Repairing a Cracked Spade on an Ignition Switch

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moparmat2000

moparmat2000

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moparmat2000 submitted a new Article:

Repairing a cracked spade on an ignition switch.

Hi y'all,

I have a 69 ignition switch with key i bought that was used but out of a low mileage mopar that was rotted out. That part is a different story, however the switch when i got it, i found that it had a crack in one of the spade lugs that will need to be repaired before use. Instead of getting a sinking feeling coupled with an oh damn, i formulated a plan to repair it. This repair can be used on wiper switches, headlamp switches, or any other factory switch thats tabbed and riveted in this way. Follow along as i make a permanent repair to this part.

First pic is the backshell of the switch with the spade cracked at the radius of the 90° bend. There is barely enough left holding it attached.

View attachment 1715093264

First I added a small amount of solder to the radius. This will stiffen it up some but wont make this strong enough long term.

View attachment 1715093266

I fabricaed a small angle from .004" brass sheet stock to fit into the radius.

View attachment 1715093267

Using a small amount of flux on the angle i heated the solder back up and the angle slid into position in the molten solder. She isnt real pretty, however the joint is now as strong or stronger than original, and the soldered on repair splint is low enough that the switch will fit into its connector.

View attachment 1715093268
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Read more about this article here...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I hope this can help people who have run into this problem instead of trashing the switch. Some of these switches like the Vspeed wiper switches are vehicle year specific and tough to find now that they are approaching 50 years old.
 
barracudadave67 said:
Nice work. 69s are a one, and only year for ignition switches
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Yeah. The car it was from had only about 19k on its odometer and was parked on dirt in 1970 never to be driven again, and was left to rot into the ground. Crazy i know. But i was able to get the ignition switch and a pair of door locks w an aftermarket working key. I figure with that low of mileage when parked, the contacts in it were probably still decent. One door lock cylinder was good. The other was rough with corrosion, so i swapped its pins and tumblers into a different door lock cylinder i had in better condition. I have a key cutting machine at work, and a pair of new chrysler blanks i will be cutting in a few weeks.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Yeah. The car it was from had only about 19k on its odometer and was parked on dirt in 1970 never to be driven again, and was left to rot into the ground. Crazy i know. But i was able to get the ignition switch and a pair of door locks w an aftermarket working key. I figure with that low of mileage when parked, the contacts in it were probably still decent. One door lock cylinder was good. The other was rough with corrosion, so i swapped its pins and tumblers into a different door lock cylinder i had in better condition. I have a key cutting machine at work, and a pair of new chrysler blanks i will be cutting in a few weeks.
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The do sell the 69 switch repo now.
 
Yes thats true, i can get a new switch now, or also theres a kit that allows use of the 68 and older switch too. However i think i payed $25 for that one ign switch with matching door locks, the plastic bezel, lock nut, a working key, and light package ign light. All pieces that were missing i needed for a restoration. So a little refurb, and repair was no big deal since the switch had such little mileage on it.

The gist of the thread was that stuff like this can be repaired, if that is your only option.
 
Looks good. Another option instead of the brass would be simply a short piece of solid copper wire laid down in the corner, guess no 12 or so

What specifically did you use for flux? Electronics (non corrosive) flux is hard to find locally
 
moparmat2000 said:
I used electronics solder with the built-in flux
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LOL somehow I had the impression you added extra. We have a liquid flux at work, but it is for no-lead solder. Now THAT was a learning experience
 
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