MarkD

Well, yeah


Lee, unfortunately the switches often fail at the pivot point. Mechanically, not electrically

Chris L

I remember seeing somewhere how to fix these with a paper clip. You drilled a hole in the broken pivot and put a short piece of paper clip to make a new pivot. I fixed mine a few years ago and its holding up just fine.

Just can't find the webpage today.

Chris.

PNogC2S

I've repaired the pivot point failure by drilling it out (drill press works best, to be sure it's a straight hole across the pivots on both sides), then replacing the broken pivot with an aluminum rod cut to the right length. The only trick is you have to adjust the little springs that control the rocker, because the new rod goes right through their recesses. I've done one, and it's working nicely (also cleaned up the contacts while I was in there). There's no way aluminum rod is going to fail! -- When (not if) another one fails, I'll take some photos, write it up and post it.

samba-lee

Like it - pictures would be useful since it's obviously a popular issue. I have a full workshop for model engineering so repairing something like this is a nice challenge and should be easy if mine ever go.

Lee

PNogC2S

If I get some spare time this weekend I'll pop out the one I fixed and snap a couple of photos.

dcdude

UPDATE: My car is somewhat of a garage queen and the first of three(?) of the "Hamburg-Technic" versions I described above have failed on the passenger side after three years or probably 10 cycles by my wife. Pelican only has the generic "German" for $44. I saw another thread here that said Sunset sells the OEM to us for $36 (sounds cheap!)

I'm just tried the excellent repair option from brucec59, but I think that the hole I drilled was too sloppy, which affected the switch performance. As a result, it clicked and stayed in one position. I was worried that a passenger might not return this switch to "neutral," leading to a burned-out window motor, etc. which could cost more than the $50 at stake here to begin with!

So I went this route. One obvious difference I see is that the cheapest ones out there (including the ones I first bought) have a single, wide plastic clip each on the top and bottom, whereas the "better" OEM and perhaps the $15 "URO" model at Autohaus AZ have two individual metal humps on each side. The stamped numbers by the pins look indentical to what appears on the OEM one I pulled out in '09.

1pcarnut

I've had the Uro version on my driver's side for over a year now, so far so good, and I actually like the feel of it over the factory version, it's a little shorter throw. ymmv

dcdude

UPDATE: Received three Uro brand switches from Autohaus AZ yesterday. Unfortunately, they appeared to be identical to the garbagey "Hamburg-Technic" versions that I had before. There are no metal mounting springs, just plastic mounting clips. One of these clips actually snapped off upon installation! Fortunately, it still functions, but the mount isn't snug. I'll keep it in there until it fails.

At this point, my conclusion is that there is no difference between the current aftermarket offerings. I wonder if they're all made on the same line in China? The real question is, will by three aftermarket switches last as long as a single Porsche switch? The cost is the same. Time will tell...

brucec59

No doubt. As I always say, "Buy ten thousand and they'll put your name on it."

Testdr

Just received these from Type911. (on the right)
Compared to the factory ones i pulled from the car.



Definity not the same switch, but different from the URO parts.
What do you guys think ? A little pissed since they market it as genuine on their page.
https://sslrelay.com/type911shop.co....26aid%3D915%26
Already wrote them an email for a return.

ltc

I just purchased the OEM switch from Sunset Imports.
It was $39.00 and was the OEM 964 P/N. IIRC, they had 9 pieces in stock.
Had the switch in 2 days via USPS Priority Mail.

Mike J

Can you post pictures of the switch you get? It would be interesting to compare to those being sold on the internet. Since Porsche does change suppliers and design sometimes, comparing the original 15+ year old switch to the new one is not really fair, but comparing a fresh one from an internet seller vs the dealer - that would be interesting.

Cheers,

Mike

Don't lift

Just bought some from Sunset at $39 a pop, went with the cheaper ones last time....lasted less than 1 year....total crap ! I guess most things are... you pay for what you get !
______________
'97 Blk/Blk C2S

x50type

Been using the cheap ones for 5 years - absolutely no problem.

'corse if you are a porsche snob and must have the OE porsche ones - go for it............

Testdr

Depends on how often you wind the window up & down and how much force you use. I know i am pretty rough with the switches, using my whole outside edge of my palm to open both windows at the same time. Since its a daily drive, it means about 6x a day(i hardly ever drive with the AC on ). I replace a switch on average every 1.5 yrs.