courtesy light, door switch

[harmony]

I was noticing that the light on the bottom of the dash on the passenger side, sometimes would not come on when the door was opened so I decided to check it out.  I just thought I would post a few pictures of that switch and how it works for those who might have the same issue or who just might be curious about how it works. My car is a 48 Chrysler Windsor but Walter P probably used the same switch assembly for a lot of the cars of this vintage.

 

When the door is closed the spring is compressed and the contacts are broken.  The contact is between a brass washer and a pair of brass arms coming from the base of the switch which the electrical wires are connected to on the outside of the switch.  I simply took a bit of 180 sandpaper and brightened up the washer, and ran a micro file on the contact side of the arms that make contact with the washer.  Plus I refreshed the ends of the wires. 

 

Just a note of caution.  When disassembling and reassembling the switch be super careful when bending the brass tabs that hold the whole thing together.  They are very small and fragile. 

 

Speaking of courtesy lights.  I've had the car 3 years now and I just discovered that there is a courtesy light in the ashtray.  

[Dan Hiebert]

Yep, our D24 has the same switch(es).