[s-cars] Dark dash woes...

[Wayne Dohnal]

Rob, you are embarking on a frustrating but worthwhile cause.  When I got my
car a year ago it had several dark window switches, 2 dark seat heater
switches (plus a cold drivers seat, but that's a different subject), a dark
mirror switch, and a dark OAT indicator.  The good news is that they're all
still lit after fixing them.  You're about to find out the bad news.  It
just takes some time, determination, and the willingness to accept a few
minor cuts to your fingers.  Getting the cases off does require
encouragement, but not brute force.  There's an excellent writeup on
urs4.com for the seat heater switches.  Once you master them, getting the
case off of the mirror switch is a similar operation.  I used a couple of
small putty knives to disengage the plastic latches.  I remember that on the
mirror switch it makes a difference whether it's face-up or face-down when
you remove the case.  One way a few little parts fall out, the other way
they stay.  Unfortunately, I forgot which way is the good way.  The mirror
switch has 2 lamps.  I used the same Radio Shack lamps that people are using
in the OAT display, 12v 60ma #7219 micro lamps, Radio Shack p/n 272-1092C.
If you want to bench test, I wrote down that pins 1(plus) and 6(minus) power
the light on the seat heater switch.  I don't remember which pins the mirror
switch uses, but I do remember that the Bentley was wrong on one of them.

Have fun!

Wayne Dohnal
1994 S4


>In an effort to find something to fix/repair/break on my car, I am on a
quest
>to get a fully lit dash.
>
>I was able to get the switches out (the seat heaters and mirror switch are
>dark currently, I am sure once I get these fixed others will be dark...)
but
>have been unable to get the casing off the switch. Is there a trick to
this?
>Does it require gentle encouragement (read BRUTE FORCE).
>
>Also, has anyone replaced the light source in a mirror switch? Any tricks
>here?
>
>Or, if anyone would be interested in making some mod money by getting these
>to light that might be better, or I the feeling I will have a cold butt, no
>mirrors, and no lights....
>
>Rob Eagleye
>1992 S4