M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Interior => Topic started by: tfrain on January 25, 2012, 12:09:29 PM
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So new interior "dome" lights are like $15 from BavAuto and Pelican (at least I think). Mine were not really working right as all you had to do was touch the switch to turn it on. The driver's side was all flaky, but passenger side seemed somewhat better. I decided to take em out and have a look. Turns out the driver side, the little tab where the copper contact is for the switched power was cracked/broken. On the passenger side, the little tab thing that holds the black plastic switch was broken. I decided to fix them. First I superglued the plastic bits back on and let em dry for an hour or so. Then I sanded and got my favorite cold weld product (JB baby) and slapped it on there. Pretty much good as new. Here is a pic.
(http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bRuD_qD1zZY0IPPPtDnV-9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink)
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bRuD_qD1zZY0IPPPtDnV-9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink (https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bRuD_qD1zZY0IPPPtDnV-9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink)
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But then I went to put them back in and broke the doggone plastic mounting thing it fits into. It was quite brittle apparently
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sBT1cGyQk6bazGUqlPYjRdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink (https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/sBT1cGyQk6bazGUqlPYjRdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink)
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so I fixed it with some more superglue, sanding, and JB Weld. I cut the head off a nail and jb'd it to the side. It took a while as I had to make sure the weld didn't ooze down into the whole where the light goes. I'll reinstall tonight and hope that it works. Stupid 20 year old plastic!!!
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pC6VAlrVMPL-gRS_XHbI2NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink (https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pC6VAlrVMPL-gRS_XHbI2NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink)
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nails
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LuDyyA5ea3gYvHnxQjowm9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink (https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LuDyyA5ea3gYvHnxQjowm9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink)
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everybody knows I love my jb weld....
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GOZFjCvGDEMmu7WFlVgaYdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink (https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GOZFjCvGDEMmu7WFlVgaYdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink)
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rigging stuff up is the best.
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This little repair job worked BTW. Saved me approx $35 not counting tax and/or shipping. Lights are now working great.
But i broke the door jamb switch trying to get it to work right. The little sliding portion was hanging, and it would wait like 5 seconds or more before turning the lights on.