Don't Pull Apart Switches!!!!!

I made that mistake last night....

The other day on the way home from work my directionals quit working. Everything seemed to be working mechanically in the column so I figured it had to be electrical. I remove the switch from the steering column and it slides back and forth fairly easily. Ok, must be a contact problem so I decide to pull the switch apart (Bingo, there's the mistake). When I do there's springs, plates, and ball bearings that go flying all over the garage. Well, I manage to find all the parts and get it cleaned up and put back together. Reinstall it and nothing... After a little fiddling around I discover there's nothing to mechanically connect the directional lever on the column to this switch. Hmmm.... it's got to be in here somewhere. I can't find it so I make one out of a cotter pin and now I only have left directionals. I quit last night.... Woke up early this morning cause I'm fristrated that I don't have directionals. Go out to the garage and low and behold the correct clip managed to jump over the shift selector switch on the column and lay right there on top. Install the clip and YAY :bounce: I have directionals!!!!

So next time you decide to pull a switch apart do it in a sealed, padded room and do it slowly with a video camera recording so you can review how it exploded and you know how to put it back together.

Starchief59:
Sounds like a similar experience I had with my headlight switch. It seemed to be stuck so I pulled it out to see whats the matter. Nothing was obvious from the exterior so I decided to take it apart, after all, its "just a switch". Wrong ! Springs and innards went everywhere!
Fortunately I was able to find all the parts. I cleaned everything up and even thought to get some electrical grease (I guess that's what its called) from a friend at an electrical supply store. Little did I know that efforts thus far represented only about 25% of the task. I lost count of how many times reassembly was attempted. I even got to the point of contemplating purchase of a NOS switch but the only one I found was over $250 on eBay. Nothing prompts one to try harder like that kind of pricing. So I pumped up my resolve...I wasn't going to let that little 'ol switch beat me. Besides, it hurt my pride to think that spending $250+ was the only alternative available. Another five or six tries & I finally succeeded ! Checked it out and it works perfectly. Some how I just can't shake the feeling that it was dumb luck.

Hey, if at first you don't succeed, try try again. If at second you dont succeed, try try again....

By default you eventually have to get it right.

Like Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Yeah, but Edison didn't have shit on Tesla!

My dash lights went out one night on my Electra. A guy I know told me that it happens all the time in old cars "take it apart clean the contacts no big deal." I guess good thing I never took it apart.

[b]Hi i'm new to the site and just read the responses to the electrical nightmares. I'm glad I'm not alone. I have has both the headlight switch explode on me and a proplem with the directional clip. I fixed the headlight switch, but I do not have the "clip" for the directionals. cotter pin doesn't work. any idea wher i can get on e of these pins and what it is called?

It is a cotter pin, but much stronger. I did the same thing. Pulled it off and BOING it shot out. Put in a cotter pin and it bent. Looked everywhere for that damn pin and ended up finding it on top of the steering column of all places.

So you know, there is a spring that goes on before the clip too. If you don't have it the directionals don't shut off very well.

Not sure the technical name of it. Try junk yards. I believe a '60 poncho has the same switch since it is the same dash primarily.

Did you ever get a new directional switch?

Ya, found one on ebay. Got it for $10.

Nice! Does anything interchange with the P59s?

1960.

Dashes were primarily the same other than gauges both years. Otherwise that's pretty much it. The guy had it labeled as a 1960 Pontiac Brake Switch. I knew it was wrong cause the brake switch looks completely different. No other bids on this one cause it was mis-labeled.

Nice, I'll have to keep my eyes open.

I'm a little confused..Okay a lot confused. I have dealt with Cadillac headlight switches before, but not the Pontiac version. I, too have a problem with the switch. It seems the connection plug is burnt slightly in the contact side. After tracking down why I don't have lights in the back of the car, I found that the Dk. Green wire supplies power to the fuse block for the running lights (light blue wire). I fixed the running light problem ( it was stupid, the ground lugs that touch the bulb socket were bent outward). Anyway, The light switch gets warm and will function only if it is bumped around. The turn signals will work intermittently and then not work at all, then mysteriously work again. I replaced the flasher, no go, they still act "funny". I don't mind 12VDC electrical work, but hunting down gremlins drives me out of my tree! Any suggestions? I'm open to any or all.......I need to drive the car in the 4th of July parade and for some odd reason, they do a tech spec.! Otherwise the car is coming along nicely.

59 Blue Bomber wrote:

The turn signals will work intermittently and then not work at all, then mysteriously work again. I replaced the flasher, no go, they still act "funny."

The turn signals in my wagon acted same way until I replaced the turn signal switch. They're a bitch to find, and when one pops up, they usually go for huge $$.

I still have my old switch and I'm temped to see if I can take it apart and clean/file the contacts without destroying the outer plastic casing.

Safaricat- You gave me an idea, so I took the switch apart very carefully. I actually took it apart inside one of those large clear plastic storage containers, just in case. I cleaned all the contacts and made sure everything was there. Once reassembled and installed, I now have all the lights working correctly, including the highbeams which has one of the original T3 bulbs intact! I wish some of my newer cars had such things as the parts on this car that are ACTUALLY rebuildable!

Great news!

Gotta love the old stuff that was designed to be disassembled and serviced!!!

Safaricat-Next is the neutral safety switch. It took a crap and I had to bypass it after it started to work when it wanted to. I could turn the key only a few times and nothing....I checked the ignition switch, starter and all the connections. I bypassed the neutral safety and the problem stopped. So far I have been lucky enough to have the patience to attempt to rebuild the switches, given you can actually take them apart. I have tried to disassemble the very same parts from a Ford...not a chance, they're are glued together!

Did you know that the T3 bulps are available in exact replica ? -i bought 2 sets of ebay. Those highbeams must last extremly long - i also had a original left.