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Replacing a power mirror switch--am I missing something obvious

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Scott_R, May 15, 2023.

  1. Stuart M Whitaker

    Stuart M Whitaker Junior Member

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    In my case it IS ALEADY really annoying. As for cleaning, are you suggesting forced air or something else? REVISED: ok, I'll try the contact cleaner as recommended.
     
    #21 Stuart M Whitaker, May 18, 2024
    Last edited: May 18, 2024
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Mine still works fine, eight years later....
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Try electronic contact cleaner? I think MAF sensor cleaners are a good stand-in as well, if you have on hand.

    if you want another rabbit hole for the connector try Amayama.
     
  4. Scott_R

    Scott_R Member

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    I kept looking on eBay until I found one that matched the socket.
    The joke was on me, though: the "new" one didn't work any better than the old one. It's been a long time, but I presume the replacement was taken from a wrecked Prius rather than being new, so it's entirely possibly it's simply as gunked up or whatever the issue is as the old one. I'll have to disassemble and clean (something I keep forgetting to do).
     
  5. Scott_R

    Scott_R Member

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    Update: I sprayed some contact cleaner into one of the switch assemblies. I didn't take it apart: I just sprayed into several openings on the sides. I waited a few days (partly to be sure the contact cleaner dried, partly lack of opportunity) and swapped it in. Works MUCH better. I just did a quick check and the mirrors are responding well.
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Just to repeat the they-made-me-say-it part:

    Of course I did it myself too and mine's still working fine eight years later. Just Toyota probably won't want you running to them if it stops working or burns your car up or something.

    I did open my switch to clean it, the better to apply contact cleaner to the contacts, not just all over the insides. That could just be my preference.

    GC Jiffy Bath was the cleaner I used, in case different potions get different results. I have a very old 113 g spray can of it that I am still nowhere near using up. :) (Mine must be between 24 and 29 years old.) It calls out heptane, isopropanol, mineral oil (the part left behind so the cleaned contacts aren't totally unlubricated), CO₂, and 1,1-difluoroethane. Its label also mentions (not under "CONTAINS:" but elsewhere), "Silicone Additive to improve cleaning and moisture displacement".

    I read in various places that the auto industry has been moving away from silicones in contact lubes. The gist seems to be that the conditions when a switch is used (especially if there's a little arcing) can convert silicones little by little into very abrasive or poorly-conducting compounds. My can of Jiffy Bath is probably years older than that industry trend, and maybe a different product would be a better choice now.

    As seldom as I operate the mirror switch, any little-by-little conversion of silicone on those contacts might take a hundred years to be noticeable.
     
    Paul E. Highway likes this.