----- Original Message ----- From: "Walter" <Whalt@xxxx> To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 8:01 PM Subject: [DML] Headlight switch fixes (was A frightning experience(Part 1)) > A bit of headlight switch etiquette I've learned from Rob at PJ Grady: When > pressing the button, don't stab it with one finger in the center. This will > wear away the little headlight switch symbol, and it will look even worse > while the backlight is on. Instead use two fingers to press the switch on > either side to give a balanced force so it doesn't tend to jam. The same > goes for the hazard switch. > > Some helpful hints when servicing light switches: > > Mount it in the dash so that the white tab faces the passenger side of the > car. The effects of gravity will help the mechanism to latch/unlatch > properly instead of working against it. > > If the spade lug sockets are too tight or misaligned in the plastic holder, > they will push the lugs into the light switch body. This doesn't damage the > switch, but is still something to consider. > > The switch can be replaced without removing the center console. Remove the > backlit plastic panel and pull the switch out using an IC extractor tool. > The wires are long enough to reach through the hole to do anything you need. > But first disconnect the battery! > > > My original headlight switch socket had a poor electrical connection. > Vibrations caused blinking lights and a potential fire hazard, and there was > nothing I could do to get the socket to seat better. I tried removing the > wires one at a time to clean and tighten each spade lug socket as you would > do with a relay socket, but I had no luck doing this without destroying the > metal. I tried picks, drill bits, paper clips, etc. Each spade lug socket > came out destroyed. I tried in vane to find replacements locally, but > nothing would fit the plastic socket properly. So I ended up not re-using > the original plastic and instead used individual ones which I crimped then > soldered and covered with heat shrink. I labeled each wire with > electrician's numbered tape bought at Home Depot and scratched corresponding > numbers on the plastic light switch body. I originally stuck the number > tape on the switch body as well, but there wasn't enough clearance to put > the switch back in the dash without the sheet metal scratching the numbers > off. > > Sure, this is not an 'original' looking repair and perhaps it lowers the > value of the car, but I know the connector is not going to catch fire. I > may have been able to purchase OEM replacements from a Delorean vendor, but > I prefer to see that each connector is seated individually even though there > is now a higher risk of confusing the wires should it ever be disassembled > again. > > > On the subject of headlight switches, I would like to publicly apologize to > the vendors involved for saying that I was sold a used DMC headlight switch > as new. My mistake. The headlight switch was actually new, it just sat on > the shelf for so many years that it accumulated a lot of dust. Someone > wiped the dust off but left a residue under the switch cap and lip which > made it appear to have been installed in a dash at one time where air > circulating around it would deposit the characteristic dust print which I > thought I saw. > > I bought my NOS headlight switch from DMC Joe who dropped shipped it through > PJ Grady who got it through DMC Houston (I think.) It's nice to see such > co-operation among so many people. Anyway, once I had a new headlight > switch in hand, I decided to do an autopsy on my old switch. I disassembled > it and found NOTHING wrong with it. I expected to see a broken mechanism or > burned contacts, but everything looked new. > > The problem was that the switch wasn't latching most of the time. It uses > something like a wide staple looking wire which finds its way through a maze > as you press the button. On mine, it just didn't want to catch even though > the parts inside had no wear. It seems that it was a stroke of luck which > way the wire moved every time I pressed the button. I think it is just a > bad design from the start. Anyway, the only rhyme or reason I could come up > with for the problem was that the movement of the wire may be adversely > affected by gravity. If the switch is mounted in the dash 'upside down' > then gravity will tend to make the wire feed through the maze the wrong way > causing the switch not to latch. > > Sorry to be so long winded, but I'm sure some of you will benefit from my > experiences. > > Hey Mr. Flames, > > Glad to hear that it didn't get any worse than it did. I hear that the > white powder is very hard to clean up. People say that the longer it stays > on, the harder it is to get off. When my headlight switch went flaky, I > jumpered it out at the relay until I got a new one installed. > > Walt Tampa, FL > > > > Before posting messages or replies, see the posting policy rules at: > www.dmcnews.com/Admin/rules.html > > To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: > moderator@xxxx >