re: $#!*? Column switches!

[John=Winkelman%Law%Tek@banyan2.BV.TEK.COM]

The switch cluster was replaced with a new one in my 87 CSTQ when I bought 
it at 65k miles.  At 113k miles it went out much as Steve described, and 
I've been driving around with it in high beam default status since then 
(about a month ago.)  My neighbor, who also has an 87 CSTQ, replaced his 
switch a year or so ago at 140+k miles, and still had the old, broken one 
(same symptoms).  I took it apart the other day, and found that it is not 
repairable, unless you have a source for the broken part--the high/low, 
turn signal lever itself.  A thin section of the inner plastic shell was 
broken at the inner end on the one I dissected, and I saw no way to fix it. 
 Looks to be a basic design problem--the plastic is marginally strong 
enough when new, and over time, stress takes its toll, and it breaks. Might 
help longevity to be gentle with it when switching to high beam, but that's 
only a guess.  Only fix is to replace it, as far as I can tell.

John Winkelman 
john.d.winkelman@tek.com