Smoking indicator switch

I just flashed another driver and noticed a substantial amount of smoke
drifting out of the switch area!

Not what you want to see when driving.

When I got home I took the covers off and flashed the headlights - the
contacts are arcing when they meet and giving off smoke. New switch time
then, I think. At least it's not the wiring.

Si - Recovered from the shock now.

 

Sorry for the following, but I just can't resist...

By now you know what it is that gets everything to work! It's the smoke.
I have experienced many times that the smoke leaks out of wiring and other
places, and normally after that the relay, wipers or wherever the wire
leads, stops working. This must mean that as long as the smoke is contained,
everything works. So beware of smoke leaks, they can indeed ruin your day,
beside ruining your car!

 

Mine only leaks when I use the switch momentarily so there still seems to be
plenty of smoke left in the wires. Hopefully it will last until my new
switch arrives in the post.

*Thinks* Do I need to re-fill the wires with smoke when I put the new switch
in or will the battery generate more?

Si

 

No, sorry, once the smoke leaks out, it's impossible to get it back
in. (Unless you've collected it!)

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

However, if you need more for testing, you can go to a store which sells
fire alarms and buy an aerosol can of smoke which is otherwise used for
testing smoke detector systems.

probably you could use a small straw as an injection device to poke more
smoke back into your switch?

 

No need. The new parts come precharged with new smoke.

Bob

 

Are you saying Volvo do not charge extra for smoke?

Bill

 

Given the price of the parts you could say it is a hidden charge.

Bob