Garcia
Member
My car came with a replacement ignition switch, and I've been wanting a pop up switch ever since. I managed to get one that I should have just installed as it was, but I wanted to clean it up first. Cleaning was no problem, but for re-assembly instead of splicing a new wire to the brass tip, I removed the tip to attach a new wire directly to it. In doing that, I destroyed the black insulator surrounding the brass tip. I substituted a rubber faucet washer, but when I installed the switch, I had no voltage at the point arm, so I assumed the cable had shorted.
I ordered a cable repair kit, figuring it would be the easiest solution. Wrong. When I attempted to twist the cable into the switch body, I found the cable was too thin. The cable that came with the car and the cable I bought both are 0.54 inch thick. The cable that came with the cable repair kit is 0.51 inch thick. That 0.03 inch is enough to make a difference.
I should have returned the cable repair kit, but I'm not that smart. Instead, I pulled the distributor end off the repair kit cable and attempted to twist it onto the cable that came with the pop up switch. Just as the repair kit cable was too thin to fit the switch body, so was the pop up cable too thick to fit the end piece from the repair kit. I finally managed to get the end (now all bungered up with vise grip scratches) kind of twisted on and everything assembled. I still had no voltage at the point arm.
The cable tested OK for continuity and non-continuity where it should be, so I started looking at the distributor. It turned out that the brass clip from the upper plate to the wireless lower plate had slipped sideways and created a short. Once I got it straight and securely attached, the cable was no problem--I hadn't needed the cable repair kit at all.
I'm slowly learning about reproduction parts. You'd think the folks making them would be able to measure the original parts and make their reproductions the same size, but maybe that's too much to ask. Right now, I have a cable jammed into the connector end and held in place by the clamp on the cylinder head. It seems to be working.
I ordered a cable repair kit, figuring it would be the easiest solution. Wrong. When I attempted to twist the cable into the switch body, I found the cable was too thin. The cable that came with the car and the cable I bought both are 0.54 inch thick. The cable that came with the cable repair kit is 0.51 inch thick. That 0.03 inch is enough to make a difference.
I should have returned the cable repair kit, but I'm not that smart. Instead, I pulled the distributor end off the repair kit cable and attempted to twist it onto the cable that came with the pop up switch. Just as the repair kit cable was too thin to fit the switch body, so was the pop up cable too thick to fit the end piece from the repair kit. I finally managed to get the end (now all bungered up with vise grip scratches) kind of twisted on and everything assembled. I still had no voltage at the point arm.
The cable tested OK for continuity and non-continuity where it should be, so I started looking at the distributor. It turned out that the brass clip from the upper plate to the wireless lower plate had slipped sideways and created a short. Once I got it straight and securely attached, the cable was no problem--I hadn't needed the cable repair kit at all.
I'm slowly learning about reproduction parts. You'd think the folks making them would be able to measure the original parts and make their reproductions the same size, but maybe that's too much to ask. Right now, I have a cable jammed into the connector end and held in place by the clamp on the cylinder head. It seems to be working.
