What is this on bottom of steering?

[farmboy]

Can someone tell me what this is?

[Kurt in NJ]

headlight/tailight switch ---keep it, most original are much better than repros

[JSeery]

As Kurt says, light control switch, with the wiring cut and frayed!

[Bruce Lancaster]

The inner contact plate is part of the wiring harness...keep the original one and transplant the new wires from the replacement harness onto the old plate. The repros do not work well.

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lancaster

The inner contact plate is part of the wiring harness...keep the original one and transplant the new wires from the replacement harness onto the old plate. The repros do not work well.

OK, so I'm beating the poor dead horse, but don't the vendors know that the repro switches are shoddy? How long have these poor repros been on the market?

[Bruce Lancaster]

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They are nicely covered by the general assumption that antique lights are no good... few people fix and tune stuff to actually get it right, and MANY assume that a dim flicker is what is to be expected. Yep,, all them old cars had no lights, no brakes, wild shimmy, and leaks everywhere...we all know that!
One of my friends recently drove his Model A to a club meeting that ended after dark. Original lights, but with chrome reflectors (not only bad material, but apparently not parabolic!) and those nice repro sockets. He asked me to drive to his house while he followed, since his lights were downright dangerous. I watched two dim, yellowish spots behind me, one of them flickering slightly, all the way to his house. As I waved him off, he JUST missed his own mailbox...

[AnthonyG]

Guess I was one of the lucky ones. I installed a new harness with switch plate and a new switch cover ( purchased 4 years ago from Mac's ) during the build on my '35 and while it was a bit tricky installing and needed a little tweaking ( some filing to sharpen up the locating mechanism on the cover body which positions it as it is formed not machined ), it has never given me any issues since installing and looks great too.

[Flowmeister]

I don't like that the reproduction used spade connectors at the plate

[JSeery]

The internals looks similar to these:

[Mike in AZ]

and horn wire in the middle....Mike

[bbook]

Try to find an original spider for the end of the horn wire tube (shown in JSeery's first two photos). It is a very simple part, but the repro ones break easily. You'll have fun putting on the keeper clip below it.

[Jack E/NJ]

One of the last places any competent auto designer would locate a horn & lights switch.

Jack E/NJ

[moefuzz]

Originally Posted by Jack E/NJ

One of the last places any competent auto designer would locate a horn & lights switch.

Jack E/NJ

Really?

Every last one of my 70+ year old Fords have had factory working light switches and horns and I will guarantee you that I have owned far more old Fords than you will ever own new vehicles.

.

[koates]

Originally Posted by Jack E/NJ

One of the last places any competent auto designer would locate a horn & lights switch.

Jack E/NJ

REALLY AGAIN !!!! What a load of codswallop. Those Ford headlight switches were really well made with big large contacts and a direct power supply from the main fuse. Very little voltage drop and therefore never a headlight relay required. Very convenient to operate switch in the centre of steering wheel. Ive worked on car electrics for nearly 55 years and I think that is a great design which gives little trouble unless some one works on it and messes something up like bending the horn rod or allowing steering box leaks to go unrepaired. Regards, Kevin.

[Jack E/NJ]

Agreed. But still one of the last places any competent auto designer would locate a switch, even really well made switch. 8^)

Jack E/NJ

[koates]

Well Jack, all I can say to your opinion is that there must have been many INCOMPETENT auto designers around in the 1920s and 1930s because there were many car makes and models of vehicles which had a light switch at the bottom of the steering column. The Ford type switch was about the neatest and most compact of them all. It worked well for a long time and was easy to remove for cleaning or servicing as required. I like them and don't see what your problem with the design is. I guess though they can get a little dirty and messy down there after 80 plus years of service and neglect. Regards, Kevin.

[FlatheadTed]

The switch Henry used is very well thought out ,it has the following pluses ,
(1) easily assessable for maintenance
(2) shorter wires eliminating the need for a relay
(3) The horn mechanism located in the steering wheel ,the rod doubles as the light switch .and simplifies a otherwise difficult place to place a wire .
(4) no foot dip switch needed ,(cost saving ).
(5) larger hand lever allows for bigger contacts .(reliability ).Ted

[Jack E/NJ]

FlatheadTed>>>(1) easily assessable for maintenance>>>

I disagree

>>>(4) no foot dip switch needed>>>

I disagree again if you're talking about a hi/lo beam dip switch.

The location of the switch at the bottom of the steering column does not work well for long in the wintertime in a place like Rochester, NY.

Jack E/NJ

[FlatheadTed]

Well if you compare it to a Cheby that I worked on recently ,You need to be Houdini, Legs over the back of the seat head suspended somewhere near the gear shift trying to reattach a wire to the HL switch .were as a Ford you can have that switch of in 30 sec. Henry came from a cold place so they must have worked .Ted

[TonyM]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lancaster

The inner contact plate is part of the wiring harness...keep the original one and transplant the new wires from the replacement harness onto the old plate. The repros do not work well.

I did this and the original plate was bad. Had to go back to square one and use the new repro. After that the lights worked.