dwc928s4

Hello all,
84 Euro, A/T transmission. My high beams flash when barely touching the stalk. And the fog lights flash, basically it does what ever it wants and only works sometimes. I know the contacts need cleaning in the combination switch. I only have the 2 handles, part number 92861310103. I cant seem to find a cheap replacement so I am going to attempt to take it apart. I have search and found a few examples of how the screwed the switch back together.
Does anyone know of a more in depth write up. Im talking on how to remove the steering wheel, all the way down to cleaning the contacts within the switch. Anything can help.

Thanks, Dave.

kawi825

I'm in the same boat, drive mine a couple weeks back before ripping my cluster apart and everyone was flashing me, turns out I was flashing everyone every time I hit bumps and my stalk vibrated enough to flash the driving lights, had to hold it the rest of the way home, was planning on looking into it tonight if I have time, I'll report back if I find anything

Leon Speed

To remove the steering wheel remove the horn pad (pull towards you), be careful not to break the horn wire. Then remove the nut on the steering column (32 or 34 mm) and remove the steering wheel. Catch the spring washer. Loosen the pod, two 8 mm allen head bolts each side, but leave the bolts in. Remove the lower cover for the combination switch. Remove the 8 mm bolt on the clamp to the steering column. Pull the combination switch towards you and remove both white plastic connectors left and right. Presto it is off. Installation is in reverse order. Torque on the steering wheel nut is 68 Nm I believe.

Alan

BTW the instructions will be different for S4+ cars.

Alan

Alan

Those aren't foglights - they are auxilliary highbeams - so that is why they flash.

These switches are riveted together, so you have to drill those out and convert to a screw attachment - countersink the face plate so it is flush when done (no room for heads). Self tappers of a 'just so' size work OK into the plastic rivet tubes

Be very careful in dissassembly - note where every thing is (esp the little plastic part visible at the edge).

Cleaning - use just Q-tips and Stabilant or Deoxit Gold - these are in a pretty clean environment.

First diagram shows the physical structure & operatingmodes of the Hi-Lo switch - it is made up of 2 parts with a common actuator from the stalk (this is topologically unwound for clarity - here 'X' is a single thing -- the stalk on the other side of the pivot point. Here parts A & B are actually located side by side - but its difficult to represent that in a diagram).

Other pictures are connector side (back) of combo switch, Front modified with countersunk self tapping screws, inner guts (turn signal/hi-lo switch on right side), close up of the turn signal (middle under white tab) and hi/lo beam switch (foreground).

Most likely here is that your springs have become missaligned (or the case is loose). Reassembly can be a bit challenging - but its not rocket science since you may need to have several goes at this - even if you could rivet this back together - you really want screws...

Alan

dwc928s4

Wow, Thanks Alan. Great pics ! Everything understood and I feel its something I can do easily, I just hope it will cure my issues.

dwc928s4

Hello ll, got the switch apart, countersunk the top plate, put everything back together and reinstalled. Before installing you can actually see the brass bars with the spring under them from the out side. And you can work them from the outside with a screw driver to make sure everything was working properly. My headlight washers work that have never before. I cleaned everything with a q tip, polished everything with very fine sandpaper, and sprayed it all down with deoxit. Everything is working except the bright lights stay on. So pulling back on the stick or pushing forward does nothing, but make them flicker. I took it apart, checked everything again, same thing. Is there a reset or something ? Should I take the relay apart now and clean it ? where is the relay ? Blinkers, wipers, washers, everything works, except for this one last thing I cant seem to fix.

Alan

It's very fussy - the alignment has to be just right. I had this too - several times - which is why I mentioned that you need to reassemble multiple times - so the screws are a requirement.

Keep at it - it is this switch at fault NOT the relay. Do you have the little plastic thing in place properly?

See the diagram I posted - without the cover installed see if you can replicate the operating mode... I drew this diagram because it took me a good while to figure out how it was supposed to work. It is not at all obvious. Only then could I ensure it was set up to do exactly that.

BTW - the sandpaper was a mistake - much more harm than good.

Alan

dwc928s4

Well my auxillary lights are on permanetly. but I am able to to move the bar opposite of pin number 56 b. I have separate the bar and the contact at this point the auxillaries go off. I am trying to make heads or tails of alans diagram but it doesn't even show the point opposite of pin 56b on the same bar I am speaking of. This diagram makes no sense. Then when I took it apart again I lost on the little springs that are connected to the bar on the flasher side. Dammit. Now that little spring is going to cost me 150 dollars for an entire new switch.

dwc928s4

Well good thing I found the little spring. Now back to alans diagram. Can anyone explain it a little to me or is there a better write up on this thing somewhere. Sorry guys a little frustrated right now.

Alan

Keep looking at it and read the notes.

In my last photo (NOT the one below) - the center 56a electrode is on the left and the 56b, 30 & 56 are on the right.

As noted the diagram is topologically unwound so you can see whats going on - in actuality these two compound switches are just side by side in parallel. That's quite impossible to draw with any clarity of function. So that makes the bar labelled 'X' the same actual single thing (the end of the stalk) running over the middle of the sprung brass laterals.

I don't think you will find any other write up - few have ever been in here - fewer still got out again...

Alan

James Bailey

Still amazes me what some of you manage to take apart and put back together in a way so it works !! I guess it goes back to if it was put together by a human being it should be rebuildable by one ....

dwc928s4

alan, Sorry about my last post, was very frustrated when I lost the spring. But I found it, got everything back together and plugged everything in. I still have the auxillary light on all the time. Pulling the stick back of forward makes no difference other than the auxillaries just flash. I have no headlights at all. This is telling me it is not in the switch. When I raise and lower the lights, the headlights do not come on only the auxillary lights. The headlight on off switch cannot even be in the turn signal switch. When they are raised something near the headlight has to tell the bulb they are all the way up and to come on correct ? The last pic you just sent me is how exactly everything is working. I like jims post, I don't think this thing was meant to come apart, however, if I buy the new one from Jim, I worry that that is not even the problem. The headlight coming on or off, cant have anything to do with the turn signal switch.

dwc928s4

Alan, with everything together, the opposite end of 56B is touching. In the picture you do not have any numbers on that side. With everything plugged in, I can separate this junction and the auxillairies go off. something else has to be wrong because this junction is supposed to touch because the spring is right there at that point.

Alan

So what changed here. Initially you said the lights would flash to high beam randomly - so presumably low beam was working OK - but now it doesn't?

Please explain more here... what did change?

56a is both of those terminals on the left side of the last photo (bottom of the annotated one & opposite 30 & 56b) hence the shape of that terminal. I notice that for an '84 model what I show as terminal 56 is probably called terminal X (it changed on later cars).

Are you testing this with the ignition on? headlights only come on with ignition on except for the flash mode of the Aux highbeams.'

You can test the switch operation best without it connected to the car using a multimeter with crocodile clips or hooked probe tips - use my diagram to see what should be connected to what in each switch position between 56(/X) 56a, 30 & 56b.

High beams on all the time means that terminal 56a is contacting 56/X (or 30) all the time.

Alan