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I really need help with putting my light switch back in, as it's starting to **** me off. I have a 91 Camaro RS. The gauge cluster faceplate was off the car when I bought it maybe a month ago. I took the light **** and shaft out just fine and was going to put the faceplate on. Once I had it in place I tried putting the light shaft back in. It WILL NOT click in place. I tried taking the faceplate off and putting it back in, and after about 30 minutes it decided to go back in. I then pulled it out to the on position (I saw that was what was encouraged before taking it out on related threads), pressed the button inside the gauge panel to release it and took it out again. THE LIGHTS WERE ON WHEN I REMOVED THE SHAFT. I put the faceplate back on again, and when I tried pushing the light shaft in through the faceplate again it just turned off the lights and wouldn't stay in. I have pretty much 0 mechanic experience. I just got a 91 Camaro shop repair manual to help me, but I don't think there's anything in there that would help me with this.
(Edit) In addition to my switch not wanting to click back into place, my high beams don't work and the turn signal stock doesn't stay back.
Last edited by Brendan_03; Sep 5, 2019 at 09:07 PM.
I have the exact opposite problem with my '91 RS: I can't get the headlight switch rod out of the car. Unfortunately I've had to remove the headlight switch about 8-10 times for various reasons in the past 2 years that I've owned it, and now the rod simply will not disengage from the spring, no matter how hard I push on the spring with a screwdriver. Ended up breaking the **** clean off the rod last time trying to get it out, and currently have it glued back on. I have to work on the cluster again tomorrow, and I'm going to have to probably break the **** into several pieces to get it out this time as the glue is probably stronger than the **** at this point.
Back to your problem, it sounds like you might have broken the turn signal lever, or at least the high beam function for it. I did the same thing after having to remove the cluster the first time, when I was too lazy to unbolt the steering column and drop it down a few inches to get the cluster out without damaging the turn signal lever. Ended up buying a complete used steering column as I also had problems with the ignition cylinder, steering wheel, horn, and tilt mechanism. There is an adjustment for the high beam switch; to see what I'm talking about, remove the lower dash trim panel that covers the column, then attempt to engage the high beams. From the underside of the column, you should see a rod that moves with the turn signal stalk when trying to engage the high beams. There is a plastic piece at the end of that rod with I believe two screws that you can loosen, and then adjust the engagement point of the high beams. I'd try that before replacing any parts. If that DOES fix your problem, make sure that the high beams engage at ALL positions of the tilt wheel. Had to tear mine apart all again because I had initially adjusted my new column so that the high beams could only be engaged with the wheel tilted all the way up.
If you do need a new turn signal lever, I would strongly recommend NOT attempting it on your own as steering columns are very complex, and improper service may lead to an accident or injury. Also keep in mind that absolutely no one makes anything close to the correct original one with the yellow lettering at this point, which is another reason that I decided to find a complete column with the correct turn signal lever.
I have the exact opposite problem with my '91 RS: I can't get the headlight switch rod out of the car. Unfortunately I've had to remove the headlight switch about 8-10 times for various reasons in the past 2 years that I've owned it, and now the rod simply will not disengage from the spring, no matter how hard I push on the spring with a screwdriver. Ended up breaking the **** clean off the rod last time trying to get it out, and currently have it glued back on. I have to work on the cluster again tomorrow, and I'm going to have to probably break the **** into several pieces to get it out this time as the glue is probably stronger than the **** at this point.
Back to your problem, it sounds like you might have broken the turn signal lever, or at least the high beam function for it. I did the same thing after having to remove the cluster the first time, when I was too lazy to unbolt the steering column and drop it down a few inches to get the cluster out without damaging the turn signal lever. Ended up buying a complete used steering column as I also had problems with the ignition cylinder, steering wheel, horn, and tilt mechanism. There is an adjustment for the high beam switch; to see what I'm talking about, remove the lower dash trim panel that covers the column, then attempt to engage the high beams. From the underside of the column, you should see a rod that moves with the turn signal stalk when trying to engage the high beams. There is a plastic piece at the end of that rod with I believe two screws that you can loosen, and then adjust the engagement point of the high beams. I'd try that before replacing any parts. If that DOES fix your problem, make sure that the high beams engage at ALL positions of the tilt wheel. Had to tear mine apart all again because I had initially adjusted my new column so that the high beams could only be engaged with the wheel tilted all the way up.
If you do need a new turn signal lever, I would strongly recommend NOT attempting it on your own as steering columns are very complex, and improper service may lead to an accident or injury. Also keep in mind that absolutely no one makes anything close to the correct original one with the yellow lettering at this point, which is another reason that I decided to find a complete column with the correct turn signal lever.
Yeah, after doing a little more research I found some videos showing how to fix my high beams. Still have no idea what to do with the light switch, though. I've tried putting it in while pressing the spring loaded button and pushing in every possible direction but it won't go in, even with a little bit more than reasonable force.
What are you trying to push the button in with? With my finger i can barely reach to push the button, not enough to click the stem in place.A long screw driver works well, but wants to slip off constantly. Also the stem is triangular and so is the hole.So if you don't line them up, it will never go in.
There is a plastic "nut" that is round and it threads into the HS and holds it in the plastic dash panel behind the face plate. Those are prone to breakage and will not hold the switch in place when you try to push the rod in. Sometimes it is hard to tell it is broke as it looks like part of the dash. If that is your case you can get one from Classic Industries.
