[ShaneWhitlock]

I had to replace the combo (dimmer) switch in my 92 Rodeo so I took some pics so others can see how it's done.

A new switch costs anywhere from 130 to 200 dollars but I found one at the local Pick A Part for 25 bucks.

I'm not much of a mechanic and some of the steps are just common sense but I figured I would post them anyways for other newbies like myself.

Part One (replacement)
(click on the pics for a larger image

First step is to remove the steering wheel, to do this you need to remove the horn cover.
To do this ya need to remove just one screw from the back of the steering wheel (circled in red)

The cover is held on by the screw and a couple of clips (circled in red). As you're sitting in front of the wheel pull the bottom of the cover out a bit and lift it straight up. Then disconnect the wire for the horn (circled in blue)

Pic showing the horn removed. Circled in blue is where the horn wire hooks too.
Next remove the nut from the end of the steering column. After the nut is removed it's a good idea to put a couple of witness marks on the steering wheel and column so you can get it back on in the right position.

Then use a puller to remove the wheel.

Next ya need to remove the column covers. To do this remove the 5 screws from the bottom cover and pull the covers apart.

3 of them are machine screws and two are a course thread screws. Match the colors in the pic below with the pic above to get them in the right locations.

I couldn't get the top cover all the way off without first removing the cover above it with the light switches and wiper switches in it.

This is held in place by two screws on the bottom of the cover. One on the left side

and another on the right.

Then disconnect the electrical for the lights and the wipers. With that out of the way the top column cover will lift out.

Pic showing the bad combo switch. To remove it just remove the two screws circled in red.

To get to the wire plugs one more cover needs to be removed. This one comes off by removing the 4 screws along the bottom and pulling straight out.

Trace the wires from the combo switch and unplug them. There are two plug up inside behind the dash (sorry couldn't get pics of them). The wires are secured to the steering column in a couple of places with zip ties so these will need to be cut and replaced. Once ya them unplugged pull the wires out and remove the switch.

The small plug is for the cruise control and the large plug for the blinkers and lights.

Install the new switch in reverse order and you should be good to go. One thing to pay attention to is the two stubs (circled in red) on the center ring of the switch. They need to line up with the holes in the back of the steering wheel. This ring is what turns your blinkers off when ya straighten out from a turn so ya want to make sure they are in the correct position.

Part Two below

 

[ShaneWhitlock]

Part Two (repairing)
After installing my new used switch I took the old one in the shop and tore it apart to see why it failed. If you can't find a new switch it looks like you should be able to fix the old one by cleaning the contacts. Mine were very dirty but not the cause of the problem as you'll see in the pics below.

The blinker mechanism can be removed from the front of the switch by removing the two screws circled in red, loosening the two screws circled in blue, and swinging the two brackets up out of the way.
After taking this apart and looking at it I feel it's not really necessary to remove this part in order to fix it. The contacts are on the back of the switch but I thought I would show the pics anyways in case ya want to get in there to clean it.

There are 3 springs in there that ya don't want to loose.
This one with the ball bearing that helps hold the blinkers in the on position.

This one with a small plastic rod on the back side of the mechanism that closes the contacts for the blinkers.

And this one with the steel plunger that turns the high beams off and on.

The 3 springs.

This is the contacts for the blinkers that the plastic rod rides on. It would probably be a good idea to give this a shot of contact cleaner if your blinkers aren't working.

Put it all back together in reverse order. To keep the springs from falling out I used a small dab of grease to hold them in place.

Now the back side of the combo switch is where most of the contacts are located. To access them just remove the 4 screws circled in blue.

On the back side of the cover is two contacts, one of them being a rocker type - mine was fried - and the other one was sooted over and probably not working. A quick hit with the contact cleaner cleaned it right up.

A pic showing the two contacts.

and what my rocker switch looked like. I don't know what would of caused the end of it to melt around the ball bearing but this is why my high beams would never stay on.

And a pic showing what makes it all work. When ya pull on the blinker switch it pushes the steel plunger into the back side of the black plastic piece that ya can see in the middle of the pic. This lifts up on the steel rod that runs through it and pushes it into the rocker switch to turn the high beams off or on.

The cleaner I used to clean the contacts. Purchased from local auto parts store. Never used it before but it seems to do a good job.

Put it all back together in reverse order.

Hope this posts helps someone.

Good luck,
Shane

 

[JoeIsuzu]

Excellent write-up, Shane! I have an Amigo, but it looks almost the same.

Thanks!
Jack

 

[Jay]

This should be a sticky. Excellent info and photos. Thanks for taking the time!
Jay

 

[MarkB.NV]

Damn fine work on the write-up. This should be in the Hall of Fame here on the Planet.

Thanks!
MarkB