I have removed my headlamp nacelle for painting, but am having problems removing the ammeter and light switch. The speedo came off easily being a push fit in a rubber ring.
The ammeter is painted in so I can't see how it is fitted properly. There seem to be some tabs but I can't see if they are part of the nacelle or the ammeter.
The switch has me completely foxed, does it twist off in some way?
If the worst comes to the worst I can destroy them as they will have to be replaced anyway, but I'd like to get them off with as little damage as possible.
Any thoughts will be gratefully received.
Not an expert with this model but a lot, if not all ammeters, have tabs built into the bottom of the bezel which are bent outwards to hold it in the nacelle. You have to be careful bending them back to extract the ammeter as they sometimes break off. Does the switch itself not have a screw through the top to allow the knob to be removed revealing the fixing nut underneath?
These switches are retained by a wire circlip underneath. They usually prise out.
First photo shows the circlip in position indicated by the arrow.
Second photo shows the circlip.
To clarify - the circlip prises out from underneath.
Thanks very much, both.
Yes the ammeter has tabs, they are just covered in a thick layer of paint and the meter itself is well painted in!
The dial appears to have melted in part so I think it is probably u/s
There doesn't seem to be a circlip on the switch though. It appears to be just two discs of bakelite either side of the nacelle shell.
I'll probably break them both out, just have to be careful with the nacelle.
Thanks again.
With the circlip out it should push out but it will be a tight fit.
Thanks everybody.
They were both not fastened in after all (circlip was missing and tabs on ammeter hadn't been bent over :))
What gave me real problems was that they were painted in as well as being a tight fit and so were difficult to get out without damaging the nacelle.
Now I can get all my tinware stripped.
Adrian
Well done. How are you going to do your tin ware?
I was going to :-
1) Visit my local bead blaster
2) Fill
3) Acid etch primer
4) Grey acrylic primer
5) Couple of coats of spray enamel
6) See if I can persuade a local spray shop to put on some 2 pack petrol resistant lacquer
Does this make sense?
I'm not touching mudguards and forks, they have been powder coated quite well already.
Regards,
Adrian
To get the best results you normally need to use a high build primer at step (5) and then flat it back to give a perfect finish for the basecoat. A 2K clear coat is certainly the toughest finish you can achieve with the added bonus of being petrol resistant.