Yes! You Can!: August 2012

My hazard switch's backlight was busted years ago and I never had the time to have it replaced. Most electricians would prefer that you changed the entire switch but as I found out - the bulbs in this thing could be easily replaced! So I decided to try it out! :)

After the center panel has been removed (read how here) - I can now access hazard switch assembly. First, I have to separate the switch from its housing by pushing it out with a small screwdriver.

Now that we have removed the switch itself, we have to take it apart to access the tiny bulb inside. Circled in the pictures above are the two clips we have to pry out TIP: Be careful not to break them :)

Take note of every component's place and orientation. The switch is a precise piece and if something's out of place you will have a difficult time putting it back together let alone make it work.

The rubber bulb holder is located underneath this white plastic - it could be easily pulled out from its terminals.

Here's the bulb/holder.

The new bulb in place. TIP: The little bulb is called a "12V rice bulb" and costs anywhere from 12-20 pesos per piece depending on where you bought them. Make sure you to have it tested before buying it.

Loop the wire in the holder and cut off the excess.

Now's a good time to clean the contacts to ensure that your switch will work seamlessly for years to come. Now that the bulb has been replaced - all thats left to do is to put it back together - put the "white piece" inside the switch's housing - the black metal wire goes in the notch - this serves as the lock when the switch is pushed in and out. Afterwards, its just a matter of placing the green part back in place. :)

My dummy switches (the ones beside the hazard switch) are already faded and worn out. Flat black paint will definitely look good on these but since I'm keeping the costs down I decided to use some leftover CF sticker instead (plus the CF look will give it some attitude :-D) . I decided to do this without removing them from the dashboard a couple of weeks ago and the results were not that good so I decided to do it over again now.

The using the leftover CF sticker raises several issues. 1. The adhesive part of the sticker is full of dust and already dried out 2. I don't have a heat gun to mold the sticker in place.

For this sticker to be useful again - I first had to wash it with some soap and warm water - that removed the dust. I was thinking of using my wife's hair dryer in place of the heat gun. PROBLEMS SOLVED! Washing it with warm water somehow stripped off its glue. I considered using mighty bond, elmers glue, glue gun and contact cement (rugby) to replace the dried out sticker but I figured that mighty bond will make the CF sticker brittle, the glue gun will leave behind lumps and elmer's glue will take a while to dry. So rugby is the way to go. The trick to using this stuff is to apply it on both the sticker and the switch and let it dry for about 10--15 minutes before joining them together.

I was suprised to see that the rugby made the sticker rubbery and stretcheable! I no longer have to use heat to manipulate the sticker to hug the corners of the rounded switch - I just needed to stretch it in place!

After trimming off the excess - I'm done!

Can't wait to put everything back in the car! yehey! :)

A/C vents repair coming up next!

Thanks to http://www.mitsulancerph.net/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1183689034 for guiding me in this DIY! :)