thehackmechanic
Well-Known Member
The defroster switch in my CSi hadn't worked in years, stuck in the popped-out position. This is a common problem with both the defroster switch and the hazard switch. Realoem lists the switch as part number 61311353590. GetBMWParts.com shows it as available, $83.58 list, online price of $66.86. So at least it's available. But I wanted to see if I could fix it myself.
There's quite a bit on bmw2002faq.com about fixing the hazard switch, including a link to this web site showing pictorially how to fix it. The the action and repair of the defroster switch is similar.
http://www.zeebuck.com/bimmers/tech/hazardswitchfix/hazardswitchfix.html
First, you need to pull the thing apart. You can unscrew the orange cover first, or not; it doesn't matter. The case has a top half and a bottom half, with what look like press-in tabs on the side. Only, when you try to press them in, you can't; they don't budge. You need to take a small screwdriver and pry up on the seam BEHIND the barbs to let the barbs slide out. It's not easy. I wound up doing quite a number on the plastic, as you can see from the pics. If you break the plastic behind ALL of the barbs, you WILL get it apart, but then it won't stay together. Hopefully you only break one or two before you get a feel for how soft or brittle your piece is. It's only once you get it apart that you see that the barbs are on pieces of plastic that are very thick. That is, they're barbs but not tabs. No wonder you can't push them in.
The switch separates into three major parts -- the bottom with the electrical tabs, the top with the hole for the button, and the inside piece that has a spring behind it (not shown).
You'll see that the inside piece has ridges that run in grooves in the bottom, and three electrical connections, two of which are closer together and one that's further from the other two. It seems easiest to pull it out by sliding the two connections that are closest to each other out at the same time and tipping it back so the lone connection comes out by itself.
When the inside piece is out, you can see that the bottom has a metal tab with a small pin at the top. The pin runs on a little racetrack in the inside piece.
The DIYs on bmw2002faq.com and the zeebuck link above show taking a pair of needle-nosed pliers and bending the metal tab inward so the pin makes better contact with the racetrack. The pic below isn't great; the pics in the zeebuck link are much better. You want to hold the piece in one hand while you hold the needlenose in the other hand and gently -- GENTLY -- try to bend it forward.
Try it, then put the spring and the inside piece back in (lone electrical connection first, then the other two simultaneously), observe the action, and see if it bites. If it does, snap the top on and see if it works. If it does, you're done; if not, pull it back open and bend the tab a little more.
When you're done, press down on the plastic you pulled up, then take a small file and smooth any rough edges. Remember that you need to get the threaded lock ring over that part of the case.
In my case, the racetrack itself was all gunked up with plastic that had gotten shaved off and mashed into place. You can see in one of the pics above where I tried to clean it. In the end, this didn't work, and I took another switch I had, that also didn't work, took it apart, and used the best parts from both of them to make one working one.
Start to finish, it probably took an hour, and most of that was figuring out how to get the damned thing apart.
But it's done, and it's working. Most satisfying.
--Rob
There's quite a bit on bmw2002faq.com about fixing the hazard switch, including a link to this web site showing pictorially how to fix it. The the action and repair of the defroster switch is similar.
http://www.zeebuck.com/bimmers/tech/hazardswitchfix/hazardswitchfix.html
First, you need to pull the thing apart. You can unscrew the orange cover first, or not; it doesn't matter. The case has a top half and a bottom half, with what look like press-in tabs on the side. Only, when you try to press them in, you can't; they don't budge. You need to take a small screwdriver and pry up on the seam BEHIND the barbs to let the barbs slide out. It's not easy. I wound up doing quite a number on the plastic, as you can see from the pics. If you break the plastic behind ALL of the barbs, you WILL get it apart, but then it won't stay together. Hopefully you only break one or two before you get a feel for how soft or brittle your piece is. It's only once you get it apart that you see that the barbs are on pieces of plastic that are very thick. That is, they're barbs but not tabs. No wonder you can't push them in.
The switch separates into three major parts -- the bottom with the electrical tabs, the top with the hole for the button, and the inside piece that has a spring behind it (not shown).
You'll see that the inside piece has ridges that run in grooves in the bottom, and three electrical connections, two of which are closer together and one that's further from the other two. It seems easiest to pull it out by sliding the two connections that are closest to each other out at the same time and tipping it back so the lone connection comes out by itself.
When the inside piece is out, you can see that the bottom has a metal tab with a small pin at the top. The pin runs on a little racetrack in the inside piece.
The DIYs on bmw2002faq.com and the zeebuck link above show taking a pair of needle-nosed pliers and bending the metal tab inward so the pin makes better contact with the racetrack. The pic below isn't great; the pics in the zeebuck link are much better. You want to hold the piece in one hand while you hold the needlenose in the other hand and gently -- GENTLY -- try to bend it forward.
Try it, then put the spring and the inside piece back in (lone electrical connection first, then the other two simultaneously), observe the action, and see if it bites. If it does, snap the top on and see if it works. If it does, you're done; if not, pull it back open and bend the tab a little more.
When you're done, press down on the plastic you pulled up, then take a small file and smooth any rough edges. Remember that you need to get the threaded lock ring over that part of the case.
In my case, the racetrack itself was all gunked up with plastic that had gotten shaved off and mashed into place. You can see in one of the pics above where I tried to clean it. In the end, this didn't work, and I took another switch I had, that also didn't work, took it apart, and used the best parts from both of them to make one working one.
Start to finish, it probably took an hour, and most of that was figuring out how to get the damned thing apart.
But it's done, and it's working. Most satisfying.
--Rob
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