Date:         Thu, 16 May 2013 09:45:08 -0400
Reply-To:     Mike B <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike B <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET>
Subject:      Re: Strange Idea about retrofitting early Headlight Switch onto
              late model Vanagon
Comments: To: "kenneth wilford (Van-Again)" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <CANEuo0gAe+3F37CfEBmYGCQ+pvQw6H-2Cwhay+KkmC1biWeVrw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Ken, it's volks like you doing insightful things like this that make the
world a better place for all of us!
  It sounds like a great idea and I wish you luck with this project!

Mike B.

On 5/16/2013 9:17 AM, kenneth wilford (Van-Again) 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