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rheostat knob removal


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Hi Can anyone give any advice as to how to remove the rheostat knob, I think it must just be very tight and should eventually push off? I am slightly concerned that I will break it. Any advice on where to get the smith dash instruments looked at, also appreciated. the dash is now out of the car if that helps.

thanks very much,

 

Andrew

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Hi Can anyone give any advice as to how to remove the rheostat knob, I think it must just be very tight and should eventually push off? I am slightly concerned that I will break it. Any advice on where to get the smith dash instruments looked at, also appreciated. the dash is now out of the car if that helps.

thanks very much,

 

Andrew

 

Hi Andrew

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Have a look around the stalk of the knob, should be a hole, poke a thin screwdriver in

and push and pull . The knob is held on by a spring loaded button.

 

Repairs to instruments, well theres Jdo and Speedy Cables,

 

http://www.jdo1.com/

 

http://www.speedycables.com/

 

Having used both i will only use Speedy these days.

Cheers

Guy

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Hi Andrew,

 

Removing the rheostat knob is indeed a matter of just pulling (on my TR6 it didn't have a spring holding it in place). I recently removed mine and it did take some force to separate if from the switch but eventually it came off.

 

Cheers,

Edwin

Edited by Edwin
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Hi Andrew.

 

Mine was the same as Edwin's ...no spring. It seemed to be stuck fast but I warmed it gently with the wife's hair drier and off it came.

 

Regards

Dex

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Hi Andrew

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Have a look around the stalk of the knob, should be a hole, poke a thin screwdriver in

and push and pull . The knob is held on by a spring loaded button.

 

Repairs to instruments, well theres Jdo and Speedy Cables,

 

http://www.jdo1.com/

 

http://www.speedycables.com/

 

Having used both i will only use Speedy these days.

Cheers

Guy

 

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A lot of people seem to have a problem removing that knob. I attribute it to the heat in the rheostat, more or less melting the plastic knob's socket around the metal shaft. I think that access to the detent ball was eliminated in this particular knob, because unlike the other knobs on the dash, it was meant to be rotated, not pulled, so the chances of it coming off the shaft when properly manipulating it are practically non-existent.

100_1066.jpg

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If mine is typical, once the knob has been pulled off you can see the front nut shown in the previous picture. If it's not too tight, long nosed pliers, otherwise a box spanner will be needed. The rheostat then comes out towards the front of the car.

 

Probably best to disconnect the battery first.

 

I've seen two types of rheostat, one is wire wound, the other is a printed circuit resistance track. Any failure of the track ought to be visible and repairable with care.

 

Mike.

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Hi Andrew

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Have a look around the stalk of the knob, should be a hole, poke a thin screwdriver in

and push and pull . The knob is held on by a spring loaded button.

 

Repairs to instruments, well theres Jdo and Speedy Cables,

 

http://www.jdo1.com/

 

http://www.speedycables.com/

 

Having used both i will only use Speedy these days.

Cheers

Guy

 

Hi Guy,

 

Thanks on both counts!

 

ap

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Sorry to hijack the original question, but can the rheostat be removed while the dash and all the dials are in?

Any tricks to getting it out without destroying anything?

 

 

Note the bracket which is attched on the rear of the dash

 

My rheostat had the detente, the knob had to be pulled forward a bit to get a screwdriver in the hole as the tailend of the knob was sunk into the dash.

It was very tight on the shaft.

The screws holding that bracket were also very tight, needs a well fitting short screwdriver.

 

Ivor

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Hi Andrew,

 

Removing the rheostat knob is indeed a matter of just pulling (on my TR6 it didn't have a spring holding it in place). I recently removed mine and it did take some force to separate if from the switch but eventually it came off.

 

Cheers,

Edwin

 

 

...as I thought thanks

 

ap

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Hi Andrew.

 

Mine was the same as Edwin's ...no spring. It seemed to be stuck fast but I warmed it gently with the wife's hair drier and off it came.

 

Regards

Dex

 

top idea will try as wd40 is not working!

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Hi Andrew.

 

Mine was the same as Edwin's ...no spring. It seemed to be stuck fast but I warmed it gently with the wife's hair drier and off it came.

 

Regards

Dex

 

top idea will try as wd40 is not working!

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A lot of people seem to have a problem removing that knob. I attribute it to the heat in the rheostat, more or less melting the plastic knob's socket around the metal shaft. I think that access to the detent ball was eliminated in this particular knob, because unlike the other knobs on the dash, it was meant to be rotated, not pulled, so the chances of it coming off the shaft when properly manipulating it are practically non-existent.

100_1066.jpg

 

yep no visible indent, will try the heat tip-thanks

 

andrew.

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In the end you may find a spring loaded cylinder in the shaft,that keeps the knob tight on the shaft, but no access hole to depress it. In other words it does not lock the knob to the shaft because this cylinder does not fit into a corresponding hole on the knob; it just presses against the knob adding to the friction.

The rheostat in the picture has such a cylinder, but it's hidden from view because of the camera angle.

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Hi

 

Good tip with heating it up to remove the knob.

I my case this did not work, though. I had to remove the dashboard to get it off (as it was quite new and I was afraid of damaging it). I cut a metal plate (rounded edges) to fit on the front side between the knob and the dashboard, and yanked the rheostat of the knob from the backside. I guess you could do this with the metal plate from the front side. When I mounted the dashboard and was going to fit the knob again, it was so hard to fit that the screws holding the rheostat gave in on the backside. Off with the dash again and remount. Then made the knob (hole) a bit wider so it enters easily, and add a drop of lock-tight to keep it in place.

 

You can't remove/fit the rheostat without removing the dashboard; at least I can't see how :)

 

Morten

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Morten, it sounds like the rheostat may have been installed incorectly. The shaft goes thru the metal standoff bracket and the dash. The standoff bracket is there to keep the heat of the rheostat away from the dash and it is secured with screws. The rheostat on the other hand uses 2 nuts and an insulating washer on the shaft. The nut on the rheostat side of the shaft is for depth adjustment and the nut on the knob side of the shaft is for tightening (securing) the rheostat to the dash and stand off bracket. By removing the nut on the knob side of the shaft, the rheostat should have been able to slip out of both the dash and the stand off bracket. By removing the glove box liner and ash tray you should have been able to guide the rheostat up thru the opening for the ash tray and remove the wires, or vice versa for installing.

I know there are a lot of "shoulds" in that description, btw.

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