Re: 5000 S window switches

[jdouglas@mitre.org (jason douglas)]

>
>Hi all. Well, I'm getting ready to place and order for several
>new window switches for my '86 5000 S, and it occurred to me that
>perhaps the old ones may be salvagable. Does anyone know what the
>failure mode is on these things? Is it just cruddy contacts, that
>could be remedied by disassembling the thing and cleaning? Or is
>it more permanent, like something actually broken? Do they even
>come apart? (don't have one in front of me at the moment,
>unfortunately....)

The *usual* failure mode is corrosion on the contacts.  On the driver's
door, one usually sees this first on the outside (i.e., left) switches,
perhaps because they are closer to the outside of the car.

Many folks have found disassembly, cleaning, and reinstallation not too
tough.  It won't take that much time either.  Considering that the switches
are around $25 at a dealer, it makes sense to do it.  There is no real trick
to disassembling them - you just have to pry the case apart.
------------------------------------------------------
Jason Douglas
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MITRE Corporation                   Fax:    (703) 827-5106

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