headlight switch

It's a VW part so any VW parts supplier can help you to. Try to get an original Bosch or other quality one versus a poor quality junky one.

@kevin gerety posted:

my headlights will not go out so i have to disconnect the battery cable. guessing the switch is bad. any idea where to get one? ty, kevin

If you also have a relay, that might be hanging up.

Agree with Robert. I went through 3 Chinesium switches: one from my Vintage Spyder(came in the car in 2002), one from cip1.com, and one from a local imported parts place. They were all junk. Cheap contacts, melted plastic.

I replaced it with a used OE 1960s VW Beetle switch. I found it at Carlisle when they still had small vendors with tables. It's been on there for MANY years and works flawlessly. You can't beat that quality.

I use these they are "heavy duty" and don't require a relay.

HEADLIGHT SWITCH VOLKSWAGEN T1 BUG BEETLE T2 BUS T3 GHIA 1958-70 MADE IN BRAZIL | eBay           

HEY! That's what mine looks like!

Thx so much! What is a relay btw?

@kevin gerety posted:

Thx so much! What is a relay btw?

A relay consists of a coil, which receives an electric signal and converts it to a mechanical action and contacts that open and close the electric circuit. You would use a relay so the switch only operates the relay and the relay bears the brunt or the heat of the battery's current instead of the switch. The switch lasts longer and you can use brighter light bulbs if all of the other parts of the lighting circuit can handle the heat generated by the brighter, thus hotter, lights.

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If you can find a good quality switch like the one Alan mentions, you're good.

But, they can be hard to find today. Almost everything that's currently advertised as a 'VW Beetle headlight switch' is not worth the cardboard it's made from.

(Note that the switch Alan links to says they have only one left. That may or may not be true, but grab one if you can.)

The one in my car looks exactly like that one but is one of the cardboard imposters. It was all I could find when the original one in my car died the third time I used the headlights. But I was able to get the replacement working by wiring up a relay. As Robert explains, the relay does all the work and lets the cardboard switch just sit there and look pretty, taking all the credit. Ten years later, my cardboard switch still looks great and the relay is still doing all the work. The two of them have apparently settled on an uneasy truce.

Let us know how you make out. If you need help hooking up a relay, we can probably help with that.

Relays are one of the best inventions of Western civilization.

Despite what you may hear, they have done us far more good than sliced bread.

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It also helps to have LED headlights.

A relay will prevent the cheap switch from internally arching and result in brighter lights (they get more direct voltage).  There have been Speedster dash fires from cheap switches catching fire due to arching.  Probably need a relay for low and high beams (and fog lights).

I have had good luck with the Wolfsburg West products. Solid! https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/...st.cfm?ID=113941531C

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/...st.cfm?ID=113941531E