55 heater switch

[John S.]

only have the high speed on my 12V heater motor. any idea what i need to do to get the low speed. if it involves the external resistor, does anyone know what resistance i will need?

[John F.]

Re: 55 heater switch

They are $41.99 at Ecklers Classic Chevy.
John F

[John S.]

Re: 55 heater switch

hi john, located a heater switch from eklers for $179.00, but can't seem to locate the $41.99 part. is it the external resistor? i would prefer to use the original switch if possible.

[John F.]

Re: 55 heater switch

My mistake, I was thinking 55 Chevy vs Corvette.
John

[John S.]

Re: 55 heater switch

spent the day looking for a resistor that is close to 25 watts , 1/2 to 1 ohms, and can fit in the half to three quarter inch space on top of the switch. radio shack and auto stores don't stock these and the ones found in electrical specialty shops are at least two to three times the size that would fit. it looks like i will have to purchase a new switch instead a two dollar resistor

[Dan D.]

Re: 55 heater switch

John, the resistor is a coil made up of several turns of resistance wire. If it is broke it may be near the termination and you could probably find a way to re-terminate it. At any rate, you should be able to see where it is broken. If it is not broken then the switch may be bad and you might have to buy a switch anyhow. Don't blame you for not wanting to spend that much money and have a non original switch to boot. -Dan-

[Chuck G.]

Re: 55 heater switch

FWIW, when I had my 54 and was restoring it, I had a similar problem. The ceramic covered coil resistor was broken.

It's been MANY years, but I recall checking the OHMs of the original resistor and going to Radio Shack and buying a replacement resistor. It didn't look anything like the original, but hey, it was up under the dash and nobody would see it anyway.

I soldered it between the two terminals. Worked fine and was still working when I sold the car a couple of years ago.

Chuck

[Roy B.]

Re: 55 heater switch

$1.79.00 and it don't work? What's with that ? Send it back ! If the resister is not broken open the switch and clean the points

[Brad H.]

Re: 55 heater switch

I bought a new 54 repro from a well known outfit and the low did not work with 6 volt battery, worked ok with 8 volt, the guy said all there stuff is perfect, yeah right buddy, so sent it back to them and he said it checked out fine, got it back and it is the same cause they never touched, took it down to my electrical apparatus guy and he made a bigger coil thing for it and it is fine, maybe you need the same. Brad

[Roy B.]

Re: 55 heater switch

A friend bought a repro and if you pull the nob out hard and hold it the motor runs. Original dont.

[John S.]

Re: 55 heater switch

i can get a resistor to make the low speed work, but they are all too large to fit in the original space. my resistor was completely gone and to me it appears that my wiper cable probably rubbed against it.