Technical Heater switch

[Chalmers86]

Heater switch became stiff so I removed it and found the following –

In this thread below Inki, second poster, mentions the ball and spring setup. Is it possible to fix mine or do I need a new switch?
https://www.fiatforum.com/punto/256981-punto-heater-fan-switch-broken.html

I can't really see where the springs and ball bearing would fit back in so I'm feeling a new switch is in order

Cheers!

 

[s and b]

i think its fair to say the best way forward would be replace in this case
going to have to keep these in future if i scrap a punto as i never realised they caused so many problems

 

[Chalmers86]

Thanks for the reply.

Next question … Might seem silly but I’m pretty much a novice when it comes to these things! How do I actually remove the switch?

The picture I have uploaded is just part of the switch the other part is connected but I don’t want to pull on it to hard as it’s connected to wires. How do I remove that part?

Will this switch be okay?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-Punto-Heater-Fan-Speed-Switch-Mk2-1999-2006-/110778645028?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item19caebfa24

 

[s and b]

sorry cant help,because all the cables come off them ive always left them in situ so never worked on one
this is why next breaker i have i will strip it and see how it ticks
hopefully someone else can help you

 

[Chalmers86]

Fiat quoted me £104 for part and fitting! From Fiat the switch on its own was just under £40 so EBay was cheaper.Local Garaged quoted me between £20 - £40 for fitting – depending on how long it took to fit.

To be honest I’d rather try and fit it myself … Was close to have the full switch removed myself. It was just attached to some tight wiring so I couldn’t pull it through the dash. The part attached to the wiring is featured in the first post in this thread –

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto/245504-heater-switch-problem.html

Anyone’s help would be appreciated!

Chalmers86

 

[inki]

Hi, my post was for a 2004 Punto, that switch is different from mine, but looking at the picture of the switch,spring & where the ball bearing goes it looks chewed up so replacing this part only should sort it. p.s you will see the channel where the bearing runs lube this channel with a little grease before fitting.

 

[Chalmers86]

Got the new switch in the mail today!

Was a real hassle to get the old switch from the dash because the wiring behind it didn’t have much give. The connector for the switch kinda reminded me of the ISO plug for my car stereo (sorry took no pictures) which I finally managed to unclip by lodging a screw driver behind the switch.

Again because of the wiring it was hard to fit the new switch. Once fitted a quick test proved my effort a success!

Whilst putting the centre console back in place I realized the new switch was protruding out further from the dash than the previous switch. I filed part of the switch down a couple of millimetres. This helped but then realised the actual knob for the switch was rubbing on the centre console. This made turning the control tough and probably resulting in the switch breaking again.

I then also filed the knob down as far as possible and greased it before replacing the centre console. This seems to have worked brilliantly!

I’m not sure if the reason the switch became stiff was because it began rubbing on the centre console or because of heat in the switch causing the inside to become stiff and brittle.

Anyway, its sorted now and I thought I’d post how a follow up for anyone else that needed help. Sorry about the lack of pictures.

Chalmers86

 

[Chalmers86]

Hi, my post was for a 2004 Punto, that switch is different from mine, but looking at the picture of the switch,spring & where the ball bearing goes it looks chewed up so replacing this part only should sort it. p.s you will see the channel where the bearing runs lube this channel with a little grease before fitting.

Thanks for the reply Inki!!

Yeah, my car is a 2004 model. I would have thought they were the same, maybe its just so chewed up it looks different?

Took your advice and lubed the channel, hopefully this won’t be happening again now.