Cigarette Lighter Switch idea

[tony-muscle]

I need to add a switch to control an oil accumulator I am adding to my car. I thought the idea of using a stock cigarette lighter housing and bezel to house the switch and then install it to the left of the light switch on the instrument panel - I have this space open and it would match the location of the top switch for convertibles. I want to keep the stock lighter so using it is not an option. I already found a switch that fits inside the lighter housing so that's covered. I also found the lighter housing and bezel. Eventually, not the focus right now, I can repaint the lettering on the bezel and redo them to say something like "OIL".
My question is on how to best install the bezel to the panel. Before I started going with this idea I didn't know how the bezel was installed. I thought it went in an "easy" round hole, but it doesn't. So I am thinking of two options. One is to replicate the "odd" shape opening with a hole saw and dremel work, or modify the bezel to fit in a round hole. I thought of running this idea through this forum since there may be better ideas out there.

 

[rvrtrash]

I believe the "odd" shaped hole is to keep the bezel/switch from rotating when it's operated. I would make the hole to fit the bezel.

 

[asajay]

Why put in a separate switch? What is your objective for using the accumulator?

My objective was to use it as a pre-oiler for the engine -and- supply when racing and potential cavitation of the oil pump during cornering. If that is your objective, do like I did and wire it to the ignition.

Turn ignition ON and the valve at the accumulator opens, pressurizing the engine; wait till you see pressure on the gauge and then START. The accumulator stays charged (pressurized) anytime the engine is running. Switch the engine OFF and the valve closes, trapping the pressurized oil in the accumulator until the next Engine-ON key movement.

Just my nickel (two cents adjusted for inflation)
Asa Jay

 

[basstrix]

The simplest would probably be to bore a hole close to net shape and then use a dremel to match the shape needed by the bezel. That part of the dash is curved and angled. There is a sheet metal housing on the back side of dash that gives the fastener something square to push against. That sheet metal also houses the back-light for the bezel. I might have an extra one and I'm sure I have one for the light switch. Let me know if you're interested and I'll dig through my stash.

Edit: What about locating the hardware and switch for the convertible top and using that?

 

[tony-muscle]

The simplest would probably be to bore a hole close to net shape and then use a dremel to match the shape needed by the bezel. That part of the dash is curved and angled. There is a sheet metal housing on the back side of dash that gives the fastener something square to push against. That sheet metal also houses the back-light for the bezel. I might have an extra one and I'm sure I have one for the light switch. Let me know if you're interested and I'll dig through my stash.

Edit: What about locating the hardware and switch for the convertible top and using that?

I got an extra bezel. Do you mean you have the sheet metal piece available? That would be great. I was thinking of shaping a thick plastic washer into a wedge to create the flat surface your refer to. I thought of the convertible top switch but I think they seem hard to source and expensive.

 

[tony-muscle]

Why put in a separate switch? What is your objective for using the accumulator?

My objective was to use it as a pre-oiler for the engine -and- supply when racing and potential cavitation of the oil pump during cornering. If that is your objective, do like I did and wire it to the ignition.

Turn ignition ON and the valve at the accumulator opens, pressurizing the engine; wait till you see pressure on the gauge and then START. The accumulator stays charged (pressurized) anytime the engine is running. Switch the engine OFF and the valve closes, trapping the pressurized oil in the accumulator until the next Engine-ON key movement.

Just my nickel (two cents adjusted for inflation)
Asa Jay

The long story short is that I want to activate the system when I need it, which is mainly for a race day. If wired to the ignition it will be on all the time. I have a pressure control valve with the accumulator that will release oil when the pressure goes under 35 psi. If it is on all the time, it will flood the engine with oil at idle which I don't want. With a switch I will then turn it on before the lap starts so I don't have to worry about having an extra 2qt of oil in the pan. I am not to concerned about pre-oiling, but I can manually take care of that with the switch if I wanted. I can see using pre-oiling after not using the car for a while.

 

[basstrix]

I got an extra bezel. Do you mean you have the sheet metal piece available? That would be great. I was thinking of shaping a thick plastic washer into a wedge to create the flat surface your refer to. I thought of the convertible top switch but I think they seem hard to source and expensive.

I might have the sheet metal. I'll look tomorrow and let you know.

 

[tony-muscle]

Here comes an update. I ended up drilling and sizing the instrument panel hole. I have pride myself on preserving as much of the original metal as possible so this was not easy. However, I can justify it based on what I use my car for. This will be an important switch for racing so I want to have it handy.

This job didn't go as smooth as I was hoping. It was challenging to conform the hole to the switch. I first drilled the hole with a 1" hole saw and then started making the upper arch by drilling smaller holes and then filing with a round file. Unfortunately, I miscalculated and drilled the hole too low so I had to file up in order to properly center the bezel. That left me with a bigger opening so I used some epoxy paste attached to the bezel to fill this space. Other mistakes, include the drill bit and file coming off a couple times scratching the panel, which really sucks.
For washers, luckily I have a lot of different C/PVC pipes at work that I cut to attach the bezel to the panel. I needed a large wedge washer and two smaller ones. The nice thing with these washers out of pipe is that you can cut them in any thickness or angle. Not pretty, but practical. No one can see behind the panel. Now I need to make the electrical connections and it will be ready. This switch has a ring of LED lights, so the idea is that it will turn blue once is turn on and red whenever the Accusump is active.

One last thing I would like to accomplish is to find a way to change the lettering from "lighter" to "oil". At this point I have no much of an idea except painting and adding a sticker with letters or something.



Bezel with lighter plug, pipe washers and nut:


Switch assembled:

 

[tony-muscle]

Here are some pictures of the actual switch in the lighter