sprie

My fog light buttons are so sticky, I cannot turn off the lights without use of screwdrivers.

I have posted on RL previously about my facia buttons but since I have been working on the pod to replace the ignition switch, I am a bit closer to identifying where the issue is. In my original post, I had a feeling the issue was rubbing of the button on the facia/dashboard. However, as I had to remove the buttons and the button mechanism, I now realise the issue is somehow to do with either the plastic on the back of the button or the mechanism (and nothing to do with the facia).

As illustrated in a couple of the photos, the internal button (with the embedded light) seems to work ok – it goes in and comes out, and the spring behind it seems all right – ok, it is really strong, but also it is not weak – so I think the spring should be strong enough to work the mechanism.








What is wrong, also shown in the photos, is that when the big button is pressed in, the mechanism sticks.

I cannot work out what part of all of this is causing the issue:

• Is it the plastic splines on the back of the button that are causing the issue
• Or is there something in the button mechanism.

The black plastic component is attached to the white plastic part by a pressed fitting – so if I wanted to disassemble it, would have to destroy the pressed fitting (and I guess replace with a small bolt/nut).

Replacement parts are expensive (so i would really want to fix/repair rather than replace), and the other fog light button also has the same issue – and the buttons on the other side sticky too.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Petza914

If the switch works fine out of the car, it's likely that the dash pod holes have gotten too small. I had this issue after having a pod recovered in leather and had to sand the insides of the ports a little to get enough clearance for the switched to go in and out smoothly. You can't see the sanded part with the switches installed anyway.

gbgastowers

I’m sure someone here has some used switches to sell if you need them. The 928 I sold several months ago had about 10 extra pod switches I gave the buyer. If you haven’t had the pod recovered you may just be able to dremel out and rough areas in bottom of switch hole. Don’t touch the mid to outer sides of the hole with the dremel or it will show

Gary Knox

If the buttons themselves are sticky to the touch (a fairly common problem with some German plastics), I've found the detergent 'Purple Power' will remove the stickiness. Just wet a rag with it and wipe the buttons. Doesn't improve immediately, but within a few minutes of rubbing/refreshing the detergent, that 'stickiness' is removed.

Gary

Zirconocene

The other things I've seen recommended are lubricants that are friendly to the plastic. In this case, I think something like Krytox might be useful to keep things moving. There is a community of keyboard enthusiasts that I learned about as I was looking for these types of lubricants, and that community of people have a lot to say about lubricants that are suitable for their interest; Krytox is one of the preferred solutions. There are alternatives that are less expensive; from what I can tell most are PTFE based.

Good luck

oups59

This is also commun with Ferrari ans Maserati cars. I use NEUTROGENA Make-Up Removing Cleansing Wipes. It takes a little bit of elbow grease ....

hernanca

Not necessarily specific to sticky feeling buttons, but for cleaning these buttons I have used Scrubbing Bubbles with good results based on a tip from a restoration buddy of mine.

Similar to the recipient of gbgastowers' car, I received some pod switches as some nice extras as part of another purchase. I plan to use them to test out some ideas, but found this one among them. From an 85-86 I believe, but same part number and it clicks in and out perfectly.

One difference I noticed from yours is the skirt on yours seems obviously discolored, probably from rubbing.

PM me an address to ship to and I can send it to you for the cost of shipping if you find that cost acceptable.

sprie

I went to my local 2nd hand porsche parts supplier and we investigated the issue. The fault lies not with the buttons or the facia but something in the switches themselves i.e. we could put a "bad" button on a good switch and it worked fine, but a good button on a bad switch had the issue. So the result is that we found 3 good 2nd hand switches (2 fog lights and the hazard light) and have bought these and put them on the car. It is not clear what would need to be fix the bad switches to get them to work.