Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 17:17:50 -0400
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From: forum email <nij.forum@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Strange Idea about retrofitting early Headlight Switch onto
late model Vanagon
In-Reply-To: <CANEuo0gAe+3F37CfEBmYGCQ+pvQw6H-2Cwhay+KkmC1biWeVrw@mail.gmail.com>
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Ken got lost in the email thread
So you still need a switch?
I have a bunch of switchs in a box I can look to see if any are a T if you
still require. If you don't I will save myself a trip to the garage.
On May 16, 2013 9:33 AM, "kenneth wilford (Van-Again)" <kenwilfy@comcast.net>
wrote:
> As many of your know the late model Vanagon (90-91) used a different
> headlight switch than all of the earlier years. Not sure why VW waited
> until the last year of production to address a wiring issue and change the
> switch that had worked the entire life of the vehicle but that is beside
> the point. If you have a 90 or 91 Vanagon, at some point the headlight
> switch is going to go bad. Since there is no longer any being made (as far
> as I know) the source for good used ones is small, I am thinking that we
> need a work around.
>
> So I was looking at a 91 Headlight switch this morning that is on a
> customer's van. I held it up to a "normal" Vanagon headlight switch and
> you can see that the prongs on the back are different. There are two extra
> prongs one of which does nothing on the USA Vanagons and the other one
> supplies power to the interior lighting, and cluster lighting circuit (any
> thing that you can dim with that dimmer wheel on the switch is powered by
> this extra wire). Anyway, I know folks were talking about splicing in the
> harness and plug from an earlier Vanagon, but I think I have come up with
> an even simplier idea. I think if you had the old, bad late headlight
> switch, and a new early headlight switch, you could probably, just pop the
> rear off, clean the circuit points inside, and swap it over to the new
> "early" switch. That way you have a new dimmer, face and contacts, but the
> rear of it with the plug in part, stays the same. This would mean a ready
> supply of new switches as long as someone has the patience to pop these
> apart and do the swap.
>
> I would like to volunteer to check this out for folks. But I need a 91
> Vanagon headlight switch to use as a donor. It should be bad to make the
> experiment a real test. It just needs to have a good back on it. Pmail me
> if anyone is interested in helping out with this projects. The part number
> ends in "T" for the late switch that I need.
>
> --
> Thanks,
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> www.vanagain.com
>
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