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allihjelm Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2009 Posts: 231 Location: Akureyri, Iceland
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 3:51 am Post subject: Smoking headlight switch in my 67 |
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Hi,
Don't know if you have had this experience, but last night when I took my 67 for a drive with the The Antique Automobile Club of Iceland, smoke starts coming out of the headlight switch. I could hear electric sizzling sound right before the smell of smoke filled the cabin.
Now the fader for the lights in the dashboard is out and the switch works just as an on/of switch for the dashboard but the headlights seem to work as they should. I can still hear occational electric sizzling so something is definitely going on in there.
Have you guys had this experience? Guess buying a new switch is the only way to go. Any idea where to find this item?
We actually had a Volkswagen theme for the first drive with the The Antique Automobile Club of Iceland yesterday evening, and as a VW owner I had the honor of driving up front (2nd):
For those of you interested this house it's called Hofdi and is where Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met back in 1986. This meeting is believed to mark the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
Anyways, all info about my problem is well appreciated.
Thanks, Al. _________________ 1967 European 6V Volkswagen 1300 Beetle |
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Cusser Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2006 Posts: 31272 Location: Hot Arizona
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 4:28 am Post subject: |
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I had this happen on one of mine, the wire for the dimmer for the dashboard lights must've shorted out, and isn't fused. I just wired my dash lights to be always on when the parking lights were on, couldn't dim them any longer. the remainder of the light switch has worked fine.
Or you could replace your light switch and the wiring for the dash lights. _________________ 1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297 |
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allihjelm Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2009 Posts: 231 Location: Akureyri, Iceland
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 4:31 am Post subject: |
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Cusser wrote: |
I had this happen on one of mine, the wire for the dimmer for the dashboard lights must've shorted out, and isn't fused. I just wired my dash lights to be always on when the parking lights were on, couldn't dim them any longer. the remainder of the light switch has worked fine.
Or you could replace your light switch and the wiring for the dash lights. |
Thanks for this info Cusser.
How much hazzle is it to replace the switch completely. Any soldering involvelved? Any chance of damaging the dashboard if left unattended? _________________ 1967 European 6V Volkswagen 1300 Beetle |
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allihjelm Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2009 Posts: 231 Location: Akureyri, Iceland
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Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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Another question related to this, is there any chance of frying the rest of the electrical circuit if this problem is left unattended?
Thanks, Al _________________ 1967 European 6V Volkswagen 1300 Beetle |
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Hakka Samba Member
Joined: November 21, 2004 Posts: 619 Location: PNW or Norway
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Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 8:50 am Post subject: |
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I know getting part to Iceland is not as easy as mainland Europe or America, but I would really suggest trying to find a new switch. If you look at the wiring you should be able to see which wires have fried/melted. The classifieds on this website might be your easiest bet. I would be surprised if any other problems arise if you disconnect all of the dead wiring.
Good luck! |
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spectre6000 Samba Member
Joined: April 19, 2009 Posts: 2014 Location: Broomfield, CO
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Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 9:25 am Post subject: |
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I have a similar issue in my bus. "Gremlins" are not fun, not easy to find, and they tend to multiple. Don't get them wet! If you take things apart and look up in there, you'll likely find that the wires look an awful lot like fried bacon. It's not pretty and not very safe. You probably have some 50 year old wires in there with 50 year old insulation just crumbling away. If two pieces of insulation crumble at approximately the same place (i.e. where there's a bend in the harness, or where the wires occasionally rub up against some body metal) they'll short and get nasty. The best course of action (especially since you only drive the car very rarely) is to get a new wiring harness and replace anything else that has burned out. _________________ Jason Hopper
-'58 German Market Deluxe Beetle (in progress)
-'84 M1009 CUCV
-'81 K10
"Buy the best, cry once." -Gene Berg
"A cheap man will always buy the cheapest thing available, and then buys another one hoping for a better result, and then spends the rest of his life in misery complaining about it. A thrifty man will buy a good part once and never think about it again." -RockCrusher
"Don't feed the Shitty Parts Monster!" -Me |
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allihjelm Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2009 Posts: 231 Location: Akureyri, Iceland
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:53 am Post subject: |
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Does anyone here have a tool to loosen the switch.
I have tried everything to loosen the switch, ending up scratching the dashboard a little.
Can I buy this tool or do you have an advice on how to loosening it properly?
Thanks, Al _________________ 1967 European 6V Volkswagen 1300 Beetle |
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61SNRF Samba Member
Joined: March 29, 2009 Posts: 4657 Location: Whittier 90602
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lovethatconvertible Samba Member
Joined: August 22, 2008 Posts: 1434 Location: Las Vegas N. V.
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 7:25 am Post subject: |
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There's a thread somewhere, but many have made this tool by hand out of a small steel tube and just shaped the end to fit into the slots. |
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&Dan Samba Member
Joined: January 29, 2008 Posts: 1784
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:29 am Post subject: |
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A washer can be filed to fit and makes a great escutcheon tool. |
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Cusser Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2006 Posts: 31272 Location: Hot Arizona
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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I heard a golf shoe spike wrench fits as well.
After removing this, replacement is straightforward, push on connectors. But draw a diagram first. _________________ 1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297 |
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KTPhil Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2006 Posts: 33883 Location: Conejo Valley, CA
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 9:11 pm Post subject: |
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Parking lights were unfused on earlier models, not sure about '67. Not a good idea to use smoking electricals! |
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old_n_slo Samba Member
Joined: August 08, 2009 Posts: 269 Location: Air-id-zona
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