Headlight switch

[DeadguyLLC]

So the 1978 FJ 40 stock headlight switch is apparently unavailable. Mine is the original from 1978 and in bad shape. It's developed a short in the part that regulates dash instrument light intensity. I checked all the lead in wires and it appears to just be in the switch itself. So I need a new one, but the only ones available are pricey used ones. Should I just do away with the connector and wire in the headlights to an earlier model switch? I can get a brand new OEM one for a third of the price of a used year specific one.

 

[thebigredrocker]

I just took my hazzard switch apart and cleaned it up. I couldn't believe how dirty the inside was. I just pryed a few tabs to disassemble it. If it's not working you don't have much to lose if you take it apart.

 

[DeadguyLLC]

I already did that. The headlight switch is a little more complex than the hazard, and the '78 has a stretched out spring over a semicircle and a moving bar over it. Some where in that whole system is the short

 

[thebigredrocker]

Ahh. Dang it.

 

[pjohnson]

Toyota was good at cross over parts. Maybe a mini truck switch would work?

I would ask coolerman, he rebuilds stock harnesses and might know.

 

[DougAustinTx]

The "stretched out spring" is just a length of nichrome wire, like in a toaster. It has a specific resistance over a measured length. The wiper touches the coil along it's length to vary the resistance in the circuit. You can buy nichrome wire on Ebay. I doubt that the coil itself is shorted. It might be broken, which would make more sense.

 

[thebigredrocker]

You could also get ahold of ragingmatt. Not sure hires out but I bet he'd know how to fix it.

 

[Poser]

Pony up for a used switch, or hack your electrical system apart and wonder why you have more problems in the future.