Is there no way to take the switch apart? Not much to lose if it doesn't work now. Maybe try spraying some contact cleaner in it? It could be just corroded or dirty contacts?
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
I was going to comment on the title but I thought better of it. Family site and all.
The big car convertibles (Parisiennes, Impalas) have come with power tops since, what, the 1940s as standard. Chevelles on the other hand didn't come with the power top standard until 1971. U.S. Chevelle figures show power top installation rates steadily climbing from 41% in 1964 to 88% in 1970. I believe the power tops had a higher installation rate in Canada surprisingly.
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
Is there no way to take the switch apart? Not much to lose if it doesn't work now. Maybe try spraying some contact cleaner in it? It could be just corroded or dirty contacts?
Yes! Please try to take it apart and clean it. I have done several with excellent results. Reproductions, that have a different chrome bezel than stock, cost $70 USD.
The switch is unique to 1969 / 1970 Pontiac's. The same switch may be used in other than B body cars, but there may be a difference in the lengths of the wires.
As Robert says, the reproductions look quite different, so try cleaning yours. I've never had one apart, but I've seen them busted apart.
The 69-70 switch was used on all 69-70 Pontiac convertibles in both American and canadian models. The repro looks lousy and both the repro and the factory switch are failure prone. I'd yank it out and look it over for an obvious physical failure. Usually the contacts are burned, a bit of fine emery sanding can do the trick. You can open them up by gently bending back the pot metal crimps and if you break the crimps its no biggie because you can just strike new crimps once you've put it back together. The switch to dash retainer can be a royal pain to remove , you usually end up having to break it but at least the B cars are more accessible compared to the A's. When I put the switch back I don't put a retainer, I just lay a bit of electrical tape around the outside of the switch snug up against the back of the flange, it holds it snug but you can push the switch out effortlessly from behind if you ever need to.
These switches were failure prone because GM cheaped out and didn't use a relay so the full amperage to the top motor goes through the switch. An easy mod is to hide a relay somewhere and run the switch out line to the relay instead of the motor. It will last forever that way. A power window relay works perfect.
