How to install a new glove box light switch?

[Robert K.]

Can anyone tell me how to put the light switch which is NOT round into the glove box light socket which is ROUND? This is a 1964 vette and when I got it the light switch was in the glove box; no wonder..... see attached photos
Thanks

[Mike M.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

if you are unable to insert the switch(with wire unattached) thru the opening, then the switch is not an original. mike

[Jim W.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Mine fits very snugly but does work through.

[Robert K.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

if you are unable to insert the switch(with wire unattached) thru the opening, then the switch is not an original. mike

But it is did you look at the pics I attached makes no sense....

[M W.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Your light switch appears to be incorrect. I own a 64 and have worked on mine several times and yours looks like a bubba fix. Reference ebay and see how they look. Check the closed auctions if need be.

Good luck,
Craqig

[Harry S.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Robert, you switch looks like a 63 switch. As I recall the 63 switch was used in Passenger cars as well as the Corvette. The 64 switch was redesigned.

On my 63 I run the wire through the hole, put the wire in the switch, install the bulb, then pop it into place.

Here is my original broken switch and the one I replaced it with.

[Joe R.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

The switch you show is not an original switch but a replacement which should work but you will have to remove the wire to get it thru the hole.

The original switch has a tang that serves in the socket to hold the lamp securely in place. The wire you show is black where the original is black with an orange tracer and is staked on the tang. You should be able to pull the tang out of the switch and it remain on the wire.

Be careful as the black wire with the orange tracer is HOT all the time unless you remove the battery cable.

JR

[Jim W.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Robert, you switch looks like a 63 switch. As I recall the 63 switch was used in Passenger cars as well as the Corvette. The 64 switch was redesigned.

On my 63 I run the wire through the hole, put the wire in the switch, install the bulb, then pop it into place.

Here is my original broken switch and the one I replaced it with.

My switch is like the 63 in my Nov 63 built 64 model. As I guessed they were using up old supply. Will the judges see it that way?

[Harry S.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Robert, if the wire will not come out of the switch, some seem impossible to get out, do not force it out.

Cut the wire a good distance from the switch, install a quick disconnect to the end you cut and the end of the wire that comes from the harness and hide the wire above the glove box. This is usually easier to do with the glove box removed.

[Joe R.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Robert,

Here is a pic of two switches. The one on the left is a replacement and the one on the right is an original out of a 63.

In the center is the tang I spoke of and the other has the black wire with the orange tracer.

As I look at your picture again (with 3X reading glasses) it may indeed be the original switch. It looks like someone has replaced the original wire and maybe the tang. Without that little piece of metal the switch will not function.

JR

[Jack H.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

As others have said, you have to first remove (detach) the power lead wire. Take your time and work SLOWLY because the contact tang on the end of the wire is expanding in nature, intended to insert once and 'snap/lock' into place!

On concluding this/that glove box lamp/switch isn't factory original: Caution, Will Robinson, Caution! I had a fellow member ask me to source an original for his '64 because judges took deduction(s) for the one he had being a service replacement. Indeed it was, but I got curious and did some primary research.

Each year of Corvette cites at LEAST two PN's as being correct. Plus, there were running changes providing for up to four lamp/switch assy's in a given model year. Last, when I got down to looking at the various GM drawings, some specific PN's provided for 'alternate construction' configurations! That combined with the random luck of the draw from the final assy plant's inventory bin means the whole issue of what's 'correct/factory original' is a JUNGLE!!!

Then I went on to comparing the Corvette AIM book call outs to Chevy Passenger car AIM book call outs. That study showed, given a few days of minor release date differences, the SAME glove box lamp/switch assys were authorized for both Corvette and passenger cars...

My conclusion: beware the judge who tells you your lamp/switch assy isn't factory original/correct... Take the comment as simply one man's opinion on a given day and do NOT consider it Gospel!

[M W.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Uncle Jack,

I knew it was you before I even looked at the name of the poster. You are truly a wealth of knowledge and one we can all benefit from. I assume even with different part numbers the items are the same in style?

Thanks as always,
Craig

[Jack H.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

I assume even with different part numbers the items are the same in style?

NOT at all, Craig! It was your request for assistance that put me on this research mission... If I actually bump into a real/original lamp/switch assy from 1964, how will I visually confirm/deny it????

In each model year, you'll find a primary PN called out in the AIM book along with an [OPT] PN. In most cases, one PN corresponds to a Delco Remy part while the other points to a non-GM manufactured purchased part.

The big picture is one of the two assy's is a 'shortie' while the other is a 'longie' (overall length) which I suspect flows from some individual GM cars having cramped quarter restrictions governing how much depth exists for the lamp/switch assy.

The other variations simply deal with the length/diameter of the switch assy's plunger and the exact configuration of its retaining bezel. I plan to write a technical article on the subject some day.

One stumbling block is having a decent template for, say, MS Excel that allows me to create two, side by side, timelines on a single graph and annotate them with the individual GM PN's that were authorized for production use across the C2 era.

The short time I spent on-line looking for a suitable template didn't yield what I was looking for. So, I need to do a follow-up search using, say, Gantt chart versus time line to see if that yields better results.

The good thing is I WAS able to detail the tiny differences in the individual PN's and WAS able to 'capture' physical samples of each lamp/switch for documentary photos. This turned out to be a feat of serendipity, because ONE of the lamp/switch assy's was only released for production use for a period of FIVE MONTHS and I actually found one of these elusive critters!!!

Another thing I found is what's sold today as a 'correct' service replacement or 'restoration' part is NOT! Basically, these parts are based on a Buick released drawing from the 70's for a 'one fits all', backward compatible, part...

[Robert K.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Robert, you switch looks like a 63 switch. As I recall the 63 switch was used in Passenger cars as well as the Corvette. The 64 switch was redesigned.

On my 63 I run the wire through the hole, put the wire in the switch, install the bulb, then pop it into place.

Here is my original broken switch and the one I replaced it with.

Your switch looks the same as mine. Is the hole in the glove box it goes into round as mine or does it have a cut out, making the hole look like a key hole; so the wire prong socket which sticks out will slde through wire end first?

[Jack Y.]

Re: How to install a new glove box light switch?

Mine seems to be a slight oval, wider at 12 and 6 o'clock so the socket will fit if oriented in that way....