Often power window switches may not work or you want to dismantle one to re-chrome the housing or all of the above. Most of them are really simple to work on so you shouldn’t be intimidated by the project.
Were going to use the 57-58 style of switch to do this article. These are particularly easy to get apart and you don’t see them sold as NOS anymore so saving your old ones is becoming a necessity.
These switches are held together entirely with spring clips. The clips that keep the switch in the door panel also hold the switch assembly in the housing.
Tools of choice are a couple of picks. One straight, the other at a right angle, a small screwdriver & pliers.
The next step is to look closely at the switch when it is right side up. The black plastic housing is in 2 parts and held together with small wire spring clips. The wire clips are slightly flared at their ends so you can get under the end with the right angle pick and start it up off the plastic.
The indentation in the clip shows where it attaches to the hole in the housing.
As soon as the top of the clip is out of the groove you can remove it with a small pliers or the other pick. Remove the one at the other end of the switch and the switch will open.
The switch, removed from the housing.
There is a round hole in the switch housing for each of the four clips. Lift up the outer pointed edge of the spring clip and insert the point of the straight pick into the hole on the housing.
The picks shown above make the job of disassembly very quick and easy.
Push down the point of the pick at an angle in the hole to compress the spring clip and move the clip toward releasing from the housing. As soon as it begins to move you can stop and hooking the right angle pick into the clip pull it toward you and it will slide out. When all 4 of the clips are removed the switch will come out of the housing.
