• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Cleaning Switches

Share this page

W

Will_Ringrose

Senior Member
Offline
Hey Everyone. After spending a few hours under my dash I got my GT6 back on the road and I am starting to notice little things, like my dome light switch.. it only comes on if I tap on it a few times, I assume it need some cleaning.

Anyone know how to take these rocker switches apart to clean them?
 
V-E-R-Y carefully! Seriously, they tend to get rather brittle after all this time. Basically, I think you might be better off to get some spray electrical contact cleaner, spray it in as best you can, and work the switch until the spray and/or friction helps clean up the contacts. Some of those, such as that dome light switch, can be hard to find new or good used.
 
What is this "dome light" of which you speak? :jester:
Seriously, Andrew is right... Be careful. a bottle of contact cleaner, and some patients may work. If not, be gentle taking things apart. I've had good luck cleaning switches up in the past. Just don't force things apart or together.
 
I am cleaning the contacts on the outside with a wire brush, the switch has been glued shut, I cant push the pins out. So I guess Ill just spray clean the insides, and if I have to tap it, oh well.
 
CRC 2-26, available at Home Depot!
 
I think Deoxit 5 is the king of the contact cleaners. Battery terminals, switches, fuse box, commentator for gen.'s or motors and even "scratchy" sounding dirty carbon wafers in radio or amplifier rheostats. Its expensive stuff but you don't have to use much to be effective. It is the only spray the advertises it de-oxidizes that I have found.

DeoxIT is a fast-acting deoxidizing solution that cleans, preserves, lubricates and improves conductivity on all metal connectors and contacts.
 
I recently took my headlight switch apart and cleaned it up using this stuff which was recommended by a few guys.

BKF.jpg
 
Banjo said:
What is this "dome light" of which you speak? :jester:
Seriously, Andrew is right... Be careful. a bottle of contact cleaner, and some patients may work. If not, be gentle taking things apart. I've had good luck cleaning switches up in the past. Just don't force things apart or together.
Click to expand...

Ben: Remember a GT6 is a hardtop, so it must have an interior lamp in the center of the headliner. Right?
 
angelfj said:
Ben: Remember a GT6 is a hardtop, so it must have an interior lamp in the center of the headliner. Right?
Click to expand...
Technically, while "centered," the dome light is just forward of the rear hatch opening, on the plastic piece that covers the hinge mechanism. Most of the dome lamps on GT6s had a swiveling lens with a bit of a "spotlight" part of that lens, presumably useful for map reading and such.
 
Yeah that "map spotlight" is useless, it is hitting the sun visors, but the dome light itself is very bright. I cleaned the switch up and it is working great now. I replaced the door switched and cleaned the tailgate switch.

Who ever knew something as simple as opening a door and a light coming on would make you smile so much.

My girl friend thinks I'm nuts.
 
Will_Ringrose said:
Who ever knew something as simple as opening a door and a light coming on would make you smile so much.
Click to expand...
Happens every time I open the refrigerator! :devilgrin:

Years ago, I had a white Volvo 144...very squarish car with a grille that looked like the shelf in a refrigerator. Of course, the light came on whenever I opened the door. It was quickly nicknamed "The Norge"!
 
Bob,

Never tried it on switches, but Barkeeper's Friend worked great to remove a colored streak on a white sink in our new house and I also found it does a great job cleaning up 60's and 70's Zildjian cymbals!

Scott
 
Andrew Mace said:
Will_Ringrose said:
Who ever knew something as simple as opening a door and a light coming on would make you smile so much.
Click to expand...
Happens every time I open the refrigerator! :devilgrin:

Years ago, I had a white Volvo 144...very squarish car with a grille that looked like the shelf in a refrigerator. Of course, the light came on whenever I opened the door. It was quickly nicknamed "The Norge"!
Click to expand...

Yes, but how do you know the Norge light goes out when you close the door. Any one who has attended KT management training would remember the sour milk incident! :jester:
 
Back
Top