Discovering my xenons had stopped working I followed the fix it guide on here and sprayed them through with contact cleaner. It seemed to do the trick but when I needed to use them the following day, they were dead again :sad:
Before shelling out £110 I decided to give it another go but seeing if I could pull the thing apart to clean the contacts properly.
Looking at the case and how the tabs are bent in place the risk of making holes in my hand with a screw driver was significant. So I popped it into a vice and prised the case apart.
Seeing where the contacts were it was no surprise that a general spray through didn't do much. So I set to them with some wet and dry, then washed them with more switch cleaner.
Getting it back together was interesting, and I thought it would never go back properly more than once, but in the end It all came good.
So far I have a working unit, and time will tell how good my fix was.
Some tips for anyone trying the same.
Watch out for the small spring parts when pulling it apart.
When putting it back together put the central stalk in the base first, as shown in the photos.
Don't try and straighten the case tabs out, they will just snap. A work all round with a screw driver will be enough to separate the case.
A pair of mole grips are handy for pressing the case back together, with the vice holding one side.
Make sure you don't have to drive anywhere immediately in case it all goes wrong and you need to order a new one.
If I was doing it again, before resorting to taking it apart, I would probably drop it in a jar filled with cleaner and work the switch round a bit. That way you are more likely the cleaner will get where it needs to.
Before shelling out £110 I decided to give it another go but seeing if I could pull the thing apart to clean the contacts properly.
Looking at the case and how the tabs are bent in place the risk of making holes in my hand with a screw driver was significant. So I popped it into a vice and prised the case apart.
Seeing where the contacts were it was no surprise that a general spray through didn't do much. So I set to them with some wet and dry, then washed them with more switch cleaner.
Getting it back together was interesting, and I thought it would never go back properly more than once, but in the end It all came good.
So far I have a working unit, and time will tell how good my fix was.
Some tips for anyone trying the same.
Watch out for the small spring parts when pulling it apart.
When putting it back together put the central stalk in the base first, as shown in the photos.
Don't try and straighten the case tabs out, they will just snap. A work all round with a screw driver will be enough to separate the case.
A pair of mole grips are handy for pressing the case back together, with the vice holding one side.
Make sure you don't have to drive anywhere immediately in case it all goes wrong and you need to order a new one.
If I was doing it again, before resorting to taking it apart, I would probably drop it in a jar filled with cleaner and work the switch round a bit. That way you are more likely the cleaner will get where it needs to.
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