OD Switches

[GT6 M]

Got a few of em at Stonehenge yesterday, but only one worked,and that was dodgey.

So in full tinkerin mode i set to em tonite, its quite easy really as done them before.
takes aboot 10 mins to sort one oot.
the  main culprit is dirty contacts int bottom sliding rails and rollers.
thees get dirty,and no let current thru.
soaked em in cleaning fluid first for 20 mins, but still no joy.


there a nak to getting the OD slider switch off, gotta sort of push to side,and lift up at same time.
when thats off, then ye can get to the innards,
no much in there, but a quick clean of the contacts and rollers,and its fine.
pics can say moer than words,so ave a deek thru here, see wats wat.

in this pic, you can see the contacts at bottom, not quite so clear is the contact rails at bottom are on a slope to nowt, so thats how it switches off.
Ive took the ally plate off this one, just so ye all can get a better veiw inside,
NO need to tek this off at all.





the bits that doo the work, note state of spring, the contacts and rollers were the same, no wonder it / they, no worked. rollers been cleaned up. butt can see the crap in the middle bar.



the sliding switch bit, if ye wagglelate it to one side,an push up, it come off,
there two wee barbs on either side, so gotta press to side,so yan comes freeish.
the wee barbs are either side of the point bit,  this point bit,fits into the spring cup.



end result, 5 working switches noo. the tops were a bit scruffy, so put em on me polishing wheel
with a soft mop,and blue soap, come up like new. as ordinary polish,cleaning did nae work
still were very dull,scratched,and awfy all over.



may save some one a wee bit of loot,if yours goes wrang.

M

[rotoflex]

Awesome, Marcus.

[TedTaylor]

Excellent Marcus.  As a matter of interest (and a big saloon person) what's that one off with reverse to the left?

Ted

[Richard B]

1526 wrote:

what's that one off with reverse to the left?

Three rail (Spitfire, GT6 & Vitesse)




Reverse by 3rd (1500 Spitfire)
Reverse by 4th (big box)

[StagNL]

I've done a bit of tinkering with these things in the past.  I found that when operating the switch the roller at the bottom would not roll off the raised plastic middle rail onto the metal contact rails.  It would stay put regardless of the ssitch slider position.  My solution was to add material (a few layers of tape) to the inside of the housing.  In Marcus' second pic on the upper, inner side of the housing.  Just enough to allow a break in the contacts but enough to allow the spring to force the roller to move when commanded.

[rotoflex]

If anyone else is undertaking refurbishing those & wonders how to re-paint the engraved white letters, the tool/substance used for painting engraved lettering is a lacquer stick.  Trivia & obscure training acquired from occasionally refurbishing theatre organ stop tabs.

[heraldcoupe]

rotoflex wrote:

If anyone else is undertaking refurbishing those & wonders how to re-paint the engraved white letters, the tool/substance used for painting engraved lettering is a lacquer stick.  

I never knew that, I've always used acrylic or enamel paints and kept a steady hand with a fine brush!

The reproduction caps are well moulded, but the paint is usually flaking away inside the packets, so they need remedial work before they can be fitted.

Cheers,
Bill.