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Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:20 pm
by MIG Wielder
My 1850 gear-lever Overdrive Switch suddenly went soggy last week and stopped working. I've bought a new one and fitted it and I now have overdrive technology back.
I thought I'd dismantle the old one to see what had failed in it.
I didn't need any tools to dismantle it; it fell apart.
Here are some piccys of the parts. The main switch contact is a brass roller that is moved forward and backwards by a spring loaded plunger from the back of the plastic knob. The switch lever is moved backwards and forwards by sliding it in a metal frame. I found an extra bit of plastic; it was one side of the slide mechanism. The edges of the metal frame are sharp and hadn't been de-burred, so over the years the sharp metal edges had sawn through the plastic and cut it off, giving the soggy feeling and no switch operation.
It was actually stamped with the Lucas logo and has a date code of "1517". Since I don't remember replacing it, that may be Week 17 of 2015. So not that long ago. The replacement I got from Rimmers is rather different, so the previous one may be an E-Bay part.
Its difficult to say if this is a 1-off or a batch problem.
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 6:07 pm
by cliftyhanger
Lucas as a manufacturer no longer exists. If you have an idle moment you can dig about and see how they work. It seems Lucas is a name, and they put out to tender the making of stuff. ie whoever can make something that looks/works roughly like the proper part at the lowest price is who makes it. It gets stamped Lucas, put in a Lucas green box and sold to some poor soul expecting it to be a guarantee of a decent quality part.
Just as Borg and Beck is just a label stuck on whatever is churned out at the lowest cost. (where as old stock B+B was decent) But B+B now seem to brand all sorts of stuff that was never originally made.
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:28 pm
by tony g
Tony, when my O/D switch felt a bit "woolly", I drilled the rivets holding it together.there is a moveable contact that looks like a tiny dumb bell that gets moved in and out of contact via the switch action. Nothing looked bad inside except it was a bit dry and dirty contacts. I cleaned everything up and added some grease and re-peened the rivets. Feels good again 2k miles later (and i love the O/D so use it all the time). Worth a look if you have time
Tony
MIG Wielder wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:20 pm
My 1850 gear-lever Overdrive Switch suddenly went soggy last week and stopped working. I've bought a new one and fitted it and I now have overdrive technology back.
I thought I'd dismantle the old one to see what had failed in it.
I didn't need any tools to dismantle it; it fell apart.
Here are some piccys of the parts. The main switch contact is a brass roller that is moved forward and backwards by a spring loaded plunger from the back of the plastic knob. The switch lever is moved backwards and forwards by sliding it in a metal frame. I found an extra bit of plastic; it was one side of the slide mechanism. The edges of the metal frame are sharp and hadn't been de-burred, so over the years the sharp metal edges had sawn through the plastic and cut it off, giving the soggy feeling and no switch operation.
It was actually stamped with the Lucas logo and has a date code of "1517". Since I don't remember replacing it, that may be Week 17 of 2015. So not that long ago. The replacement I got from Rimmers is rather different, so the previous one may be an E-Bay part.
Its difficult to say if this is a 1-off or a batch problem.
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 10:54 pm
by soe8m
Avoid the green boxes. There's nothing Lucas on the parts indeed. You also don't buy a Sports coil but a 3GBP Chinese aliexpress gold coloured coil. Points, rotorarms, caps, it's all bugger. Spend some time on ebay and buy the proper nos parts in the red boxes.
Don't fool yourself thinking you buy genuine Lucas parts in the green boxes because you don't.
Jeroen
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:42 pm
by dursley92
I got a couple of "Lucas" brake light switches for my TR7 that only lasted a few months. Nasty plastic body and rubbish quality contacts inside.
Luckily I have now found you can use a proper metal body BMW/Volvo one which is a direct replacement and only costs about £10.
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 12:07 am
by cleverusername
This is one of one my pet hates and a subject I could rant about all day. Supplies and retailers complain that all the customer cares about is cost and what do they expect at that price?
My problem with that argument is there is no coloration between price and quality. I have had cheap parts fail quickly and really expensive supposedly quality parts fail equally rapidly. Sometimes one batch from a manufacture is great, another is rubbish. It isn't just low volume classic car parts, everything now is made is Chinese factories with appalling quality control.
We just bought the most expensive concentric slave cylinder for my fathers car because it is a pain to get to and you don't want to do that job again. The part failed in under a year, paying more doesn't guarantee it will work the way it should.
What I expect from supplies is for parts to be fit for purpose, instead of them selling us absolute worthless garbage. Especially when they know they are selling c**p which is not fit for purpose.
Rant over.
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 6:57 am
by cliftyhanger
Hence trying to source oem stuff wher possible.
Re brake light switches, I was not bothered about being metal bodied as plastic has been proven just as good. However, I spent 390 minutes of my precious life trawling ebay looking for a proper bagged/labelled OEM part. I bought a Seat (VW etc) one from a Seat main dealer for £10. It happens to be aluminium and came in a sealed bad with the Seat part number on it. Fits a treat, as will many many others.
As Jeroen says, proper old stock quality components are usually decent too.
And that is the reason my cars use OEM Jag engine mounts. Yes, £16 each but copies can be had at lower price points, down to about £5 each. But the genuine ones are worth the extra.
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 1:57 pm
by tony g
Jag mounts on the Sprint Clive? Details would be nice if so
Tony
cliftyhanger wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2019 6:57 am
Hence trying to source oem stuff wher possible.
Re brake light switches, I was not bothered about being metal bodied as plastic has been proven just as good. However, I spent 390 minutes of my precious life trawling ebay looking for a proper bagged/labelled OEM part. I bought a Seat (VW etc) one from a Seat main dealer for £10. It happens to be aluminium and came in a sealed bad with the Seat part number on it. Fits a treat, as will many many others.
As Jeroen says, proper old stock quality components are usually decent too.
And that is the reason my cars use OEM Jag engine mounts. Yes, £16 each but copies can be had at lower price points, down to about £5 each. But the genuine ones are worth the extra.
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:42 pm
by cliftyhanger
Hmm, Not exactly but I can't see why not. OK, maybe not so easy for a sprint.
The mounts I used are these:
If that link doesn't work:
https://www.sngbarratt.com/uk/#!/Englis ... 525c1d41e4
I use them on my TR7 powered Toledo (toledo subframe with the "towers" chopped off and plated over) and my 180bhp spitfire. They are decent mounts...
Re: Poor quality electrical parts.
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:40 am
by tony g
Thanks Clive. Are you or have you used these on a slant where the off side is nearly vertical? Worried about the separation.
Cheers
Tony