63' Dodge Dart Headlight Switch Repair

[SpdDemonMopar97]

Hey everyone! Glad to be a new member of this forum group! I'm an 18 year old Mopar fanatic. And an owner of a lovely 1963 Dodge Dart. Recently my headlight switch went bad and I purchased a new one from ROCKAUTO. The part is a Standard T-Series, DS165T headlight switch. I wanted to make sure this was the correct part I'm looking for, and also hopefully a nice guide of how to properly take on the task. I love working on my car, but electrical has never been my forte'. Just wanted some solid conformation before I start cracking away. Thank you very much! I hope you all have a wonderful day.

 

[Dartness]

Does anyone have any insight for this young new Mopar enthusiast??

 

[SSVDP]

The "trick" is there is a button ( it's not shown in your pic) that you need to press, this allows you to pull the knob all the way out of the dash.
Then there is a threaded nut that holds the switch to the dash. It should be round with about six notches in it - yep there's a special tool for it but I've gotten creative and removed them with a small punch (aka screwdriver) and a air of needle nose pliers.
The switch can then be pulled away from dash and the wiring connector carefully removed from switch.
Hope this helps.

 

[Killer6]

That^^^,you'll want to unhook the batt. so the lights aren't on, and the wires
aren't live while you work. You'll need to pull the sw. "on" first,then find the
spring loaded button and push it in,then pull the knob to remove.

 

[RPMagoo]

WELCOME -- From another Pennsylvania Guy. -- Lots of good people and info here. -- Enjoy !!

 

[barbee6043]

I saw on the bob tube where he carefully took the deadlight switch apart, cleaned off the old grease, soaked it in "lemon juice" to clean the terminals, it worked!

 

[SpdDemonMopar97]

Alright! Sounds good! Thank you all very much for the help. If I have any more questions, I'll be sure to ask! I appreciate the help! And thank you for the welcoming!

 

[Map63Vette]

That button can be a pain too sometime. Some switches it's pretty straightforward, others you might have to jiggle the button and the push in and out on the knob to get to to finally pop free.

 

[gdizzle]

The freaking release button is truly a PITA. Horrible design. Getting your hand all the way up there, then trying to depress the button = lots of cussing. It takes me about 10 tries before the button lets go. Once the pull out is out, then carefully use a screw drive to try to spin the bezel off. Also there is a socket tool you can buy for $17 on eBay that will make quick work or removing the bezel.

Sometimes I remove the fuse box so I can get this switch out easier to unplug the big plug on it. Then attach your new one and reverse the process.

Cross your fingers it works. I bought a brand new switch like the one you had, installed it, and the dimmer didnt work. Had to get another one, and it worked fine.