When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
can anybody tell me how to remove the switch. I know I have to take off the access plate in the wheel well, I unscrewed the switch but it does not come out .It's a 71 coupe
Alan, I did that but it seems to be stuck, you can feel it pull like it is spring loaded, I know there is a spring inside the switch. I guess I just pull it out.
Hi bby,
There needs to be enough slack in the wiring for the switch to pull out a few inches.
Is the interior quarter trim in place? If not you can look through the grommet hole in the lock pillar to see if the wiring is stopping the switch from exposing itself.
Regards,
Alan
This is the right side. There's a similar grommet on the left side.
I think I know exactly whats happening as I just replace my door ajar switch (1970). I think the spring feeling you notice is the ends of the wire harness. My wiring harness would not let me pull the switch out completely because the wires were short.
Do you have a new switch in your hand? If not you need to get one so you can understand exactly how they work and how the wires connect.
I was still able the replace the switch by removing the wheel well inspection plate and reaching my fingers in. The hardest part was figuring out how the wires attached because I could not see them. If you look at the base of the switch from the out side you will see two small metal points sticking through the plastic base. Those are the ends of the wire connections. Just take a small screwdriver and push them flush with the base and the wires will release.
Once you have the switch out you'll see it's all really simple, but if your wire harness is short like mine it's difficult to figure out what's happening because you can't pull the switch out far enough to see the back side.
Not my picture, I stole it off the interwebs... I think it's one of Alan's.... anyhoo...
The wires connect into the back of the two silver prongs. The prongs plug into the back of the plastic on the switch and the tips barely stick through the far side. When the door is open the metal tips touch the metal nut and complete the circuit.
This is all very easy to see if your switch comes out far enough, but in my case the wires were just long enough to release the nut but still held the back of the switch in the hole.
Just push the tips back into the plastic with a small screwdriver and if you get lucky like me everything will release.
To install the tips into the new switch I used a small set of needle nose to get them started, push the switch back against the hole and pushed the wires through from the back.
03-31-2015, 05:28 PM
Door Ajar Switch
