Headlight switches-has anyone repaired them successfully?

Adriano · Post by **Adriano** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:32 pm

My headlight switch still works, but to get the headlights on, i have to jam the switch crooked, has anyone dissasembled them and repaired?

redzone · Post by **redzone** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:03 am

in a word no, i have repaired them before but the little tab always breaks off again. best to get a set of american switches and use the parts out of them to repair your aussie ones. or change the wiring if needed.

also the reason these things break is the springs are too hard, if we could find a softer spring the right size then they wouldnt break.

either that or cnc up some new buttons....

Website · Post by **WidebodyWoody** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 10:49 am

I have done it. I replaced it with another button I picked up from another broken set. It is a little fiddly, and yes, if you try and glue the tabs back on they will break again. I am very careful with my switches whenever I use them but it has been successful for about 3 years or more now.

One of these days I might make a replacement set of switches with the same connectors just so I never have to worry again :beer

Adriano · Post by **Adriano** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:04 pm

Whats the advantage of the american ones?

redzone · Post by **redzone** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:17 pm

usually less use and better climate for plastic..

MrBishi · Post by **MrBishi** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:56 pm

Normally the 'stalk' below the flat button breaks. I have successfully remade one out of aluminium with hand tools (damn painstaking) and glued it back onto the button. Not overly hard, but time consuming.

No fix for the clouded and crazed clear sections though.

Post by **Alspos** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:04 am

Same here, tab on the bottom let go and lights stayed on.

Dissected the switch, made a small aluminium tab then glued and screwed it back into place.

Station · Post by **Station** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:38 am

Never seen a broken one over here either (UK). One advantage to having shitty weather 6 months of the year! :)

MrBishi · Post by **MrBishi** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 8:08 am

Found pics of my successful repair I did a few years ago.

On the JB the button came off when I tried to turn off the lights. Lucky window was closed because the sping made it go flying!

Pull it apart.
Here you can see the broken 'hook' beside an unbroken button.
Unfortunately the buttons are different so you can't swap them around (like from a seldom used button on the left side cluster)

Here you can see the alloy 'stalk' that I made next to an unbroken button.
I made this with hand files and a hacksaw - nothing anyone doesn't have in the garage and no special skills required.

Further shaping and also trimmed the plastic button in preparation for gluing together.

Glued together

Finished - time for reassembly. A few hours fiddly work, but far better than trying to glue broken plastic together.

Hope this helps.

redzone · Post by **redzone** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:14 am

if we could find a supplier for softer springs, breaking these would become a thing of the past (after you disassemble and reassemble with the new ones that is)

bloody good help there anthony

JDSTAZ45 · Post by **JDSTAZ45** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:49 pm

MrBishi wrote: No fix for the clouded and crazed clear sections though.

I've repaired the cloudy sections by getting HCCA (Sam) to reproduce those small sections, the same way he does the instrument cluster.

Very fiddly though! You need to be careful how you pull it apart, and reglue it!

Austarion

Headlight switches-has anyone repaired them successfully?

Headlight switches-has anyone repaired them successfully?

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