Light switch / horn rod removal

R

Randy308

Junior Member
I have removed the bail and pulled the cover off of my light switch at the end of my steering column. The wire and disk with the brass connections ( switch) have been moved out of the way. The end of the horn rod still has the brass ring and fiber disk stuck on it. Les Andrews book says to just pull it off. I have pulled on this with needle nose pliers and it will NOT come off the end of the rod. It appears to be locked onto the end of the rod somehow. Any advise would be appreciated. It is a '30 Coupe.
 

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Do not pull it off it is connected to the horn wire! push up on spider and remove the half moon clip,the horn rod removes from inside car,if it is a closed car drop the steering column and pull it out
 
That part should just pull off. The spider is above the upper body (that part) and needs to be removed to get the light/horn rod out of the column.
 
If you expand the photo you can see that Randy's problem is that the part of the light switch that fits up into the steering gear and mates with the spider on the end of the horn rod is stuck on the end of rod and spider. He has to remove it before he can even get to the spider.

This should slide off easily so maybe the spider is either spread or pinched causing it to grip the switch. Maybe if you replaced the bottom part of the switch housing you could get a better grip on the switch and wiggle it up and down or side to side while you pull on it. I always take the switch off the steering gear in one piece. I don't break it into two parts.
 
dumb person said:
How do you get the plastic thing with the wires off before you can reach that thing?.
Click to expand...

The two halves of the switch are locked together by two dimples in slots. Just twist the halves counter clockwise about 1/2" and pull them apart. Many can be very tough with years of corrosion. I've had to use Kroil and channel locks on a couple switch bodies I bought at swap meets.
 
Just grab the tin housing and give it a hard yank there is nothing but the wire bail that holds it on. tell us when you get it off!
 
I did get this off, finally. I thought it would just slide off, but I had to use a hardwood dowel and hammer to persuade it.
Thanks everyone for all the help.
 
The 2 halves of my housing are apart but the plastic with all the contacts on it is still stuck firmly inside and need cleaning. 50 years of dirt & rust inside. Reluctant to beat it out with a piece of wood. Any ideas?
 
dumb person said:
The 2 halves of my housing are apart but the plastic with all the contacts on it is still stuck firmly inside and need cleaning. 50 years of dirt & rust inside. Reluctant to beat it out with a piece of wood. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
The phenolic does not come out. Just clean it in the housing with carb cleaner or brake cleaner.
 
You should be able to push it out of the housing by pushing in on the wire harness. How is the harness insulation on the wires? It's a fairly tight fit inside the cover and if the insulation is shreading on the ends the wires may short out inside the cover.
 
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