Slartibartfast Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Spring is finally here, and with it comes a weird compulsion to do things to my Pathfinder. My current goal is a better setup for my fogs and driving lights. Groping around for a little fog light switch at highway speed always struck me as a bad idea, and the Ratshack toggles I had the driving lights on just looked cheap. I saw a post recently where someone had put their factory fog switch in place of the blanking plate next to the hazard lights, which looked like a much better setup, and got me thinking. Braden hooked me up with a round-dash hazard switch which I'll put in in place of the blanking plate. One switch will control the fogs (switched by the low beams), and the other will control the driving lights (switched from the high beams). I pulled a rocker-style hazard switch from a junked '93 for the console to actually run the hazard lights. I do plan to mod the faces of the pushbuttons a bit, hopefully keeping a stock look but losing the 'why do you have three hazard switches' thing. Unrelated, if anyone's considering a solid axle swap, the yard I went to had a few old Wagoneers laying around with their front axles still under them. It's a bit of a drive for most of you but if you're after one, it's a pretty cheap yard, and turnover is really slow. Let me know if you're interested and I can get more info. (Seriously, give me an excuse to hang out at the junkyard!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 I pulled out my multimeter and figured the pinout of the switches. The 93 switch uses the same color coding (which is a relief) so wiring should be pretty simple. My next task is modding the dash hazards so they don't look so... hazardous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 I got a few things done tonight, including swapping out all the dead light bulbs for the ones I scrapped out of the factory radio. The hazard switch I got from the junkyard had a busted hinge, so I rebuilt the one side with superglue, baking soda, an itunes card, and a plug post out of a TV. The switch moves smoothly and the repair won't show. I had hoped that the stock switches would give up their labels with a little sanding... nope. The red and white are actually cast into the surrounding piece. Oh well, this'll look cooler anyway. I figure I'll take the one I haven't cut yet and use it to make a plaster mold with the proper shape. Then I can use the mold to cast some kind of resin into the bit I cut out, letter it, tint the back, and call it a thing. Anyone have a favorite casting resin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 /crickets I gave it a whack with some enviro-tex. I won't know if I mixed it right until it hardens, but hopefully I did it right. I've got the wires for the 93 switch all done up and the wires for the fogs pulled. Thanks to the headlight relay mod, I've got unused contacts in the headlight harness, so I'll use those as my high/low beam feeds. I'll solder the lot tomorrow except for the one hazard plug I still need to find (gotta check the other yard on Monday). Funny how there are so many sharp things to catch your hand on behind the dash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 I did the casting resin a little thick, so the bubbles didn't all get out. I may come back in later and coat the surface with a translucent paint/better label than the Sharpie I used. Anyway... Not the prettiest thing ever, but it lights up with everything else and I like it loads better than the collection of mismatched and poorly placed switches I was working with before. The 93 hazard switch on the console works great and blends in pretty well. I've got a spreadsheet with the pinout/color codes for the round and square dash switches for anyone interested in doing something with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I keep swearing I am going to spend $20 bucks with Alkorahil and buy the real round dash fog switch one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I keep swearing I am going to spend $20 bucks with Alkorahil and buy the real round dash fog switch one day. It brings me hours of joy every day while driving my truck to and from work.....I do not know how I ever lived without it. Every morning when I get in my truck I look at it mounted proudly in the center of the dash and think......too bad Trogdor doesnt have one....... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stabworthy Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 *may steal idea* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92Path_68CJ Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 That looks awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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