i know theres been some talk about this but has anything come to light?what are you guys doing when these burn out?can the switch be taken apart and fixed without destroying it?
Take the clips off the switch body and dis-assemble it. Clean all the contacts and put back together. Put a bit of silicone grease on the moving parts. If the spring is broken you'll need to source a new spring. Or, buy Fred's switch.
Can a rear defroster switch be converted into a convertible top switch? I have never taken one apart.
Make me an offer I can't refuse. It came out of a car that I believe the top mechanism worked. https://v8buick.com/index.php?threads/70-72-convertible-top-switch-bezel-pigtail.387749/
...surprised these switches have lasted, given the amount of current going thru them. Can't remember who on board had schematic for using relays...
Regarding these switches. I suppose they should readily snap back to the middle position after being pushed? Just checking so it is not a stock feature that mine latches, would be weird if it were but...
...yes they should. Possibly heat from all that current flowing thru them annealed the spring, or PO liked to put top up/down a lot...
yeah that would be me I also looked at converting rear defrost switches to work with the top, the pins are different of course not a big deal (swap the matching plastic connector over onto harness) but the defrost switches are spring loaded to stay in position selected unlike the top which snaps back to center. No doubt a guy could make it work with enough playing around. I did have them all apart at one time but hey that was 20 years ago and I can't remember exactly what i found but ti was doable...LOL What I can't believe is GM ran a 40 amp rated system through contacts the size of a pin....LOL....and as things get old and current draw goes up you are just looking for trouble. Plenty have melted, pretty sure there have been a few fires as well if i recall correctly. Anyway, I did come up with a relay system that I put in my car, best part is it simply plugs into the factory stuff, no hacking of the wiring needed. I put the relays behind the rear seat. This works fine, but if you do need to get to them pulling the seat is a pain (never had to yet). Much cleaner than under the dash. I used some cheap relays from the auto wreckers, I have had no issues with this system in 20 years now. The top gets run every time I go out so its been used a lot. I think most of these cars had power run to the front seat area, you could tap into that like i did, or just use a splitter off the fusebox. If there was more interest I'd provide pics and details, or maybe if I get another convertible I might update the page/diagram when I do it again. Diagram is on the page linked here, please remember that was a long time ago the page looks pretty pathetic hasn't been updated in almost 20 years ...LOL Any feedback welcome. http://fixjet.ca/elec.html
...thanks Tim, I knew I remembered your thread, just couldn't remember who posted it. Age strikes again...
