31' Key switch

[31 A4door]

Anybody have info on how to fix this switch? This one I have seems as though there is is no pressure on the contacts so it does work if I take it out and turn it upside down. The back is swedged. I thought maybe pry out the steel back and fix the inside and then hold the back in with liquid steel or something.???

What do you think?

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Don't patch it, it'll come back to haunt you. Tam's Model A Parts has a REALLY good heavy duty one. Bill W.

[MikeK]

Replace the switch? BOLDERDASH.

Fixing a later 30-31 Electrolock switch is EASY. Don't be in a hurry to get rid of an original part!

I borrowed (blatantly ripped off) one of Tom W 's pix to help illustrate. My page below also shows how the switch grounds out (electrically locks) the ignition.

You DO NOT have to remove the back unless you wish to resolder or replace the wire in the armored cable.

Remove the cylinder by backing out the two retaining screws, visible in Tom's photo. Now is a good time to give the cylinder a solvent wash and lube it with graphite oil.

Look at the left illustration. There are two springs. The larger one sits on a locating pin and pushes the cylinder forward. The smaller one sits under the dimple visible in the center of the bronze contact. (Look at Tom's photo) Both need a little stretch after 80 years of compression.

Clean the contact surfaces. Make sure the smaller spring forcefully closes the contacts. Re-assemble and test.

WOW! That was hard. Godspeed under 40.

[HoarseWhisperer]

Replace the switch? BOLDERDASH.

Fixing a later 30-31 Electrolock switch is EASY. Don't be in a hurry to get rid of an original part!

Excellent advice! Even I, of the "electrically-challenged" group has been able to follow these diagrams to repair original pop-outs.

I'm guessing it will be another 80 years before they need repair again.

[HoarseWhisperer]

True. The "spring loaded pin" is located at the bottom "out-dent" in the photo.

I use a small scratch awl through the hole to depress and out it comes.

[31 A4door]

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Keep it coming. I tried to get it out of there for a few minutes this morning but no go.
You guys are still saying I don't have to remove the back to fix it ?

Trying to figure out how to get at that pin through the key hole......

[Dale G.]

If you continue to have no luck getting the tumbler out, send it to John Holland, he does excellent work on these pop-out switches. 330-483-3895. He is in Ohio.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

Don't patch it, it'll come back to haunt you. Tam's Model A Parts has a REALLY good heavy duty one. Bill W.

When I posted this, I thought he had a pop-out "look-alike" switch. Personally, if it was my car, I would put in a good re-pro "look alike" switch & put that GLORIOUS pop-out on the shelf to add to my HORDE of parts, until, of course, someone wanted it SO bad that they would mortgage their FIRST BORN to buy it $$$$$$$$.
Chief always said, "EVERYTHING" has it's PRICE!!
I've seen several Model A's go down to DEFEAT in really fun parades with pop-outs that didn't POP right!! Bill W.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Taking the 1931 popout apart isn't too bad a job. I used a small sharp chisel to bend back the potmetal over the cover. You can leave one side as is and lift the cover off. I then replaced the bad wire and recrimped the potmetal. I removed the key part without drilling any holes, but don't recall what I did. To remove the plunger end I had to use a Dremel and small pointed diamond bit to grind away the 4 tabs. I them bent 4 new tabs to hold the end in place.

[31 A4door]

Yep these pictures all show taking the back off. Thats what I am going to do at work tomorrow....

[31 A4door]

Okay that was easy. Took about 40 minutes. Took the back off like I thought. [ Did not have to take the tumbler out ] took out the 1 screw for the power wire, twisted the contact and pulled it out. Bent the inside contacts [ they don't look like this picture ] and put it back together.

Lot's of pressure on the contacts now and ohms out good. Back in the car this afternoon.
Jerry

[HoarseWhisperer]

Originally Posted by 31 A4door

Lot's of pressure on the contacts now and ohms out good. Back in the car this afternoon.
Jerry

Look forward to hearing of your success.

[Rock Hornbuckle]

I want to see how it works, I may come over one evening this week.

[31 A4door]

Okay Rock anytime after about 5 would be safe.

[31 A4door]

Okay It's haunting me like Bill W. said it would. I put it in last night in the rain and it wouldn't work. Seems to have a short now where the power screw goes though the case.
I will give it another thy and maybe make a new insulator for it tonight.. that should work.

[Rock Hornbuckle]

Originally Posted by 31 A4door

Okay It's haunting me like Bill W. said it would. I put it in last night in the rain and it wouldn't work. Seems to have a short now where the power screw goes though the case.
I will give it another thy and maybe make a new insulator for it tonight.. that should work.

I'll be there at 5, I must see this. I've never been inside one of these. I need to learn this.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Look carefully at my first picture. With the key cylinder removed it's the same as the popout being on and the center contact is making contact with the contact leading to the wire in the armored cable. The long wire is often missing it's insulation and shorts to ground is it's the original wire. In the first picture, the 2 outer contacts on the springy contact are the ground contacts, and they ground the points when the switch is pushed in.

The wire shown in the second picture is the new wire I soldered in place to replace the original wire.

[31 A4door]

Okay, Take 2 . Took it apart at lunch and fiddling around to see if it was grounding out to the case.... It was but inside the shield.. Unsoldered the old wire and pulled it out to find it was shorting about where it comes through the firewall.

New wire and wallah it works fine now. This just tells me don't use One inch of the old wires in this car.