I am shaking I am so angry!!!

I am simply trying to take the headlight **** off on my 1998 Navigator (same as some F150s?)....to replace some dash lights that are out. This assembly has the 2 rotating wheels, 1 for dash light intensity & 1 for auto headlight turn on.


I have heard here & on the internet that you need to use a small screwdriver (or paperclip) and somehow find a spot in/under the **** through a whole in the **** when you pull it out for fog lights....and then it slides right off.

Another post says/shows you just use the hole on the bottom of the **** to PRY it off.

I have been trying to get this **** off for 5 DAYS now, and it doesn't budge!
I even brought it too the Lincoln dealer down the street and they (parts & service dept.) don't know how to take this **** off! They simply tell me they don't sell the **** separately, and I'll have to buy the WHOLE headlight switch assembly if I break it!


IS THERE ANYONE ON EARTH THAT KNOWS HOW TO TAKE THIS **** OFF???

I am not an idiot, I can build a motorcycle in ONE day....I just don't want to break this ****.
(I realize the 1999 headlight switch assembly is different, w/ a slot on the assembly instead of the slot on the **** itself)
This is the last 2 warm days of the year here in the North East....I would like to get this done, or live w/o some dash lights all winter.


THANKS,

 

To remove the headlight switch.
Turn the headlights to on and pull the switch out a little bit.
Then look at the bottom of the ****, you should see a very small opening.
Insert a very thin tool into the ****, this should release the ****, and allow it to pull off.
Rotate the **** 180 degrees and reinstall it. The bottom of the **** should now be pointing at the headlights on position.
Now, turn the **** counter-clockwise like you're turning the lights off. Turn the **** back to the headlights on position. This is what releases the entire switch assembly from the dash.
Pull the assembly to remove it.


Here is a video in post #2 of this thread.... I use a small thin screwdriver pushing inward to release the '**** tab' inside, so it doesn't break, this guy just pops his off with a larger screwdiver, but that is the access hole...

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ar...r-97-03-a.html


More pictures, towards the bottom of this page...

http://www.askamechanic.info/askamec...nt/view/60/47/


Hope this helps..

 

the prying method only works on the newer version of the headlight switch.

you need to follow the above instructions

 

You still need to take the **** off on the newer switch assemblies? I thought you just pried off the whole switch assembly through the notch on the lower front panel on those?
Do you need to do the whole 180deg. thing with the 99-2000's ones too?

 

Yes, I know all that....and I have read a bunch of other instructions also.

They all say how "easy" it is to get the **** off by sliding a screwdriver or pick in that small slot on the ****.
I HAVE BEEN DOING THAT (off & on) FOR 5 DAYS! It doesn't budge!!!
I have been using all sorts of small screwdrivers, nails, picks, awl's, etc.

KNOW ONE shows you a pic of what the back of that **** looks like (or the shaft) so you can figure where you should be picking at.
I hear there is some sort of spring latch holding it on. Is that spring latch on the **** itself, or on the shaft?

To take it off do you-
Push straight in?
Push up or down?
Straight at the shaft?
Below the shaft?
Above the shaft?

On the **** itself?
On the shaft below the ****?


I keep hearing about people who have broke this **** on their 97-98 Ford trucks, and Ford does NOT sell the **** separately. I hear the Lincoln assembly is $350!

This is not "easy" to get off as all the internet instructions 'fluff over' and say.
Anyone with real experience? Or a pic?

 

Just took these for ya, hope they help....

http://s1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/RaptoRx77/

 

the newer ones just pop out, but if you're not careful when you are prying you can damage or completely pop off the "face" of the switch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvWrehBENPc

 

WOW, what great pics!!! And that's a 1998 right?

It looks like I should be going in at a slight (normal) angle, dead center, feeling for a notch/hole on the ****....pushing in on the plastic clip on the post.

I went to a Lincoln/Mercury & Ford dealer earlier today, and they both said I should be looking/feeling for a clip below the shaft.

 

Yes, its a 1998 F150 switch...

I usually push the driver straight in maybe a very slight angle...once it hits the tab it pulls or sometimes pops loose...

 

Well I couldn't wait, and went out in the dark to try the **** again. NOTHING....it would not budge! I tried every object I could find that would fit in that hole/notch, nothing worked.
My main tool was the smallest Craftsman phillips head screwdriver....I even tried their mini screwdriver.

How much pressure does it take to unlatch this **** ? How much should I be yanking on it??? I could easily break the **** or shaft if I use any more force.
I just can't believe it!!! I think I am feeling the opening in the center of the **** that goes to that catch on the plastic shaft w/ the screwdriver....but NOTHING at all happens!!!
While it goes ding,ding,ding,ding,ding,ding.ding........

The only difference I can think of is I have the 2 rotary wheel switch assembly. I can't believe that Lincoln designed their own **** or something!

 

Wow... mine pops off easier than that.... I'll see if I can put a video up and more pics...

Updated.... pictures are in photobucket album.... Video is loading, but super slow.... I can push in with one finger, like photo, and it will come off...

http://s1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/RaptoRx77/

 

BTW, I went twice to the local Lincoln/Mercury dealer a couple miles down the street from me. They gave me 3 different stories about how to get the **** off....dumbest service & parts people I have ever meet.
They really didn't want to help me at all....but told me to leave the truck with them and they would have a "professional" mechanic take the **** off the dash....(something like a $150 hr).

My sister and her husband bought 2 vehicles from this dealer a few years ago on the same day....and they are ready to buy 2 more new vehicles right now.
After hearing how they treated me, they are never going to set foot on that lot again (Rt.9 in Massachusetts)!

These morns can't even get a **** off one of their own dash boards with out making it a major project! Sickening....

 

Thanks SO much for the help. The only thing I can think of is a pic of the **** from the square hole side, showing where the hole in the middle of it is (there were 3 pics from the other side)?
Maybe showing the angle of the screwdriver too?

It looks like a little angle to get to the clip on the shaft? But the **** itself looks like the screwdriver goes straight in???

Is the small phillips head a good tool to use?


BTW, my Lincoln has a woodgrain cover over the plastic face plate (getting scratched to hell, even w/ masking tape over it)....that wood veneer makes it hard to go straight in on the ****, but a slight angle like in your first 2 pic.
I also tried to upload a pic of my dash before, it would not download any of my pics here.

 

Video and photos of screwdriver angle are in photobucket album... The hole in the middle is straight in from outer hole, but not as big...

http://s1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/RaptoRx77/

Sorry So Shaky in vid... Don't know if this will help or not.. Good Luck...

 

Posted photos of the **** from the hole side... Philips seems to work for me... it is .092" in diameter and 1" long... I have used precision flat head scewdrivers as well...