Dash/Headlight Solution (PICS)

[Jadeskyline]

Ok so as some of you may know i was having (as well as others) a dash light brake light issue....i was told to check my harness all the way to my fuses....both were fine of course as i had checked them before posting.....however with the recent posts of the same issue i decided to go back to basics and check the switch itself here is what i found:
here are the dash lights with switch turned to on position (parking/daytime) as you can see no life in the dash at all :anger
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300363.jpg
here is the little bastard light switch (comes with a white cover over it but i popped it off in order to get to it.....be careful dont just fist a screwdriver in there lol)
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300367.jpg
as you can switch the switch is good do to the headlights turning on as seen here:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300368.jpg
however even though headlights are on and working nothing from the brake lights (note:they work when depressed/pedal is down)
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300369.jpg
dash still up to its old tricks and nothing has changed :badboy
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300370.jpg
here is the little guy that holds the key between you either a) being rear ended at night or b)being fined by the gustapo (both would suck)
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300371.jpg
lo an behold if you give em the business (press it down) it makes connection and on the 240th day you have light again :bowdown
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300372.jpg
hey look who decided to join the party
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300373.jpg
pointing with flathead at culprit of your lil gremlin
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300374.jpg
one more time for good measure
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300375.jpg
and there you have it folks this is what i found to be my solution hope it helps
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s122/alphamc21/S7300376.jpg
o yea u might wanna know how to fix it too huh lol....well i used some needle noses and bent it SLIGHTLY (too much and you will either break it im sure or your lights will never turn off due to constant connection)
Sticky??????
also please post if this helped you thanks and GL

[drift freaq]

No sticky. What your talking about is a known failure in the light switch, called a short. It no longer works properly, which causes a short in your lighting system, because its interconnected.
Fix is called replace the column switch, which can be found at any junkyard for cheap. Remove, replace, problem fixed.
Been there done that, why waste time ripping things apart with a poor mans fix when you can do it right?

P.S. I am sorry, I did not catch your post about this issue the first time. I would have told you to do, what I described doing, to save yourself the extra work.

[Triadz101]

sure wish this was around when I had my S13!!!

Great write up, nice hands =P lol, repped!

[kensreliableb18b]

yeeeeaaa, everyone says to change that out but no one really says or shows what the real problem is. good job on posting this! +1 as well.

[Jadeskyline]

No sticky. What your talking about is a known failure in the light switch, called a short. It no longer works properly, which causes a short in your lighting system, because its interconnected.
Fix is called replace the column switch, which can be found at any junkyard for cheap. Remove, replace, problem fixed.
Been there done that, why waste time ripping things apart with a poor mans fix when you can do it right?

P.S. I am sorry, I did not catch your post about this issue the first time. I would have told you to do, what I described doing, to save yourself the extra work.


yes i agree with what ur saying...however a junk yard car is there for a reason its not a brand new part therefore likely to fail again...why nickel and dime yourself (as well as haggle w/the yard guy) if you can DIY....other than buying brand NEW unit (read:$100.00) this is the best/cheapest solution.....also i like working on my car so im glad i had the experience i just hope others can benefit from it...cheers:2f2f:

[Ragnarok043]

my dash light has been pretty dim, i wonder if this is the culprit.

[projectRDM]

yes i agree with what ur saying...however a junk yard car is there for a reason its not a brand new part therefore likely to fail again...why nickel and dime yourself (as well as haggle w/the yard guy) if you can DIY....other than buying brand NEW unit (read:$100.00) this is the best/cheapest solution.....also i like working on my car so im glad i had the experience i just hope others can benefit from it...cheers:2f2f:

They're cheaper than that, your dealer just doesn't like you.

And although you made a lot of effort, I don't see any changes in any of the pics except a blur and a flash in each one.

[Jadeskyline]

They're cheaper than that, your dealer just doesn't like you.

And although you made a lot of effort, I don't see any changes in any of the pics except a blur and a flash in each one.

yea my dealer named ebay:loco:......also u might also might want to check your vision as the dash and brake lights are also on.....sorry try again

[g6civcx]

You can get replacement headlight combo switches from the auto parts store. Used ones will have the same problems so if you want to save money, just fix what you have.

[projectRDM]

yea my dealer named ebay:loco:......also u might also might want to check your vision as the dash and brake lights are also on.....sorry try again

I've looked four times, all I see is a camera flash. Not that I care since the post really wasn't all that helpful anyway, people already know when their light switch goes bad that it's a bad light switch. Deductive reasoning I guess.

[kognition]

Your scaring me with those taillites. Change those out as well. :bigok:

[Jadeskyline]

^^lol ill change em as soon as i start building my car to your liking....not happening....as for the camera flash they werent the best pics granted....however yes the switch goes bad but if you dont have the escrow to buy one right away why not just fix urself for FREE...i thought we all loved that word.....deductive reasoning i guess

[Dream240]

I had a headlight problem that ended up going the cheap route with as well. Mainly because I didn't have the time to get the the junk yard and hunt down a light switch.

I had one headlight completely shut off one day. Bulbs were fine, headlight motors worked fine, just no shine. Turned out to be a bad switch assembly. The lazy cheap fix was to just jumper the positive wire from the working headlight to the non-working one. Worked fine after that. Then I completely forgot about it for months....then sold the car..... :p

Simple fixes like this are good as long as they're only temporary. Chances are your problem will just come back. Replacement is something you might want to consider down the line.

And yes I can see the difference in the pics....BARELY. Next time, take lighting prob pics at night. Just a tip.

Also try clipping that zip tie excess holding up your rear bumper, there is a limit to how much tackiness is allowed on a 240. :)

Oh and get new floor mats...that thing is a goner.... :)

[Jadeskyline]

^^my your attention to detail is impeccable lol....i agree with you on some things (floormats pics) but the zipties stay....my bumper isnt gonna be sagging cuz someone on the internet told me they didnt like it pffft lol....keep the love coming guys

[kognition]

Thank's for the lame rep sir... don't take critisism so personal or you will wind up over on NICO. :)
You wrote: "choke on a baby dick faggot"

^^my your attention to detail is impeccable lol....i agree with you on some things (floormats pics) but the zipties stay....my bumper isnt gonna be sagging cuz someone on the internet told me they didnt like it pffft lol....keep the love coming guys

[Jadeskyline]

dont take that personal bro....i felt that ur "opinion" on my tail lights had NOTHING to do with the thread....everyone had constructive crticism to put in regards to the info/pics you on the other hand contributed squat but a juvenile smart ass comment.....maybe you should join NICO....

[kognition]

I am always up for constructive critisicm. But clean your language up, if you don't like what i have to say about your taillites, just ignore my ass.
Telling me to suck a babie's dick is a little juvenile yes? And i do take that personal, as i am a soon to be father of two babies. So it goes both ways dude. :)

dont take that personal bro....i felt that ur "opinion" on my tail lights had NOTHING to do with the thread....everyone had constructive crticism to put in regards to the info/pics you on the other hand contributed squat but a juvenile smart ass comment.....maybe you should join NICO....