Used a Weller soldering gun and some fine rosin core solder and now turn signals work like new. I don’t think it’ll last as long as a new switch with copper contacts but it’ll probably last quite a while. Thanks for posting the fix.

Hardest part of the job was removing the steering wheel trim. Turned the wheel 90 degrees right then left to uncover the two hidden screws. Pulled the visible screw underneath, then everything pulls apart. Ez.