Let There be Headlights!
Jan. 2nd, 2026 07:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kayla_allenThe replacement instrument panel dimmer switch and separate headlight switch arrived in the past couple of days. On Thursday, Lisa tackled replacing the switches so that we had running/marker/instrument lights again.
The first step was to remove the plastic bezel below the steering wheel, then to remove the screws holding the instrument panel bezel (the plastic frame into which things fit) and pull it out so Lisa could get at the switches.
The silver thing is the instrument panel/dome light dimmer switch. Behind it in this view is the headlight switch. Both are disconnected in this shot.
Lisa temporarily connected the new switch without mounting it, and we confirmed that all of the lights, including the running/marker lights (tail lights and parking lights) came on. This was a relief. Then she temporarily connected the dimmer switch. It's hard to tell in the daytime whether the instrument panel lights were on, but the dome light did come on when you moved the dial to the far right, so it looked like we should be okay.
Getting the switches reinstalled was a little bit of a challenge. Lisa pointed out that older vehicles tended to have bezels into which you screwed the switches, but at time when by, the manufacturers went to plastic panels like this one. You can see here at lower left that the place where the wire (upper left) that held the dimmer switch in place had failed. We had the screw, but no way to secure it. Lisa grumbled and went to the garage, where she got her drill and found a nut and bolt she could use to replace this.
She complained that it was not elegant, but it does work: Lisa drilled a hole in the bezel and secured the dimmer switch wire with a nut and bolt. Similarly due to worn out plastic, she had to tape some parts into place with electrical tape because their mounts won't accept them anymore.
After Lisa replaced the switches and reinstalled the dashboard bezels, we confirmed again that everything worked. I thanked her profusely for her ability here. Replacing the bezel would be quite difficult. Our best source would have been a junkyard where we could hope to find an old bezel that wasn't as worn out as ours was.
I'm very happy to have the lights working properly again. Driving home on New Year's, even just a couple of kilometers, with one foot holding the brake pedal on lightly in order to illuminate the tail lights, was nerve-racking even at slow speed. Particularly at this time of the year, I want the lights to work. Besides, I usually drive with my lights on for safety anyway.
The first step was to remove the plastic bezel below the steering wheel, then to remove the screws holding the instrument panel bezel (the plastic frame into which things fit) and pull it out so Lisa could get at the switches.
The silver thing is the instrument panel/dome light dimmer switch. Behind it in this view is the headlight switch. Both are disconnected in this shot.
Lisa temporarily connected the new switch without mounting it, and we confirmed that all of the lights, including the running/marker lights (tail lights and parking lights) came on. This was a relief. Then she temporarily connected the dimmer switch. It's hard to tell in the daytime whether the instrument panel lights were on, but the dome light did come on when you moved the dial to the far right, so it looked like we should be okay.
Getting the switches reinstalled was a little bit of a challenge. Lisa pointed out that older vehicles tended to have bezels into which you screwed the switches, but at time when by, the manufacturers went to plastic panels like this one. You can see here at lower left that the place where the wire (upper left) that held the dimmer switch in place had failed. We had the screw, but no way to secure it. Lisa grumbled and went to the garage, where she got her drill and found a nut and bolt she could use to replace this.
She complained that it was not elegant, but it does work: Lisa drilled a hole in the bezel and secured the dimmer switch wire with a nut and bolt. Similarly due to worn out plastic, she had to tape some parts into place with electrical tape because their mounts won't accept them anymore.
After Lisa replaced the switches and reinstalled the dashboard bezels, we confirmed again that everything worked. I thanked her profusely for her ability here. Replacing the bezel would be quite difficult. Our best source would have been a junkyard where we could hope to find an old bezel that wasn't as worn out as ours was.
I'm very happy to have the lights working properly again. Driving home on New Year's, even just a couple of kilometers, with one foot holding the brake pedal on lightly in order to illuminate the tail lights, was nerve-racking even at slow speed. Particularly at this time of the year, I want the lights to work. Besides, I usually drive with my lights on for safety anyway.
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Date: 2026-01-02 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2026-01-03 07:06 pm (UTC)