Headlight Switch Follow Up.

[DMCVegas@xxxx]

Ok, My new headlight switch from DMC Houston arrived yeterday, 
so i installed it last night. So since I had a replacement, I 
cracked open the old one to see how it worked. To say the least, 
the design is original, if not inspired by a ballpoint "clicker" pen.

The base is the 'male' portion. The center housing holds the 
spring, and has the bulb inside to light the switch face. It also 
has two plastic pieces that clip onto the copper leads for the 12V 
feed, the clearance lights, and the headlights. These end up 
making a set of 'tracks'. There are a total of 3 tracks with 3 
different lengths: Long (12V feed), medium (clearance lights), & 
short (headlights).

The second is the mobile, or 'female' portion. There are clips in 
place to hold the other end of the spring. And the center also has 
a hole in it to allow the light bulb thru to light the switch face. 
Here there are also a set of two clips that are connected. These 
clips will slide up and down the previously mentioned tracks.

Finally we have the position selector. This determins what lights 
to turn on by keeping the switch in a certain position. Others 
have described this as a "maze". You could put it that way, but a 
better description would be to think of a "pinball table". I know 
this kinda throws monkey wrench into the gears of what you may 
have had in mind, but let me explain. There is a piece of metal 
about the thickness of a paperclip. It's straight with the exception 
of two 90º bends on the ends. One end sits in a little hole on the 
base portion, and the other end is free moving in the "pinball 
table". The end of this will rest upon the "perches" on the table. 
Think of this end as the pin.

In the off position (#1), the pins is at the bottom of the field. When 
you push the button, this moves the pin up where it hits a "J" 
shaped incline. This pushes the pin to the right, but the portion 
@ the end stops the switch from moving any furher. When you let 
go the pin drops down, and is caught by another "J" shaped 
incline which moves the pin all the way to the right. Here the 
force of the switches spring holds the pin into place, and the 
switch is half way in on the clearance lights only position. Or 
position #2.

For the third position for the headlights, just imagine the same 
previous process, only mirrored in the left direction. The only  
differances here is that the pin now moves in the left direction, 
and doesn't all the way over (the final "J" incline holds the pin in 
the center of the field, not all the way to the left).

Now when you push the switch in, you'll be turning the lights off. 
When you hit the switch, the pin will hit another "J" incline that 
will move it all the way to the right. But when you let go, the pin 
will have a clear path all the way to the bottom, save for a straight 
incline which bumps the pin back into the center. From here, the 
process start all over again.

Now you that you know that holds the switch in place, let's 
explain how it comes together. The longest track as previously 
mentioned was the 12V feed. This is always in contact with the 
clip on the track (remember that the clips all connect to each 
other). In position 1, only the 12V track comes in contact with a 
clip (furthest position away). In position #2, the switch is halfway, 
and will come in contact with the medium length track. Thus it 
feeds the clearance lights. In position #3, the male & female 
pieces of the switch are in the closest position. Here the final 
clip comes in contact with the shortest track to power the 
headlights.

The casing for the switch has tracks on 3 sides to guide the 
switch, and a niche on one to allow the pin to move freely, but to 
keep it in place.

Now for comments :)
On my switch, the the plastic on the 12V track had started to melt 
from the heat. Of all the power flowing thru it. There is some kind 
of grease on the track to keep it lubed. This grease on my 
contacts had started to burn. The force of the clip on the track 
had pushed the copper down into the plastic. So the relay up 
grade is a nessisary one for this circuit.

Function wise, I really can't think of a better design. The switch 
does it's job, and with the exception of the excess voltage, it 
shouldn't have any problems with normal, everyday use. There 
are only two downsides to this switch" 1. It's a little more difficult 
to flash your lights in a hurry when you're on the highway. (i.e. to 
let trucks know it's ok to pass). 2. When driving @ dawn, you 
have to go thru the entire cycle when you want to turn you lights 
off as the day gets brighter. Petty little things I know. But real life 
ones none the less. Other than these things, the design for the 
switch isn't a bad one. Astectily, it has a much nicer appearance 
than a pull switch, and is simpler than a switch on the steering 
colum.

In the end, I wrote this for everyone who's ever wondered how 
the swtich works on the inside. You can try to repair it if you like, 
but I would reccomend that you buy a new one. You don't want to 
mess with melting parts, and worn contacts. If nothing else, a 
new switch is just nice to have to help rebuild that "new" feeling 
for the car. It has the nice texture, and solid clicking sound. :)

-Robert
vin 6585 "X"