Button Wear ?? (difficult to push)

[mvaldes]

In the last couple of days my button has become much harder to push. Knowing where the microswitch is, I used to be able to glide my thumb over it and the cc was on. (It's been in since the first batch shipped and last May I replaced the decorative cap I'd worn out with a polished metal one.)Now I have to push on the top of the cap to activate it. I can feel but not hear a "click" as the cap presumably moves enough to activate the switch. I thought I should try lubricating the spot where the decorative cap "snaps" into the wiper arm. Before I do that I wanted to ask if anyone else has had this problem and found out what caused it. Secondly, if I try the lube route, what product should I use?
Thanks,
Michael

[admin]

Hi Michael,

With the variance in production processes that exists in the microswitch, the spring, and the plastics it turned out that there can be quite a bit of difference in the experience from one user to the next in how the button engages.  It was designed to be a perceivable amount of button press with a distinct (but not necessarily audible) "click" action.  However, in some cases you barely brush the button and it activates while in others you need to press a little harder even after you've felt the "click".  In some there isn't even a click.

Like with most things, practice makes perfect... I believe we are now much better at screening the switches then we were when you got yours.  We test each and every one now and that wasn't the case at the beginning (random lot testing).  As well, we've developed little "tricks" during the assembly process that gets rid of most of the potential for problems.  I do believe we've improved and the statistics back that up since we were replacing about 9% of the switches that went out and now we're down to 2%.  The switch remains the weak point of our design by far, in terms of defects (electronics < 0.2%, harness = 0%).

You can look at yours as "wearing out" but from your description I'd actually say it sounds more like its "worn in" because (by design intent) it shouldn't have activated simply by gliding your thumb over it and it sounds like it is now operating as intended.  From our assembly notes, what seems to cause the "glide activates" problem is when the microswitch sits too "high" on the surface its on.  In very few cases, this is due to the microswitch being poorly soldered to the little circuit board and there's nothing practical that we can do about those other than throw them out.  But the majority of cases were our fault and we didn't ensure the circuit board was fully seated in place.  Because it is sitting up a tiny bit, the plastic cap you press touches the microswitch sooner and a slight touch finishes the job.  The solution is to fully seat the circuit board in these cases.  Sometimes we achieve that by sanding the rough edges from the circuit board that are preventing it from going down all the way but other times we just press on the board and it snaps into place.  We're talking less than half a millimeter, so initially we didn't realize we were failing to seat it.  So I'm thinking that maybe you pressed your button a little harder than normal one time and it moved the circuit board down into its proper home.

As an experienced owner though, you are in the best position to determine if your switch is a problem for you.  We've been very flexible and easy going with replacing them under warranty because of the high (especially early) instances of manufacturer/assembly defects.  So if you want a new one, by all means just let me know.  The downside to that, of course, is that it needs to be re-run through your car.

Regarding lubricant (and finally getting round to answering your question!):  The design of the plastics was to give it a textured surface "micro roller" design.  It reduces friction between two plastic surfaces such that it is designed to operate without the need for a lubricant.  That doesn't mean it can't still potentially benefit from lubrication so if you want to give it a try it shouldn't hurt anything.  You'll need a lubricant that is safe for use on nylon as well as electronics.  I believe a silicone lubricant spray would be the ideal compound - but messy since you won't have the control for such a small application - and trust me, you do not want silicone spray getting on other surfaces in your car!.  Consider spraying some into a container then using a cotton swab or something to transfer a small amount of lubricant.  Or maybe you can find it in a squeeze tube instread of a spray, I'm not sure.

Art

[John_H]

Before I do that I wanted to ask if anyone else has had this problem

I never activated with a "glide" across the cap.  My switch went from requiring a push that gave the nice tactile feedback indicating the switch is engaged to experiencing some slightly "crunching" tactile feedback (no activation) and a little more pressure beyond that to engage the switch.  I'm wondering - given the feel of that first feedback - if the spring is behaving differently.

I don't ever have a problem activating the cruise, I just need to avoid pushing it too lightly for the full engage.

[mvaldes]

Wow, that was a fast response, thank you. Like John's, the cruise always activates, it's just that the tactile feeling of activation has changed. Now that I know it's not the click of impending switch death, I'll live with it a while and see. Who knows, perhaps I'll like it better. If not, I'll try the lube and see what happens. If it really starts to drive me crazy, I'll ask for another switch, but I doubt that'll be necessary.
FWIW, I do have a tube of silicone grease. It's used to lube the O-rings for underwater equipment and camera cases. I imagine it would be available at a camera store or possibly a dive shop.