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Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:01 am

My kitchen panel toggle switch was not working well and after taking it out I ended up losing it before I could re-install it. :oops: Does anyone know where to find a replacement? I would have gone to Radio Shack but they are out of business. Our usual vendors don’t seem to sell them.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:41 am

eBay might be your friend on this.

this forum member may be able to help?

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6627755&highlight=update#6627755

On my '81 Canadian Westy I wired the aftermarket sink pump and faucet so it's controlled by the switch at faucet. i.e. so I don't need that toggle switch to allow pump to work.

I"d have to look at the wiring diagram but maybe there's a way to solder in a switch that only operates the water tank and battery level indicators? Maybe even a push button switch?

Sun Mar 22, 2020 10:51 am

Are you sure the switch is bad?

On mine I found that the problem was a broken solder joint between the switch and circuit board. I guess to rough handling of the switch over the years.

Simple resolder solved the probem.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:02 am

^^^^ This. Those switches have a very high MTBF - they are good for many 10's of 1000's of operations. In my previous working life over 30 years I must have used hundreds of them - never one failure.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:08 am

I had to re-solder a broken solder joint on my switch panel.
The switch (I think?) was only held on by its solder terminals so each time you push on it, you stress/cycle the solder joint.

Probably have to look for the complete used panel.
I bet there's a few out there.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:32 am

This switch should do - get the short-shaft version:

https://store.synthrotek.com/SPDT_On-On_Switch_Sub_Mini

Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:39 am

I think the OP has actually lost the switch.

Good to know about resolder though. That may've been what happened to mine. Didn't think to look for cold solder joints.

Neil.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 12:35 pm

fxr wrote: ^^^^ This. Those switches have a very high MTBF - they are good for many 10's of 1000's of operations. In my previous working life over 30 years I must have used hundreds of them - never one failure.

Cool. Still learning something new every day...

MTBF (mean time between failures) is a measure of how reliable a hardware product or component is. For most components, the measure is typically in thousands or even tens of thousands of hours between failures. For example, a hard disk drive may have a mean time between failures of 300,000 hours.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 2:31 pm

Vanagon Nut wrote: I think the OP has actually lost the switch...

Neil gets the Evelyn Wood Memorial Reading for Comprehension Award.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 2:39 pm

Ahwahnee wrote: Vanagon Nut wrote: I think the OP has actually lost the switch...

Neil gets the Evelyn Wood Memorial Reading for Comprehension Award.

This is a rare occurrence but I'll take it!

Neil.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 7:21 pm

Quote: ....For example, a hard disk drive may have a mean time between failures of 300,000 hours.

Hey Neil... share that award?

300,000/24/365= 34 years
Maybe 30,000 hours = 3.4 years?

Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:02 pm

Sodo wrote: Quote: ....For example, a hard disk drive may have a mean time between failures of 300,000 hours.

Hey Neil... share that award?

300,000/24/365= 34 years
Maybe 30,000 hours = 3.4 years?

I reddit on the internets...
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/MTBF-mean-time-between-failures

Mon Mar 23, 2020 8:26 am

Not sure if this helps, but here it is: Gowesty sells a replacement for the whole panel.

https://www.gowesty.com/product/electrical/24416/gowesty-camper-led-panel

Mon Mar 23, 2020 1:55 pm

I have the Gowesty panel. It is very nice. I had upgraded my original LEDs several years back and still could not get the fridge LED to be as bright as I would like. The Gowesty one is nice and bright.

Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:50 pm

fxr wrote: This switch should do - get the short-shaft version:

https://store.synthrotek.com/SPDT_On-On_Switch_Sub_Mini

Thank you! That looks right. I’ll update the thread once I install it.

Sun Mar 29, 2020 1:32 pm

It worked! It was a little smaller than the one that was there originally but I managed to make it work.

Sun Mar 29, 2020 4:20 pm

Interesting fix. But I wonder why there is a LED where the switch used to be? Or at least is on mine.

Is that the "fridge flame LED"?

And the switch mounted on the adjacent panel - was that original?

Sun Mar 29, 2020 5:24 pm

I don't know. My van is one of the very first ones (September 1979) and it was already like this when I got it two years ago. The fridge was removed at some point many years ago.