Re: KPack's 1954 Panama
Posted by kevinpackard On 2020/8/23 0:46:52
As promised, here are the pictures of the headlight switch renewal. The pictures that Howard shared are very helpful when doing this.
First step was to label all the wires so that I didn't mix anything up, using the photos from Howard as a guide. Then remove the small Allen key from the knob, slide the knob off. Then unscrew the face plate, and the switch can be removed from behind the dash.
Upon inspection on the bench top, I found all the contacts, wipers, and plugs corroded.
I removed the circuit breaker, then carefully bent the tabs on the box to remove the board. The spring inside has some tension and will pop the contact slider out (per Howard's warning). I found the box with quite a bit of sand in it. I was honestly surprised at how much. All the grease had sand in it, covering every component.
I cleaned all the internal parts, and removed all the old grease. When I reassembled, I used a bit of dielectric grease on the floor of the box to allow the parts to slide without difficulty.
The corroded contacts were cleaned with a small screwdriver and a small strip of fine sandpaper wrapped across the head of the screwdriver. That way it acted like a very fine file and I was able to easily clean off the corrosion.
I used some abrasive tooth paste on the wipers and cycled the switch back and forth a bunch of times, but the effect was less than desirable. In the end, I used the screwdriver/sandpaper trick to carefully and gently clean off the wiper surfaces. I then used the same fine sandpaper, slid it between the wiper plates and the wiper points, and allowed the wiper points to slide across it while I cycled the switch. It cleaned everything up nicely.
When I was all done, I reassembled everything, put just a touch of dielectric grease on the wire plugs, and plugged everything back in. The switch is buttery smooth now. Headlights work as expected, as do the gauge lights. The rear lights come on when the switch is engaged.
I have some things to work on though. The park/indicator lights are not hooked up (previous owner cut the wires when removing the grill) and neither are the rear license plate lights. The brake lights do not change when pressing the brake pedal. The back up lights do not work. The front courtesy light does not work (under the dash). The rear pillar lights also do not work. I will need to test for continuity there and start tracking down the problem.
-Kevin
Attach file:
(59.95 KB)
(65.14 KB)
(83.17 KB)
(67.11 KB)
(77.21 KB)
(57.85 KB)
(65.84 KB)
(60.75 KB)
(81.39 KB)
(72.16 KB)
(72.68 KB)
(73.10 KB)
First step was to label all the wires so that I didn't mix anything up, using the photos from Howard as a guide. Then remove the small Allen key from the knob, slide the knob off. Then unscrew the face plate, and the switch can be removed from behind the dash.
Upon inspection on the bench top, I found all the contacts, wipers, and plugs corroded.
I removed the circuit breaker, then carefully bent the tabs on the box to remove the board. The spring inside has some tension and will pop the contact slider out (per Howard's warning). I found the box with quite a bit of sand in it. I was honestly surprised at how much. All the grease had sand in it, covering every component.
I cleaned all the internal parts, and removed all the old grease. When I reassembled, I used a bit of dielectric grease on the floor of the box to allow the parts to slide without difficulty.
The corroded contacts were cleaned with a small screwdriver and a small strip of fine sandpaper wrapped across the head of the screwdriver. That way it acted like a very fine file and I was able to easily clean off the corrosion.
I used some abrasive tooth paste on the wipers and cycled the switch back and forth a bunch of times, but the effect was less than desirable. In the end, I used the screwdriver/sandpaper trick to carefully and gently clean off the wiper surfaces. I then used the same fine sandpaper, slid it between the wiper plates and the wiper points, and allowed the wiper points to slide across it while I cycled the switch. It cleaned everything up nicely.
When I was all done, I reassembled everything, put just a touch of dielectric grease on the wire plugs, and plugged everything back in. The switch is buttery smooth now. Headlights work as expected, as do the gauge lights. The rear lights come on when the switch is engaged.
I have some things to work on though. The park/indicator lights are not hooked up (previous owner cut the wires when removing the grill) and neither are the rear license plate lights. The brake lights do not change when pressing the brake pedal. The back up lights do not work. The front courtesy light does not work (under the dash). The rear pillar lights also do not work. I will need to test for continuity there and start tracking down the problem.
-Kevin
Attach file:
(59.95 KB)
(65.14 KB)
(83.17 KB)
(67.11 KB)
(77.21 KB)
(57.85 KB)
(65.84 KB)
(60.75 KB)
(81.39 KB)
(72.16 KB)
(72.68 KB)
(73.10 KB)
This Post was from: https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=225859