dash light cut off switch

[anthony7777]

hello gang, yesterday while adding a ground wire to the oil press/temp. guage i found at the bottom flange of the dash. below the tach a small switch that ive never noticed before,with a bit more investigation i found that this switch will turn off all the guage lights even when the master switch is on,looks factory installed, anyone else have this switch? i cant figure out what it could be used for. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[healeyneil]

My BT7 has got that, I assume it was standard fit in early cars

 

[Lin]

Standard.
Lin
1960 BT7 in restoration
1959 Bugeye

 

[Randy Forbes]

When mine decided to stop working (heck, it's fifty years old) I stuck both wires under one terminal. I can never remember a time when I wanted the panel lights switched off...

 

[Michael Oritt]

This is a standard switch on all cars.

At Conclave last year we were prejudging the Concours cars--Kent Lacy of VA Beach brought along a beautiful 100 that eventually went Gold. He had a set of driving lights and we could not find anything that switched them. Kent revealed that he used this switch to energize a relay that controlled the lights.

 

[zblu]

Probably for the same reason todays cars have it!,just now is a dimmer from zero to too bright!

 

[bighly]

I turn em off for daylight driving. I usually run with lights on.

 

[anthony7777]

thaks guys,as most of you know i have a 1963 bj7,so i guess the switch was also used on semi later models,upon first noticing this switch my first thought was that it would be a great switch for fog lights,so i cant help but believe that kent lacy is "also" brilliant. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[bighly]

Tony,

If you use em for fog lights be sure to only use it as a relay control and not main power to the lights. Too much current for that tiny old slide switch me says.

 

[anthony7777]

bighly,what ya says is so-so right!tanks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif