I used to love the ease of the old floor switch high beam dimmer. Why did they move them to the column?

 

My guess is that it saved them $.50 or so. A buck here and a buck there adds up to real money.

 

I liked the old floor switches also. The only thing I like about the column switches is being able to pull it back to you and have both high and low come on. Works great for letting people know they are driving around with their brights on...

 

Careful, your going to give away your age. I think the column is more convenient. Although, you get used to the floor switches location I found them hard to find in a hurry when first getting acquainted with a vehicle, but I always knew right where the turn signal switch was. In some of the older oil field trucks I used to drive, the floor switch would fail and the brights would stay on. Pretty scary for drivers coming toward you on a dirt road late at night when the shadows can play tricks on you and them. I geuss it's just preferences.

 

Flip switches & push buttons, I love them- just ask my wife :lol:. They are a lot easier to replace when they go bad.

The exception is the floor starter next to gas pedal.

 

I think part of the problem is that many of them had to be replaced because they got water, moisture, snow and salt in them. My dad had an 89 F150 and it shorted out and almost caused a fire. Maybe a danger issue? I love it on the floor though!

-Matt

 

Maybe because there have been Too Many left leg amputations ?

 

So the dealer can charge you $300 for a replacement column mounted multi-function switch. Yeah! Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

 

It's much, much easier driving a stick shift on a winding mountain road at night with the high beam switch on the floor, thats for sure.

As far as not liking it on the column, I dont, so I changed the one in my Jeep back to a floor dimmer switch. I just looked up the wire color code and disconnected the wires at the connector to the steering column and then soldered extensions on the wires to the new floor mounted switch. The switches are available through Quadratech, they are an online company and carry Jeep parts. They carry two differnt style floor mount dimmer switches, of which one mounts on the inside of the cab and only has two small bolts through the floor, so the issue of getting moisure intrusion into the switch should be pretty much a non-issue as long as you seal up your fasteners well. The best part is that the switch was under 10 bucks!

 

You can get them at most parts stores for under 10 bucks. We hate the floor switches. My father lost his leg when he was 15, so it's easier on him, but I found myself running the high-beams all the time in my '87 with the floor switch. They put it in a bad location, every time I moved my left foot the high beams would cycle.

 

I would like to see the return of the floor switch. I have added them to another truck that I had and used them for my driving lights. A better switch than the plastic paddle switchs.

 

The floor switches are great. The first mod I do if I ever get a new truck. some measuring is in order, as the one in my pickup is just right, whilst the one in my Chebbie work truck is about 4 inches in from the kick panel.

 

pfogle, why not just remount it in a location up a little higher or something so that you dont hit it all the time?

 

I don't like the foot switches, especially when you are driving a manual and slowing down at an intersection. I find myself one foot short unless I put it in neutral.

 

Why have your highbeams on when your getting close to intersections, since most of them are lit anyways? The big problem with those lousy column multi-function switches is that you can be driving on a pitch dark mountain road and find yourself coming around a corner with one hand turning the wheel and the other downshifting, humm, hard to reach that dumb column mount switch before the car your blinding cant see which side of the road he's supposed to be on and almost hits you head on....floor mount, click.