Rejuvenating 1995-up window switches

[someotherguy]

Dupe of a post I just put up on Chevytalk...

No pictures this time around, sorry! Was in a hurry to get windows working and up before rain hit, so I'm doing this from memory.

A common problem on the 1995-up trucks is the window switches quit working after many years of use, particularly the driver's window. Replacements are easy to get and install but kind of pricey - especially if you're a crew cab or 4 door SUV; a good quality replacement is about $100!

If you don't mind taking a small amount of time and effort, these switches can be repaired with no special tools or experience whatsoever.

Remove switch unit from its pod on the door panel.

Carefully remove the button tops by wiggling/twisting them just a little bit until they pop off; they're just pushed on at their pivot point to the switch body.

Lift off the debris protective layer (likely in poor shape at this point but no sense in making it worse.)

Now you're looking at the tops of the switches, with two white nubs poking out of each one, where the button tops contact them. Look carefully - the black cover surrounding each switch can be removed, too. They sort of look like the lids on marine battery boxes. VERY carefully pry this off with a small screwdriver.

Inside you'll see a pair of leaf switch contacts - up/down. Do note that on the driver's window switch they're double contacts (I didn't remove the caps on the others, so I don't know yet) where there are 3 leafs, all with contact points on them.

Use a slim cut piece of business card or other thick paper to slip between the contact points, and gently press on the leaf to close the contacts against the paper, and run it back and forth. Don't use anything more abrasive than just plain paper, as scratches on the contacts will shorten their life.

A few shots of good contact cleaner like DeOXIT is a good idea, too.

Made a 100% inoperative driver's window switch on my '97 Suburban work like new again! Only takes a few minutes, and practically half the work you'd have to do anyway if replacing the switch with a new one.

Richard

 

[88GMCtruck]

Great info! Many items with contacts get this way over time, I've had to clean relay contacts as well.

 

[someotherguy]

I have to clean contacts when fixing up old pinball machines. Use the same method - a strip of business card, press the contacts together and rub. If they're really crudded over I use a tiny dab of Wenol polish on the card.

And it's a LOT of freakin' switches...

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Richard

 

[df2x4]

I have to clean contacts when fixing up old pinball machines. Use the same method - a strip of business card, press the contacts together and rub. If they're really crudded over I use a tiny dab of Wenol polish on the card.

And it's a LOT of freakin' switches...

You must be registered for see images attach

Richard

Wish you lived closer, I've got a 1972 Bally Galahad machine that needs some work.

 

[someotherguy]

I'm glad I don't work on electromechanical machines like that 1972 Bally they make me nuts. I work on electronic machines - pretty much 1978-up.

Check this out though, there's a pinball collector's registry searchable by area, and sometimes you can find people on there that list they will work on machines, or can recommend someone who will. http://user.xmission.com/~daina/tpcr/index.html

Richard

 

[df2x4]

I kind of figured, the picture you posted looks a little newer and slightly less intimidating than my Bally. Thanks for that link, though! Very cool! Threw in my area code and got a bunch of results.

 

[someotherguy]

Guys that really "get" electro-mechanical (EM) machines feel like they're far easier to work on. To a degree, it's just a matter of making sure all the contact points are clean and gapped properly. It's obviously more complicated than that, but that's at the core of it.

When you start having to work on electronic machines, complexity goes way up, but in a totally different way. Teaching myself to troubleshoot these (along with a little help) is always challenging. This is an example of what's inside Pin*Bot, one of my favorites, 1986:

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Richard

 

[df2x4]

That's awesome. I've never seen the guts of anything past late 70's, interesting how the main boards are set up in the head of the cabinet. Where do all those ribbon cables go that snake out towards the front? More PCBs for lights and stuff?

 

[someotherguy]

The smaller PCB with all the ribbon cables is the display controller - for the scores and credit/match displays on the other side. The large board is a combination MPU and solenoid/lamp driver board; the earlier systems had those as separate boards with an interconnect that was often problematic. Top right is power supply, lower right is aux power supply for the flippers. Top left is sound/speech/music. Pin*Bot has some pretty awesome music and sound effects, and a decent degree of very robot-sounding speech. Excellent game; if you're not 100% committed to EM's you might seek one out and give it a play. It's a fairly high production # machine so they're still out there available for collectors at reasonable prices, not like the newer games which have gone astronomical.

Oh, and just FYI the under playfield shot I posted first was from Pharaoh, a 1981 Williams game that was one of four split-level games, the most popular of which was the original Black Knight. Pretty cool game but they didn't make a lot of units on Pharaoh. I have the rarest of the four split-levels of that era, Solar Fire, which is crazy fun. Only 782 of them made so they're tough to find. Story has it that some of the artwork on the backglass was too similar to Battlestar Galactica, and they got sued, stopped production. Unsure of the accuracy on that story though!

Richard