Afternoon All,

Thought I'd share how I fixed the D3 S radio detached button curse. See images below.

Luckily I'd kept the little detached plastic loops off the back of the buttons, which served as a pattern for the fix.

I made up some new upper loops from 1mm SS fishing trace wire, drilled 1mm holes to just less than the depth (except one...) of the button on each side (they taper), and super glued in the new loops. The repaired buttons clicked in when I pushed them in holding them flat in the same plane and gently pushing with a thumb, trying them on an angle at first they wouldn't locate. I attached the lower AM button first, and them the FM above.

The wire makes the button's resistance require a little more pressure to operate than the original plastic, maybe lighter wire would make a lighter touch. Smallest drill I had was 1mm, which dictated the wire diameter. Also thought about shaping the replacement loops out of copper or brass sheet and heating them to press them into the plastic, but there's no room for error, and they might slide out after a while.

Dash no buttons 0560.jpg
Buttons missing, been driving me nuts not having it working - and it looking broken. Sorry about image on its side, no idea why the upload system did this.

Wire loop bend 0562.jpg
Wire loop bent to match width of broken off plastic loop. Used a small hammer to hit the right angle bends on the loops against pliers.

Wire loop bitten 0564.jpg
Wire loop posts long enough to insert in holes and allow same loop section to protrude, note posts 'bitten' by pliers to help key the gel super glue, and the different lengths of the posts to match the depths of the button taper.

Buttons behind 0553.jpg
Wire loops soper glued in holes pre-drilled. Left to dry for a few hours. Note that the post are not perfectly parallel on the lower button, this didn't affect the positioning or the operation of the button. The taper can be seen on the top button.

Buttons fixed 0561.jpg Radio fixed. Later used a black Sharpie pen to hide the errant hole.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Nathan