Dash, Running & Head light PROBLEM !

[Weldon]

Need help with a slight problem?

My dash, running & head lights work only in running light mode (only high beam) but only by pulling it back not pushing forward ?

I can get all lights to work by slightly pushing forward but once it clicks into position for all lights to be engaged they all turn off ?

Could this be the start of an electrical issue, could this be a fuse issue ? :angry

[Hans]

sounds like a bad switch.

-Hans

[JimC]

sounds like a bad switch

[Weldon]

Yep it's the switch & thanks for your help on this !

Anyone know the part number for this switch ? :confused

[JimC]

I cant remember the part number - if your handy you can fix it. get a wafer board and soldier some brass contacts to it - the switch is pretty simple. Or you can just order a new one for approx 75 bux from rovers north.

[Weldon]

Jim,

Thanks & I found your fix, I'm going to try fixing using your idea this weekend ?

Here's what I did
I had a similar problem a while back, and I fixed my lightsin only a half hour with my soldering iron. The symptoms were as you describe. R&Ring the switch would have solved it too, because the switch was clearly bad when I inspected it - and fixing it solved all the problems. I didnt replace the switch because I needed to use the D90 in the dark the following morning, and the fix has worked so well that I havent had to mess with it since.

If you decide to attempt a fix, its pretty simple. Removing the
switch is easy, just drop the bottom cover off of the steering
column and the switch slides out - you can unplug it from the
harness a few inches back. I was pleased to discover the switch is very old-tech. It is simply a 3 position contact where the first
position is off, the second position is parking lights, and the 3rd
position (headlights) connects positions 2 & 3 so both headlights
and parking lights are on.

The switch consists of a pot metal bracket holding a piece of
plastic with the contacts molded in. My plastic had melted for
some reason so that the contact for pos 3 had recessed itself and was unable to contact the lever arm of the switch. The plastic melting had also caused it to break connection with the pos 2 contact. I put a drop of solder on the pos 3 contact to allow it to contact the switch arm, and then made a solder connection between the pos 2 & 3 contacts on top of the switch. I simultaneously used the heat from the soldering iron to melt and re-form the plastic back into a non-deformed shape. After making sure everything was secure, I put it all back in - it worked great, and continues to.

I looked into buying circuit parts from radio shack, but nothing
was suitable. Plus I didnt want to hack into my now-functional
switch simply for the sake of science. If anyone has a dead switch I'd like to buy it so that I can experiement with it.

I did find the part at RoversNorth for about 56.00 plus shipping & once again thanks !