linderpat

I followed IMO's procedure today, and it worked like a charm. Pulled out switch, carfully pried off top part (in a large plastic bag to catch any flying pieces), and ground down carefully the underside of the top piece. I also slightly re-bent the front metal tang that clips into the consol. Put it all back together, popped it back in and whola! It works flawlessly. You cannot tell that it was ground either. Thanks for the fix Imo - saved me another $30!

Shark Attack

everyone I have had has been a headache, the whole area design is bad.. on my current car, they rub the side of the well they sit in and get stuck... they need cleaned all the time, they are a PITA to get to, to repair.. If someone woudl make a good looking mod, I would be on that boat in a second.

I love your idea, I don't like the look of the BMW buttons...

heinrich

I hit sunroof open when I want to wipe the rear window and get water all over my interior.
I hit rear wiper when I want to let the sunshine in through the sunroof, and look like a moron.

Those are irritations. I cannot NOT pay attention to them, it cannot happen automatically as it does with the other switsches in the car and I really think it needs improvement. I am not going to look down there while I drive.

AO

H-
Why not just delete the rear wipeer like I did. That way I know only the outside switches are for the windows, and one of the middle ones will give me the sunroof.

Oh yeah, and from '91 on they're all express open with express close on the driver window!

Imo000

No problem, I'm glad it worked!

fabric

I did the same thing recently - opening the sunroof for the first time this year, and dragged the wiper over a dry and dirty window. . I've never thought of this a particularly bad ergonomic design, but now that you've mentioned it, it really wasn't very well thought out, was it?

Nine2Eight

What is it with the constant references to the 928 interior being dated looking? Of course
it's dated looking (my car is 20 years old this year). If something new is desired, then why
have a 928; just go get a brand new 997 or wait for the Panamera and be done with it. If
I applied that sort of logic to my 356 SC, I would be laughed out of the club. We are dealing
with old surviving cars here, and I think most of us accept them for the state of technology
that existed when they were built.

BTW, I think the "dated" switch conversion looks fine. I agree night pics would be nice.

Nine2Eight
Tampa Bay, FL
87 928 S4
64 356 SC

GT Jackson

IMO - great idea. Too bad I'm just now getting it after having the whole inside outside on the bench. Oh well.

I can't see where lighting these switches would make any difference as you would still need to look down to stab the right one. I would prefer some sot of braille like icon so I could feel which is which.

Alan

I don't object to the look of the switches at all - functionally it seems a lot do get sticky over time - and are fiddly to fix.

However the ergonomic issue is that the rear wiper switch should just not be next to the windows & sunroof switches.

They are functionally not only not similar but they way they are implemented they are basically incompatible. Its an area you don't want to look at while you are driving - yet if you miss the right button you get a window or sunroof opening instead of rear wipers? (or the opposite) WTF!

This is bad ergonomic design however you look at it. Its just totally incompatible with how good most of the major controls are!

And yes I have fixed mine - my rear wiper control is relocated back to the pod where it started its life in the 928 design. Currently my rear wiper switch does nothing but I have a plan to replace it with this switch body below, and it will eventually function as an 'all open express' (windows & sunroof) and 'all close express' (windows & sunroof) switch.

This is a useful function for me I'd use frequently and is quite compatible with the location. It needs some significant design work to implement this safely - but I have an initial design for it already.

I'd typically use it to quickly vent the car on hot days then close the windows and sunroof soon after I get underway.

I don't really think these need to be lighted...

Alan

hacker-pschorr

Funny you should say that. The 997 interior looks sub-par to many other cars above and below it's price range. The 928 interior only looks "dated" because we have been looking at it since 1978. Hell, one of the most "modern" supercars today is the NSX. 928 interior is light years ahead of that interior, looks like a Civic.

If you want a nice interior, buy something British & cover it in wood. Like Malibu did.

Intrinsicate

I put all the switches concerned with opening and closing - windows, sunroof, hatch, community gate and garage door - in a group on the driver's door (also on the passenger's door). They are all permanently live, too. It's often very useful, especially when cleaning the car, to be able to open and close the windows and roof, without having to find a key and activate the ignition circuits. They're very easy to find, when driving, and there's no way to accidentally hit them with my elbow!

mj1pate

Chris;

Do the switches you used require a relay, or do they handle full motor operating current?

Mike

Alan

I'll answer - since its clear here - for either of Chris' cars its the full motor current - wether the switches were designed for that depends on the Mercedes they came out of. They would likely work either way - but maybe would over time have contact issues if they are not designed for high current. They would also work for the later cars with the relay window controller and should have no possible issues there...

Alan

Weissach

Does look like BMW E30 window switches. You should try the E36 ones. They are flush and look like they fit

mj1pate

Well...Here's a newby doing the same process. I filed down the switch rocker corners to a reasonably great extent. I filed down the undersides of the rocker switch lips as well as the sides of the rockers, and the switch operates with zero resistance. If this fails over time; I'm not doing this again. I'll trade switches.

Mike