dimmer switch rebuild

[Hubbarocks]

greetings
i recently rebuilt my dimmer switch in my 69 charger. i thought i'd share pics , process & maybe help someone else who wants to give it a go.
i know these are not a cheap date if a new one is purchased. Around $200~ish if i remember ?? I wanted to try and refurb it, and if i screwed it up i was willing to get a re-pop.

issue was the dimmer switch. i always had to get it in the sweat spot to get the dash lights on. i'm sure everyone who has this style knows what i mean. i first tried to just clean it / grease it and put it back in , made no difference. Came to a point if it got bumped or i hit a bump in the road it would go out. i wouldn't do very much night driving so it wasn't an issue, but when i did i had a flash light in the car so i can see how fast i was going at night (LOL) i decided it was time.

photos of the start of the unit.

 

[Hubbarocks]

here are photos of the disassembly.
i drilled out the rivets, the center rivet & the rivet holding the wheel. Then I was able to open the cage.
my biggest issue was that smaller half gear and it's position when reassembling. i'd suggest to make a mark or carful note on which tooth is engaging.

 

[Hubbarocks]

here i'm further disassembling all the components for cleaning and inspection.

below is where i found possibly the biggest problem - the glue was dried out and let go about half the coil spring off the ceramic wheel. The the ceramic wheel was in good shape yet & the coil spring was in good shape. i ohmed it out and it wasn't separated. i used a 2 part epoxy to glue it back in place.

 

[Hubbarocks]

while the epoxy was setting up. i cleaned everything with electrical contact cleaner. Everything else looked good. the plastics , gears , etc.

i did this on the living room coffee table while i watched a game. Wife yelled at me for making the house stink *shrug*

on all the contacts i used a little sand paper and cleaned them up well.
in the photo you can see my two bolts i used from my inventory to put the cage back together instead of trying to find those rivets.

 

[Hubbarocks]

below is reassembly with the bolts instead of the rivets. And instead of a lock nuts, i actually thread tapped the cage to save clearance on reassembly in the dash plate.

I'd suggest to take your time & take lots of photos. Make notes or mark positions of the dimmer switch and where the gears contact so you can reassemble in exact same order.

i installed and works great! All n all - it was a good learning experience & it'd do it again. Saved me $200 or so , took maybe 1~2 hours with equal parts beer.

have fun - Hope this helps out someone !

~ Hubba

 

[threewood]

Nice write-up! I did the same many moons ago to get by before finding a nice nos one. I'm still rocking it and it works perfect.

 

[kiwigtx]

below is reassembly with the bolts instead of the rivets. And instead of a lock nuts, i actually thread tapped the cage to save clearance on reassembly in the dash plate.

I'd suggest to take your time & take lots of photos. Make notes or mark positions of the dimmer switch and where the gears contact so you can reassemble in exact same order.

i installed and works great! All n all - it was a good learning experience & it'd do it again. Saved me $200 or so , took maybe 1~2 hours with equal parts beer.


View attachment 1912098

have fun - Hope this helps out someone !

~ Hubba

Well done and a good write-up...thanks.