Ignition switch failures, Poll participation por favor Options

[Chris914n6]

Why not pop that failed one open and see for your self what failed ?

I know why. The Y shaped contact isn't bent as accurately as OEM, and the cloning process offset the terminals enough that an OEM Y does the same thing where it doesn't stay connected with RUN while engaging START, and with my original ignition lock it doesn't rotate enough to contact both at the same time.

Technically it didn't fail, it just doesn't work right, as is seen in my video.

The 2 fail points I see with OEM switches:
1. The piece that cracks under pressure from the return spring.
2. Wear in the rotating piece where it contacts the ignition cylinder, and also on the ignition cylinder.

Those 3 pieces can be made easy enough that we could have a cheap repair kit. Add a starter relay, like all modern cars have, and you should be good for the rest of your life (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Chris914n6]

URO sent me 2 new in the bag. Put both thru my 'video test' rig and they worked like factory, with RUN staying on during the whole START motion. They have a white paint dot instead of the green Sharpie dot, so maybe something changed along the line (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

I'm ready to go start on something else (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[UROpartsman]

URO sent me 2 new in the bag. Put both thru my 'video test' rig and they worked like factory, with RUN staying on during the whole START motion. They have a white paint dot instead of the green Sharpie dot, so maybe something changed along the line (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

I'm ready to go start on something else (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

Thanks for the update Chris. Our engineers are still re-evaluating this switch, we'll PM you if any improvements are possible while still keeping the price where it is (to remain competitive with everyone else selling "green dot" economy switches).

We looked into making a high-end switch from scratch, but the tooling for all of the tiny internals adds up to a small fortune. We'd have to charge as much or more than OEM to even begin to recoup the tooling investment, so it doesn't make financial sense when folks can simply buy OEM instead. Unfortunately there's no middle ground on these switches.

[Mikey914]

Don't worry, I'm on it. Currently re evaluating several failed switches, Working on a redesign. I'll be posting a GB when I have the details worked out.

[djway]

Looking at the pictures from Bruce and thinking of plastics becoming brittle with age from out-gassing, I would think finding the material with the proper durometer that does not have the "brittle over time" problem should solve the issue.

[UROpartsman]

Working at Pelican today I had two calls of reported Uro parts failures in a short time. The first was a 912 oil line two weeks after installation.. Customer thought it was the oil sending unit and bought that part needlessly to find it was the new Uro line he had recently installed.

That's quite odd, since URO does not make oil lines for the 912, and never has. Pelican only lists Genuine Porsche and COHLINE oil lines for the 912 on its web site. Why would a customer call Pelican and mention a "URO 912 oil line" that he or she couldn't have possibly purchased from Pelican, or anywhere else? Very strange, this is the third or fourth recent report of a "failed URO item" that URO doesn't even make.

The second one was a master cylinder. He reported the Uro brand was tapered or champhered at the top where the feed lines attach. Original is straight bore. They may have made them wider to make the line installation easier. He reported visible small puddles of brake fluid on the ground. Found the grommets leaking at the top of the master cylinder. Both customers had extensive vehicle repair experience on vintage Porsches so I do not think installation error was a factor.

The URO master cylinder has a slightly larger chamfer at the top of the bore to make grommet installation easier, but the grommet doesn't touch the chamfer after it's fully inserted. The grommet snapps into place below a lip at the bottom of the chamfer, so the chamfer cannot possibly affect sealing.

A common reason for leakage at the feed line grommets is failure to reuse the original thin copper washers (p/n 901 355 936 00, see item 26 below) during installation. Whether the master cylinder is URO, ATE or other brand, the OE washers must be removed from the bottom of the feed line bores in the original master cylinder, and placed beneath the grommets in the new master cylinder.

It's hard to say why Porsche used these washers instead of just making the bores slightly less deep. It's possible that the early cars off the production line experienced some leakage at the feed lines, so Porsche engineers made a running change and added the washers to reduce volume in the grommet pockets, thereby increasing compression of the grommet for better sealing. (Something dealers could also do for cars already on the road.) And it's logical that OEM and aftermarket master cylinder manufacturers would machine the bores to the same depth as OE, even though it would make sense to reduce bore depth by the thickness of the washer, and eliminate the washers. Unfortunately such a tiny change to the OE design could lead to technicians adding the washers to "shallow" feed line bores designed to eliminate the washers, and make it even more difficult to insert the lines. So it's really best to stay with the OE design and trust that the mechanic will install all of the parts correctly, though that doesn't always happen.

Regarding the Uro testing.

As Chris mentioned, we've sold more than 500 of these switches in the past year without a single defect reported, and the switch has a 4-star rating on Amazon. So even though the sales data doesn't show any problems, clearly longevity is an issue based on actual experiences here, so our engineers are currently reviewing the switch. It's an economy item that's sold by lots of brands, so we're seeing if there's any way we can improve it post-production while still keeping the price where it is. Someone could certainly make a high-end switch for $25 or $30, but at that price why bother with aftermarket - just buy OEM.

[restore2seater]

Don't worry, I'm on it. Currently re evaluating several failed switches, Working on a redesign. I'll be posting a GB when I have the details worked out.

Any updates Mark?

[kgruen2]

I bypassed my ignition switch with a toggle "start" switch. The left toggle is on/off for the fuel pump. The center toggle is spring loaded, push up to engage starter (after turning ignition switch to the on position with key) release when engine starts, the right toggle is for electric windshield washer pump. The right knob is trip odo reset. Unless a potential car thief knows the car, it's harder to steal just by punching out the ignition.