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Reverse light switch

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Old Sep 29th, 2008, 12:37   #1
222s
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Default Reverse light switch

Mine is kindly playing silly games (oh what fun!) & has decided that it would be very jolly to permanently light up the reverse lights

PS, it is definitely the switch!!! Crawled underneath & messed about with the wiring to see what happened.....

Anyhow, the offending item is on the back of the gearbox, above the o/d. Is it at all possible to change the switch with the gearbox in situ? My workshop is the gutter* & I'm skint at the moment, so garage bills aren't an option for something as insignificant as this.

* I do however have stands / ramps etc so can get the car high enough to get decent access to the underside.

Plan B is to wire in an illuminated switch so that I can switch them on or off as desired since just unplugging the wiring doesn't really appeal as I find it much easier to park in the dark with the reverse lights working.

Fankoo
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Old Sep 29th, 2008, 22:45   #2
Ron Kwas
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Default Reverse Light Switch

Frankoo;

It is possible to change the switch with gearbox/OD in-situ, but I can think of a lot of other more funner things to do instead.

You state: "...it is definitely the switch!!! Crawled underneath & messed about with the wiring to see what happened....." I'll believe you if you insist...but this does not tell me how you verified switch was the problem...switches typically fail open and so are incapable of energizing control relay...so I have my doubts! I'd verify switch function in the engine compartment by having someone watch reverse lights as I pulled the Black wire from terminal 85 of the Revering light control relay (with IGN ON reference wiring diagram: http://sw-em.com/122S%20Wiring%20Diagram.jpg), If switch at gearbox is indeed shorted and calling for the relay to be activated continuously, this will verify the problem condition.

If this is indeed verified, I'd second your Plan B...pull the wire and run it to (or temporarilly under) the dashboard where I would install a manual grounding switch. That would allow you to put off the repair until next time gearbox is out and you have better access.

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Old Sep 30th, 2008, 12:59   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Kwas View Post
It is possible to change the switch with gearbox/OD in-situ, but I can think of a lot of other more funner things to do instead.
I thought that might be the case Very annoying as this and the map light (switch locked solid - probably rusted due to screen leak....) are the only things that aren't working properly.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Kwas View Post
You state: "...it is definitely the switch!!! Crawled underneath & messed about with the wiring to see what happened....." I'll believe you if you insist...but this does not tell me how you verified switch was the problem...switches typically fail open and so are incapable of energizing control relay...so I have my doubts! I'd verify switch function in the engine compartment by having someone watch reverse lights as I pulled the Black wire from terminal 85 of the Revering light control relay (with IGN ON reference wiring diagram: http://sw-em.com/122S%20Wiring%20Diagram.jpg), If switch at gearbox is indeed shorted and calling for the relay to be activated continuously, this will verify the problem condition.
That's essentially what I had done, except waiting until it was dark so I could see the operation of the reverse lights myself, both from under the car and when checking connections under the bonnet. I checked both at the relay and at the gearbox ends of the wire, just in case it was damaged and shorting out somewhere in between. Moving the terminal on the switch (with the wire still attached) will unstick it, & it will work for a bit then it sticks on again.

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Originally Posted by Ron Kwas View Post
If this is indeed verified, I'd second your Plan B...pull the wire and run it to (or temporarilly under) the dashboard where I would install a manual grounding switch. That would allow you to put off the repair until next time gearbox is out and you have better access.
Looks like Plan B it is!

Thanks!
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Old May 28th, 2010, 09:54   #4
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morning gents,

spent a lovely evening under my Amo changing the reverse light switch on my M40. after replacing the relay, the cable and checking the lights actually worked, the last item in the chain, turned out to be the switch..

what a little bugger to change!

if you want a quick tip, take the rubber gearstick boot off and with a long pair of pliers, twist and pull the old switch out from the relative comfort of the floor of your car..

skip the step that takes an hour of fiddling, greasing the rubber switch and move straight to dropping the switch into boiling water for 5 mins before fitting.

a 9mm 1/4' socket on an extension bar works great as an instrument to exert enough force to push the new switch in..

happy days, i've now got reverse lights..


p.s. the switch was indeed broken, as the little spring was missing (presumed now located at the bottom of the gearbox)
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Old May 28th, 2010, 11:14   #5
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Ah - that's good to know! In my case, the reverse light switch is stuck on (I have wired a temporary switch on the dash to cut the power), but it would be nice to get them working properly without having to resort to removing the gearbox.

Many thanks for the tip
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Old May 28th, 2010, 22:57   #6
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Just a little funny story about this (not funny for the others!). I once had the gearbox rebuilt and was driving home down the M11. Switched into overdrive and heard a screetch behind. Thought nothing of it. Then glancing in the rearview mirror, saw a car swerve. Thought, strange lot out today. Then a massive great BMW zooms past and bloke screams "your f***ing reverse lights are on". So every time I was going into overdrive people behind were having heart-attacks because the divvy had wired it up wrong!

No particular moral here, just a memory of times gone by.

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Old May 28th, 2010, 23:34   #7
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Hah, that's class... LOL!!!
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Old May 29th, 2010, 01:15   #8
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Does that mean every time you went into reverse your overdrive came on? Can't be good for it!
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Old Jun 23rd, 2012, 22:44   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redcar View Post
if you want a quick tip, take the rubber gearstick boot off and with a long pair of pliers, twist and pull the old switch out from the relative comfort of the floor of your car..

skip the step that takes an hour of fiddling, greasing the rubber switch and move straight to dropping the switch into boiling water for 5 mins before fitting.

a 9mm 1/4' socket on an extension bar works great as an instrument to exert enough force to push the new switch in..
Wish I'd re-read this yesterday.... Now that the o/d is out, and all the transmission tunnel trim is off, this morning I thought I'd have a go at changing the switch. The old one came off fine, but the new one just didn't want to go in. I found this thread again when searching for info on it before asking whether there is a knack to it, as brute force didn't seem to work. Good to have it confirmed though that it is the right method!

However, if that trick with the socket won't work I'm probably going to remove the ally cover that it fits in - a regular screw driver can't get in there due to the gearbox-to-overdrive extension casting still being in place (I'm leaving that well alone due to all the lock tabs) but I have a cranked set that look like they should do the job.
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Old Jun 23rd, 2012, 23:06   #10
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I too have a reverse light conundrum. Bear in mind my car is an automatic. When I engage reverse, the reverse lights flicker on and off, but I can hear a relay clicking in and out rapidly/intermittently. I'm suspecting an earthing fault, but to be honest I've no idea where to start looking. Are the reverse lights activated by the selector linkage somewhere, or on the transmission itself? (My workshop manual has been packed up in a box since I moved house 8 months ago).
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