how to disassemble the light switch

[mcoomey]

I'm troubleshooting a problem with my '30 Coupe whereby the low beams suddenly stopped working. When I took apart the light switch to investigate I noticed what I think was a loose horseshoe clip or at least part of it that slipped into the mechanism before I could snag it. It now rattles in the cup behind the black plastic insulator that holds all the wires. My question is how do I remove that insulator from the cup? Is it just pressed into place? I tried tugging on the wires, but didn't want to exert too much force without knowing if there was more to it.

[J Franklin]

It just pushes in or out. maybe tap on the metal housing gently to dislodge it.

[mcoomey]

Success! Thanks, J Franklin. As you said, it just pushes out. I was afraid of breaking something and then having to replace the entire harness.

As suspected, the horseshoe clip had come loose -- probably not installed correctly on the last go around. It looks like it also shorted out as evidenced by the blackened area pointed at in the photo.

Now I just have to figure out how to get the clip installed correctly. For anyone interested, I found a good YouTube video that should help.

Thanks again!

[J Franklin]

What is that clip for?

[mcoomey]

It holds the so-called "spider" in place on the rod that attaches to the light switch lever on the steering column. You compress the spring above the spider and then slip the clip around a slot in the rod.

A picture (or in this case a video) is worth a thousand words. Check out the referenced YouTube video in my previous reply starting at about the 5 minute mark.

[J Franklin]

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I know about that clip but thought it was for something different since it was inside the switch. Needle nose pliers and finger/hand muscles are all you should need to reinstall the clip. the spring should keep it from falling out if it is seated properly.

[Bruce of MN]

Inspecting it with a mirror to make sure it is evenly seated in its groove should always be done.

[nkaminar]

Bind up the spring with heavy twine and it will be easier to get the clip back in. You can compress the spring with a vice to add the twine.

[mcoomey]

Progress update: I managed to get the clip replaced and seated properly, (Thanks Bruce and nkaminar for your advice) but unfortunately after reassembly the low beams still did not work.

My next step was to try to figure out how the switch actually worked. You may laugh, but I ended up printing out a blown-up portion of the wiring diagram and made a circular rotor out of paper to simulate the connections made by the three brass bumps on the actual rotor. It really made me appreciate the ingenuity of the designers, that they were able to create a mechanical version of what now would be an electronic logic circuit.

Anyway, after figuring out what connections were supposed to be made by rotating my cutout, I found that one of the brass bumps was not making contact. This was the bump that was damaged by the apparent short caused by the displaced horseshoe clip. As a temporary fix I bent the bump up a bit and the light switch now works properly in all positions. I'm going to see if I can replace just the half of the switch with the rotor so I don't have to replace the whole harness or try to resolder all the other connections.

[nkaminar]

Good work. You should be proud of it. Your fix to the brass contacts should be good to go for the long term. Use some electrical grease to minimize corrosion and wear.

The modern insulated disks that has all the contacts for the wires are thermoplastic that softens when it gets warm from the current flow. Your best bet is to try and find an original that was a material that did not soften. Crimp connectors, when made properly with a ratching type crimper, are reliable and don't have the problem with solder wicking. So I would recommend that if you are replacing the insulated disk.