ok well i had 15 extra minuts so i decided to fool with it since i was sick of having a dimmer switch that didnt dim. if you look at the 3rd gen dimmer switch and the 4th gen switch they are almost identical and they are the same size, and look like the exact same thing but one dont work, the 4th gen one, so here is what i did.

first i noticed that the 3rd gen had some extra plastic sticking out on the sides that made it so it didnt plug directly into the 4th gen headlight assembly. so i cut them off and it fit right in. as you can see below, i did it kinda quick because i didnt know i was going to end up using it, but there it is and it now fits into the 4th gen assembly and it works.




now you say why not just put it in there and use it like it is ? well i didnt like the look of the 3rd gen wheel in the assembly. so i took them apart and found some things different inside the casing, the first thing you will notice is that the circuit board is different, and that there is a extra post with a spring inside the 3rd gen assembly, which is what you need.



now as long as you can get your 3rd gen dimmer body to fit into the 4th gen assembly, all you need to do to get the 4th gen wheel in, is to take off the 2 clips holding the board down and put the 4th gen wheel in there, it has the 4th gen nubby's on the outside of the wheel, but inside the switch it is exaclty the same as the 3rd gen, and goes righ in. you dont need the heat sink that is on the 4th gen, just put the 3rd gen assebly back together like it was, with the 4th gen wheel in it, and put the two clips on, and your ready to rock.

keep in mind this is for the 3rd gen firebird assebly, not the camaro, i dont know if they are different.

 

Great information!

Mine works perfect now.

This should get stickied.

 

Also note... be careful when taking them apart. The ceramic circuit board in my 4th gen switch shattered on me. The 3rd gen one (the one you need) is a lot thicker though.

 

I'm a little confused here...what was the point? Mine dims...

 

Seems to be a problem with it not working on some cars. On my 91 Bird it was either on or off ... nothing in between.

 

hehe, mine like is in !ON! then i turn it a little bit.. then its !OFF!..... then i turn it the rest of the way, which makes it turn back on and dim correctly...

 

Sounds like you probably just have a dirty contact point.

 

meh, i gotta switch the dash out soon anyway, so i'll check it then