Here is something that you don't see very often, custom switches for non ford accessories.
Believe it or not they are really easy to do and look the part once set into the dash.
The only downsides with these is that ford only provided the fiesta with 4 holes for the switches.
Tools Needed:
Knife
Saw
Glue
Perminant Marker or paint
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Custom!
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Bit of Blue
Interesting!
Applies to:
What ever you want!
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Firstly what is the switch going to be used for?
In my case its for a aftermarket central locking kit to enable you to lock the doors
from the inside other than pushing the door handles in as this will not work on aftermarket kits.
Now that you have identified the use of the switch you need to get hold of a ford switch
that is a simple on off type, the rear fog light one is ideal. Make sure that you get
the plug and a length of wire like below.
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Now you need to go to a scrap yard and find a switch that has the logo on it that you require,
in my case a picture of a car with the doors open. I found this switch in an old Mk1 Renault Espace.
Please ensure that the logo is flat, as any with a slight curve on them will not fit the ford dash.
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Dismantle the switch with the new logo in, it doesn't matter if you damage the workings
inside the switch as you only require the face.
In the back of the Renault switches you will notice that the logo is only held in by little melted tabs.
Remove these with a sharp knife and the logo will drop out.
05_badge.jpg
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With the logo out you will notice that the back is grey and if you shine a light
through the logo it will light up yellow, this wont do, will it, unless you like yellow.
So use the blade on the knife and proceed to scrape away the grey backing,
as you do this you will see the yellow layer. Once these layers have been removed,
all that will be left is the clear back and a black front with the logo in.
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Now move onto the ford switch and slip the knife blade behind the logo and flick the blade so the logo is popped off.
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From behind the logo plate, cut out the white part with a sharp knife so that you are left with a rectangle opening.
Now turn it over and place the white cut out over the new Renault logo and mark it with the knife.
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Cut the new logo with a saw or blade on the lines you scored and hopefully if you did it correct,
it should just drop into the opening in the ford logo plate.
If so, use some superglue on the rear to hold it in place securely.
You may notice an unsightly white line around the cut out like you see on the picture below,
don't worry too much, simply use some black paint or a permanent marker to cover it up.
You don't have to be neat unless you are a perfectionist, as the trim panel will cover it.
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All you have to do now is to push the logo plate back onto the ford switch,
wire the switch up and install it into the dash.
Below is what the switch looks like after it has been modified like in one of my other guides with blue LED's.
I think it looks cool and a very unique feature to any dash.
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Hope this guide is of some help, and happy modding
Guide Written and © On 28 Mar 2006 by Andrew Whiteman (AW3K)
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