Date:         Wed, 22 May 2002 22:40:54 EDT
Reply-To:     TStone8359@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tom Stone <TStone8359@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Smoking Dash
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

In a message dated 5/22/02 6:53:35 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
CTONLINE@WEBTV.NET writes:


> Put you finger down on the switch to see if it's getting hot----or just
> look if it's smoking----
>

If it is the switch getting hot or smoking, prepare for darkness.  Happened
to me on a trip recently.  Lights flashed a few times and then went out.  The
light switch was frozen (melted?) in the "on" position.  All the other
exterior lights worked but I had no headlights.  We were still 6 hours from
our destination and it was 8:00 PM.  I took off the dash cover and unplugged
the switch from the harness.  I got a paperclip out of the ashtray and
jumpered the socket where the two largest pins plugged in.  Let there be
light!  I plugged the switch back on the harness and continued the trip.  The
paper clip was warm, but not hot.

Later that night, I got tired and went into the back to sleep.  My wife was
driving.  She couldn't see well and turned on the brights.  The paperclip
turned orange hot and ignited everything it touched.  She woke me up
screaming that the car was on fire.  I flipped the lights to dim and all was
OK.  The only damage done was to the inside of the instrument cluster mounts.
 Whew!

We returned home the next evening with me driving.  I kept checking the
paperclip -- warm, not hot.  When we got home I ordered a new switch
(Vanagain had the best price) and we lived with the paper clip fix until the
new switch came.

Moral of the story: I forgot to take my tool box on this trip.  Never again.
I have some nice heavy, LOW RESISTANCE wire in there.

Tom
'71 Westy, '85 Westy, '91 Carat, '81 VW Diesel Pickup