Thread: Lucas switch tightening/loosening

Hi , this is a tap spanner from a plumbing shop. Comes free with some taps. Grid is half inch. No idea if it will fit.
Cheers

You really need a special tool to do this. I made one by taking a piece of hoop iron, about 15cm long and 1.5mm thick, drilling a hole near one end the diameter of the threaded body of the switch, hacksaw it across the middle of the hole giving you a flat with two prongs at the end, Then place the 3mm or so of the prongs in a vice and bend at right angles.

You can start and do up the nuts by fingers, and with care you can get them really tight with a scewdriver that is a close fit in the slots. But it is very easy to damage the slots in the nut, the threads on the switch, or take paint off the instrument panel when it slips!

Hope this helps. (I'd look for mine and post a picture if I can find it, but it is too late tonight, and I have to head for town first light tomorrow, but if requested I'll see if I can find it and photograph it. I suspect that there is a tool made for it, and a mechanic's tool shop may be able to help, but I have never actually seen one.

small pair of long nose pliers do the job.
I made a tool also.
example of a types can be found on the internet.
lucas switch bezel tool - Google Search

whitehillbilly.

What about circlip pliers?

You can never question the adaptability of Land Rover owners! Thanks very much for all of your help and so many good solutions there, and I had no idea about that lucas switch tool.

I thought I'd be making a sheet tool like you suggested John, however the plier and circlip pliers did the trick perfectly! Well, almost, it was definately usable.

One pair of circlip pliers (my good ones) didn't fit into the switches locking ring, however my old cheaper ones has smaller diameter prongs and this does work! It needs to be moved around the toggle switch a little but, but it so does the trick!

Thank you all! Very happy!

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Or file the end of a piece of 1/2" copper pipe to leave two lugs opposite each other. slip it over the switch handle and twist.
Don.

Thanks for everybodies help here - this ol' IIa is getting closer to going back onto the road.

Next question: Side light (Headlight) switch.

For mine, I've replaced the switch, and both the old and new operate exactly the same way.

It has 3 positions:
Up - all lights off
Middle - all lights off
Down - headlights and parker lights on.

Just trying to establish (the circuit diagram isn't really clear to me), if in the middle position it should be headlights off, parker lights on??? It certainly doesn't operate like that!

Google only tells me that the Lucas light switch has 2 positions... off and flicker....

It sounds like sometime in the past there has been an issue with the park light circuit, so someone has bodged it by bridging it to the headlight circuit. Test the switch you removed, that could be the culprit.