NWILSON
Kentucky Chapter Leaders - retired
I went to retract the gear and the switch had a strange feel to it just before it became "floppy" with neither function (extend or retract) available.
The top cover (the rocker) was easily removed to find the problem....the switch is operated by a plastic pin on the bottom of the rocker. This pin is less than 1/4" in diameter. It broke off flush with the bottom of the rocker.
Of course this isn't a locally available item so a little ingenuity was required. The first attempt was gluing the pin back in place. JB Welds to the rescue. I decided that probably wouldn't work for long. I was able to drill a small hole in the broken pin then through the rocker (the JB failed during the drilling process!) I then pushed a small aluminum nail through with some plastic cement. When the cement cured I trimmed the nail to the proper length.
The switch is now functional again but I have no idea how long my repair will last. The failed rocker is not available by itself from either Heartland or Lippert. They wanted $32 and $28 respectively for a replacement switch. (The club discount didn't make for a better deal this time). The customer service rep at Lippert said she had sold a number of the switches and mine has been superseded so, hopefully, the new part will be a little less prone to failure.
Has anyone found a source for just the cover or a less expensive switch?
The top cover (the rocker) was easily removed to find the problem....the switch is operated by a plastic pin on the bottom of the rocker. This pin is less than 1/4" in diameter. It broke off flush with the bottom of the rocker.
Of course this isn't a locally available item so a little ingenuity was required. The first attempt was gluing the pin back in place. JB Welds to the rescue. I decided that probably wouldn't work for long. I was able to drill a small hole in the broken pin then through the rocker (the JB failed during the drilling process!) I then pushed a small aluminum nail through with some plastic cement. When the cement cured I trimmed the nail to the proper length.
The switch is now functional again but I have no idea how long my repair will last. The failed rocker is not available by itself from either Heartland or Lippert. They wanted $32 and $28 respectively for a replacement switch. (The club discount didn't make for a better deal this time). The customer service rep at Lippert said she had sold a number of the switches and mine has been superseded so, hopefully, the new part will be a little less prone to failure.
Has anyone found a source for just the cover or a less expensive switch?