GT6 reverse light switch help

[rulloyd]

Hi all.  A bit mystified!  My reversing lights are working intermittently.  It’s something to do with the selector or the switch as if I take it in and out of reverse gear enough times by the 10th time or so, they come on.  I suspect the switch it a bit gunked up as the box has been idle for 15 years so will check.

BUT I can’t find the particular switch I have listed anywhere or shown in my parts manual or even the hole in the gearbox for it.  The types sold my dealers mount on a separate bracket.  Are they the same?  See video.  

All advice appreciated!!!

thanks.    
 

Rich

[johny]

I can see the reverse switch just under the gear lever extension and youre right different designs were used. In fact as youve got no overdrive its the only electrical connection to your gearbox and just unscrews although not sure if the extension will stop it coming out completely....

[Colin Lindsay]

That's the reversing switch ok, the other one is the overdrive switch which is the same switch but on a bracket that bolts on top of the box, at the front. You can see both in the photo, but yours is the one underneath. The other is for overdrive. You just unscrew the switch, screw in a replacement, and reconnect, but with that large contact block on top of yours the extension may need to come off too - it's only four nuts. You'll probably find that it's gummed up or else the contact has worn off over the years. New ones are only about £10 or so.

 

  

[rulloyd]

Thanks both .  Mine has horizontal terminals.  The ones for sale are all vertical?  Does this not foul the extension?

[rulloyd]

Ah, I see Paddocks have it.  👍👍

[Pete Lewis]

adjustment is by a card washer may just need it removing

its in a good  oil splash zone a smear of sealer on the threads will help leaks 

many of the SA141 type  switches can be prised apart and cleaned   many as colin says go green inside 

Pete

 

[johny]

Just a word of warning Rich, Im not saying its the case here but, as you might have read, the quality of replacement parts these days can be pretty poor so its often worthwhile renovating original stuff...  

[rulloyd]

Thanks both.  Tested the switch off the car and it works fine.  It had 2 quite thick fibre washers.  Thinking I’ll replace the two with one new one and some ptfe for good measure. 
 

hope that cures it and it’s not what ever activates the switch in the g/box

[Colin Lindsay]

58 minutes ago, rulloyd said:

Thanks both .  Mine has horizontal terminals.  The ones for sale are all vertical?  Does this not foul the extension?

It will be the switch; the contact on the originals is soft metal and damages easily. You can get the horizontal terminals easily, that will clear the top extension; and it's possible you may find an original one with short cables attached, which make connection slightly easier, but those are hard to find these days.

BAU1074A is the unit number, in case you want to shop around.

[rulloyd]

Thanks Colin.

Thr original part number is 127380 (now obsolete) in case anyone is reading this thread and wondering.

The actual switch which is Lucas is stamped 31849A  1470.

[Colin Lindsay]

All you'll find these days for 127380 is that it is either unavailable or superseded, so the Lucas part number is the important bit as they were used on many cars of the period. 

Mine is stamped 30451A, but it's one of the early versions which had short cables soldered to the terminals to make connecting to the loom easier. Keep an eye out for them, they're worth getting.

[NonMember]

1 hour ago, rulloyd said:

It had 2 quite thick fibre washers.  Thinking I’ll replace the two with one new one and some ptfe for good measure. 

My money would be on that.

I had a Stag, some years back, which uses the same switch fitted in a very similar location, for the overdrive inhibitor. It developed a fault whereby the overdrive would stop working, in 3rd only, once warm. Removing the spurious second washer fixed that.

[rulloyd]

Yep, removed a washer and all working fine 👍

thanks for all the feedback

[johny]

Good result. Are you doing anything else while you have the box exposed? It looks in good condition but the list could include:

check all bolt tightness, inspect mounting rubbers, condition of gear lever linkage, oil level, change clutch fluid and sound proof cover...

[rulloyd]

2 minutes ago, johny said:

Good result. Are you doing anything else while you have the box exposed? It looks in good condition but the list could include:

check all bolt tightness, inspect mounting rubbers, condition of gear lever linkage, oil level, change clutch fluid and sound proof cover...

Hi Johny.   The whole car has been rebuilt from the ground up including replacing the chassis.  My good friend Peter (otherwise known as Jade Mutley on YouTube) is doing the VAST majority of the work.  If you search GT6 mk2 restoration on Google, the majority of videos showing are my car - which we are just now completing.  😁😁