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I have been away from this forum for awhile. I had my 46 Packard in with a mechanic who completely rebuilt the fuel system and the cooling system for me.

I am now tinkering with a few issues. The plunger switch that turns the backup light on will go on but then the plunger doesn't drop to turn the light off when I go out of reverse. I have manually pushed it back and forth a few times, I think it might be rusted. Before trying to replace the switch I thought I would check to see if anyone has repaired one of these.

Assuming you have the rectangular Packard switch -- either the original 2 terminal or later 4 terminal, they can be repaired. The fiber back is held on by some bent over tabs. GENTLY, while holding the back so the internal spring can't cause anything to fly out, straighten those tabs enough so the back can lift off. Take note of how the terminal contact piece is mounted on the plunger isolator so you can reassemble correctly. You can then disassemble to clean and lube the switch as needed. Try not to bend the tabs any more than absolutely needed. They will break off if stressed too much or bent too often.

I was thinking of installing one of these. Is it close enough???

Thanks a bunch. I might not get to it right away, but I'll let you know how it goes.

Oops. I meant to provide a link. I've been thinking of installing one of these on my car. How close is it to what Packard used?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-1957-1958-FORD-BACK-UP-LIGHT-SWITCH-/291179610397?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=UhhtzssuIDmTBH4dUt6XmmJWB40%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Can't see the terminals on other switch but general shape looks good. The plunger looks a bit long. Not sure how the conventional body levers compare to the Clipper style so I would wonder if the button could be too wide -- enough to possibly straddle both levers. Perhaps the button can be cut off if it causes a problem.

Here are the Packard switches as used on Clipper style levers. The original 2 terminal courtesy of a photo taken by packard1949 and the later 4 terminal retrofit switch containing the R9 safety switch. Both are shown mounted -- although the 4 term is shown 180 out. Normally its terminals would be down for better clearance to the bracket.

The bare switch photo is from Max's site and shows a good view of the plunger.

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