• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Heater Knob/Control Switch for BE

Share this page

Jim_Gruber

Jim_Gruber

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Looking for a Heater Switch/Control Knob for a BE. Bugsy II is missing this one and PO 2 x's removed simply replaced with a Rocker Switch when the old one crapped out. Anyone got a spare that can be cleaned up and would look good in Bugsy II.
 
Looking for both. PO substituted a rocker switch only. I've never seen what a NOS Heater Control looks like. From Pics in MOSS Catalog, it's not tiny and I'll assume it does something with either water flow or adjusting flapper valve on air inlet.
 
Jim:

I just spent the entire day working on mine. The push/pull action controls the air flapper. When the knob is forward, the air is on, and the knob can be rotated to turn on the fan motor. Moss shows as not available, as you have noted.

Like every single other thing on my car, the control was shot. The cable worked OK but the phenolic parts of the switch had disintegrated. I took the whole thing apart with the intent of gluing together the broken phenolic (or bakelite or whatever) bits. It was soon clear that wasn't going to work. There is a little pin that limits the left/right rotation. This pin was extended so that it actuates a lever action micro switch. This switch is on a bracket that is soldered to the forward part of the cable housing. I think it is going to work.

It will be much easier to find a good used one. If you can only find one with a broken switch, take it as it is possible to do a Rube Goldberg on it like I did. Or, just use a hidden switch for the fan -- lots easier.

Jim
 
I bought a new knob from Ashley Hinton in the UK. It's a perfect match to the other knobs and the only one I've seen with the letter "H" on it. They're advertised on the UK eBay site:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MG-MIDGE...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item43bb669095

If you need a heater switch too, here's one but it doesn't look like the knob has an "H" on it. Unfortunately, this guy won't ship to the U.S.:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MG-MIDGE...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3381bb4721

Dan
 
Send the guy in the UK a message. Apparently when they list stuff it's very easy to not allow shipping out of the country. I've purchased several things off of UK e-bay after asking specifically if they would ship. Never had one turned down.

As for the micro switch idea....any pic's?? Sounds like a great idea.

Kurt.
 
I thought Ashley Hinton was selling a complete switch assembly now...I saw one advertised last year.
Rut
 
Pictures of modified heater control.

If the left/right twist detent still works, it is not absolutely necessary to take the switch apart. The little pin needs to be extended to actuate the micro switch lever. Extend the pin with a piece of brass tube soldered or epoxied on. For my switch I replaced the pin with a longer one. Fabricate a simple bracket to hold the micro switch in the right place. Mine was a rectangle with extended legs that wrapped around the housing.

Pictures show 1) cable forward = air on, fan switch off; 2) cable forward, fan switch on; 3) back side; and 4) cable pulled back = air off.

Jim
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0086.jpg
    IMG_0086.jpg
    93.4 KB · Views: 118
  • IMG_0087.jpg
    IMG_0087.jpg
    98.5 KB · Views: 116
  • IMG_0088.jpg
    IMG_0088.jpg
    84.8 KB · Views: 118
  • IMG_0089.jpg
    IMG_0089.jpg
    77 KB · Views: 114
Very clever, very, very clever:encouragement:. Now to see if I can find a switch. E-Mail inquiries are out to the UK. Did a Mk II/Midget Mk I use a similiar type switch for Heater Fan control.
 
jjscott: Agree that that is a very clean and neat modification!! Thanks for the pic's!

Kurt.
 
Ray, I sent a note to Ashley Hinton inquiring as to the availability of switch. We'll see if he replies and let folks know.
 
Got a note back from Ashley Hinton a couple of minutes ago. Says "Jim, I need ot make that part but first I need ot make some heater motors. I just have the H knobs in stock at this time." Ashley.
 
jjscott said:
Pictures of modified heater control.

If the left/right twist detent still works, it is not absolutely necessary to take the switch apart. The little pin needs to be extended to actuate the micro switch lever. Extend the pin with a piece of brass tube soldered or epoxied on. For my switch I replaced the pin with a longer one. Fabricate a simple bracket to hold the micro switch in the right place. Mine was a rectangle with extended legs that wrapped around the housing.

Pictures show 1) cable forward = air on, fan switch off; 2) cable forward, fan switch on; 3) back side; and 4) cable pulled back = air off.

Jim
Click to expand...

Great photo series! Thanks.
 
Well bid is in for the switch. 4 days to the end of the auction.
 
Say, does anyone know where I could get a cable to open and close that flap which would take the proper knob from Ashley Hinton?

I have the cable/switch assembly installed, however, the switch doesn't work, and the PO already put in a separate one right above it that operates the fan.

I wouldn't mind passing the original cable/switch along to someone who would like to use it for a restoration, if they traded me a cable that would work in its place.
 
Jack Laird used a lawn mower cable or a choke cable from a local parts.Store to repair his cable on his original switch. He said it was not hard to do. How he did it is somewhere in the archives or you could pm him.
paul
 
Back
Top