Headlight Switch....Plz Read!

[KarmaKid]

Hey guys,

Replacing headlight switch. Removed the knob and bezel and switch from dash no prob.

I am trying to remove the shaft that the knob sits on from the defective switch to put it on the new one??

I'm wondering if the shaft is supposed to already be on the new one??


Thank You,
Jer

(2 minutes later) Update: LMAOL.....pressed the lil button on the switch and it slid right out.......what a tard.

 

[MLC Stang]

Karmakid,

Really late reply, but I just did this job this weekend and it drove me nuts, but I figured it out. Hopefully it will help someone out.

You have to reuse the shaft that is in the old headlight switch. To get it out you have to first remove the two-legged bracket from the old switch by unscrewing the big nut on the front.

Once the bracket is off, you then need to tilt the shaft to the side with your thumb before you pull up on the shaft. The trick is to find which side to tilt the shaft toward. You only have four choices so just try all four directions and you will get to the side that releases the shaft.

Basically, the shaft is held inside the switch in an oblong hole in a piece of metal that a slot in the end of the shaft slides into sideways. So, you have to tilt the shaft sideways before you pull up to get the tip of the shaft out of that slotted hole.

I verified that this is how the shaft is held inside the switch by completely disassembling the old switch until I had all of the insides removed.

If you still can’t get the shaft out, just drill out the three pop-rivets that hold the large metal bracket onto the side of the switch. That will allow the entire switch to be taken apart. Once inside you can easily remove the shaft.