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MG MGB Technical - Rheostat switch

Hi guys, driving home tonight, pulled out my panel light switch to light up the dash panel gauges on my 1967 MGBGT it came off in my hand, argggg! No dash lights home, but no problem. Anyway I'm wondering have I broken it? Can I put it back together ? I just looked at new one from Sussex mg spares £57 argggg! Can't believe it a switch! £57 can anyone help! Do you know where I can get a secondhand one! Or can this one be fixed.

Cheers

Jack

Love my MG hate parts prices!
Jack New Forest

Jack,
I'm not sure what you'd done, have you just pulled the control knob off the switch shaft, in which case just push the knob back on and see if it turns

if it doesn't try turning the the switch shaft with pliers, with the lights on of course, if you can see the panel lights working then fine you might just need a new control knob or some way of securing it if the switch to control knob fixing is broken

if the panel lights don't work try putting one or other (or both?) of the spades to a spare connect on the back of the switch

failing that forget the rheostat, why would you want the panel lights dimmer anyway, by-pass it with an arrangement of spade connectors and/or joining wires connectors that way you can reinstate a working rheostat switch later if you want to

for display only you could secure the control knob on to the switch shaft by a small bit of blue-tac on the end

have a look in your Driver's Handbook for wiring diagram
Nigel Atkins

Why are you pulling the switch in the first place??

The switch is rotary and generally a waste of time anyway - if you look on the back of it you will see it has double connectors on both sides, just pull one connector off the switch and plug it onto the other side with the second wire - this will bridge the wires and provide full brightness gauge lighting which is usually very dim by modern standards anyway.

On the other hand if you are talking about the main lighting switch that also works the headlights then that is a different matter...
Chris at Octarine Services

check here:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Triumph-TR5-TR6-2500-Lucas-Rheostat-Good-Used-/111118714156?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item19df31052c

Siggi
GHD5

>>Why are you pulling the switch in the first place??<<
I'm guess Jack has a pull switch for the lights and just made a mistake with the rheostat (could be wrong of course)

I by-passed my panel switch and joined the wires to each other and wondered how much brighter my panel lights would - the answer was none
Nigel Atkins

With modern street and car lighting the perceived need to dim the instruments of the MGB could be taken to be a joke by the factory. For years it was never an issue for me, especially with analogue instruments, as I knew by the angle of the needle what each was telling me even though I couldn't read the numbers. But as the years go by and I rarely driving the MGBs at night I've had to do something about it: Roadster tach with an alternative 'bulb' compared to the unmodified speedo.


Paul Hunt

yeap much clearer

once again our tastes differ though, green is the only colour tint I could get used to perhaps, I've not liked blue panel lights since I saw them in a modern VW years ago
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 19/07/2013 and 21/07/2013

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