switches can be rebuilt :-)

Peter Coomaraswamy

Peter Coomaraswamy

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Just thought I would post a note regarding the direction/high-lo beam switch that looks like it was never meant to come apart-

Well, they probably were not meant to come apart but I was faced with a problem in that when I used the direction switch it would short "something" and blow #1&2 fuses, thus leaving me with no tail lights and a depleting supply of white fuses. I sourced a switch at the nominal fee of $400.00 and that was just too rich for my blood so I used a drill press to remove the rivets (really expanded posts) that hold the switch together. After a thorough cleaning and a dab of grease on the plastic mechanisms I put it back together and it actually works flawlessly. Now, I mention this not to prove my prowess with electrical pieces-since it's a miracle that I can accomplish anything with automotive electronics, but I have noticed that on lots of these cars the switches get sticky and may not short things out but they can become annoying so my note is that if you take a little time these things are pretty sturdy and can be rebuilt so don't be afraid :-)

And all this from a guy who has trouble getting his toaster to work!
 
+1

These can also be cleaned/rebuilt for another life depending on the problem:

headlight switch on the dash
wiper motor
a/c fan switch/rheostat
window switchs (some can get these apart without destruction, I can't so I bought new ones for $25)
hazard switches
 
I have found there are many things (electrical and otherwise) on these cars that can be repaired instead of replaced. Not like car of today that require replacement of anything that goes bad.
 
Steve, can you share your source for window switches? I may have...uh...a sudden need for one.

Stevehose said:
+1

These can also be cleaned/rebuilt for another life depending on the problem:

headlight switch on the dash
wiper motor
a/c fan switch/rheostat
window switchs (some can get these apart without destruction, I can't so I bought new ones for $25)
hazard switches
Click to expand...
 
Peter Coomaraswamy said:
I was faced with a problem in that when I used the direction switch it would short "something" and blow #1&2 fuses, thus leaving me with no tail lights and a depleting supply of white fuses.
Click to expand...

I know you wrote that the fuses would blow when you used the direction signals - not the H/L beam function. But, I wonder if this switch failed because it was handling too much current when switching the low beams? While there is a relay in the high beam circuit, the factory did not install a relay for the low beams.

Adding a relay is pretty simple - the nice people in Munich even provided a notch in that sheet metal bracket behind the battery for a third relay socket. If the current for the low beam is switched by a relay, the high/low switch only has to carry the few milliamps necessary to cycle the relay, so the switch should last a lot longer.
 
Hi Jay,

I should probably preface every electrical post or reply with "I am an electrical nincompoop" but on my stalk (1974) the left stalk handles the direction signals and the hi/low beams. Things were clacking around in that switch, sometimes very sticky and sometimes quite lose and floppy so not sure which functions were causing the fuse issues but with cleaning, re-greasing and a quick prayer it all seems to be working really well. I am not sure I understand about the relay though; I think the blinkers have a relay and are you saying that the high or low beams do not? and that if not one can be added to the empty spot in the engine compartment?.

Thanks-
 
Peter Coomaraswamy said:
are you saying that the high or low beams do not? and that if not one can be added to the empty spot in the engine compartment?
Click to expand...

On my 1970 2800, the high beam circuit has a relay, but the low beam circuit does not. Perhaps the 1974 is different.

A relay can be added anywhere, but using that empty slot behind the battery just looks "right".

OTOH, if you really are an "electrical nincompoop" maybe you shouldn't mess with adding relays. If your switch worked OK for 40 years, the repairs you made might last another 20.
 
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