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I have a pretty decent car here, looking to get the power windows working again. They worked as recently as a year ago, now only the passenger door window works. Its the center console switches that fell apart on me. Looking for a new master switch set for this car, or even just individual switches them selves. I can find a T-bird switch set online that looks real similiar to what I have, however I am told that the power windows on a T-Bird are wired differently. Can I make a T-bird switch set work in my Galaxie?
All wiring seems good, the motors all worked just a year ago, its the switches that are really my only issue. I would be open to installing some aftermarket or universal type of power switch set if I knew how to wire them. I'm sure I could modify things a bit ang get a good install done, its the wiring that would challenge me. It seems that there are 4 wires going to each factory switch, I'd have to know which wire goes where on the new switch set.
If anyone could offer any help, I'd sure love to hear it. I'd enjoy my convert much more if i could roll the windows down! Thanks
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I looked on eBay of "galaxie power window switches" and fond several listings for 64. It's different but could probably be made to work. There are also a bunch of universal ones. First thing I would get is a wiring diagram for your car than you can figure out what can be made to work.
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You should be able to remove and unplug switch assembly and then disassemble and clean, file, sand or scrape points and then reassemble. I did the master switch for my '63 today. took about 2 hours. 2 clips should hold each switch in bezel. I used ice pick to remove clips. Take pictures and pay attention to how it came apart.
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Good call by lesdab. Once you remove the console plate and disconnect the switches, you can drop the entire master switch housing out.
Next, you remove the brass bus bar and wire terminals. Take pictures first so you know how to reinstall everything. The switches themselves are held in by tiny clips, use care to remove them.
Once the switches are out of the master housing, then as lesdab said you can easily restore them. First, you want to carefully remove the rubber dust boots. Given their age, it's likely they'll tear if they haven't already become destroyed by the elements of time. If so, it's possible to fashion new ones by cutting to shape from a black latex glove.
Next, drop the switches into a jar of lemon juice and let sit overnight. The citrus elements act as a perfect (and simple) cleaner. Then remove the switches and pat dry before flipping them upside-down so you can remove the retaining screw one by one. Once the screw is out, the switches will come apart leaving you with the screw, toggle, spring and the housing.
From here, you want to clean the metal contacts inside the housing. Coarse steel wool, folded sandpaper or even scraping with a flathead screwdriver will do the trick. Once the contacts are shiny and clean, blow out any dust & debris. Next, add dilectric grease to the contacts.
After that, reassemble by inserting spring & toggle before screwing down, then you can put everything back together.
Here is some additional background:
First, the 1965-66 Galaxie switches are the EXACT same size as the 1964-66 Thunderbird switches, however that's where the similarities end. T-birds used 3-terminal switches including separate wires for power, up & down. Galaxies used 4-terminal switches which also include a 4th wire for ground.
In effect, the Thunderbird switches are a better design by virtue of having 3 wires rather than 4 and thus being simpler and more reliable. Conversely, T-birds also used old-style PW motors with three wires (power, up, down) whereas the '65-66 Galaxies used the more modern 2-wire motors (up, down) which Ford was phasing in and implemented into the 1980s.
Secondly, in truth, it's entirely possible to take the best from both by using the simpler & more reliable 3-terminal switches from the Thunderbirds and mating to the more modern 2-wire motors in the Galaxie. To do so, you would need to do the following:
- Disable the ground wire at your PW switches
- Create separate dedicated wiring circuits (power & ground wires) for each window
- Add individual fuse or breaker for each power wire
- Install a set of four relays, one for each motor
- Run the up/down wires from each switch to the relays
- Run the dedicated power/ground wires to relays for each window
The relays have to be wired a certain way, but that can be explained easy enough. Also, the rear window wiring has to be done in such a way that both the console left/right rear switches work congruently with the rear "quarter" switches, but again that can be explained easy enough.
Lastly, heads up that if needed, the motors can be replaced by new ones from AC Delco. They are quality made and can be found on Amazon for less than $40 apiece. The older the original motors get, and the longer they're used,the higher the chance for failure.
I rebuilt my system using the above process and everything works both flawlessly and reliably. Couldn't be happier. Main consideration was where to mount the relays. Obvious choices are inside the center console or behind the door panels. I chose the latter. Because of that, I chose higher-quality relays so I don't have to worry about failure (and pulling off the panels). I replaced the 2 front motors with AC Delcos but later regretted not replacing the rears as both eventually failed separately.
Let me know if you have questions.
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