As much fun as it is to throw new parts at a project car, I’ve found even more pleasure in being able to repair components so that they work like new again. With the aid of this excellent tutorial, I was saved from throwing $100 away (and an assembly of hard-to-recycle electronic parts) on a new wiper switch. The headlight dimmer switch went in for the same treatment and now the gages are visible at night for the low, low price of resoldering just one connection.

If I had my wits about me at the time, I would have taken some pictures but if you take a look at the wiper switch tutorial, you should be comfortable taking apart the light switch. The problem joint was found after taking off the back cap that surrounds the connector terminals. Be on the lookout for pins that are no longer connected to the board with solder. Mine looked like it hadn’t even been soldered so there might be a heat problem to keep an eye on but for now it’s nice to be able to see the instrument panel at night.

Part of the attraction of EV conversions is that you’re extending the life of a vehicle that may have otherwise ended up salvaged. The $900 MR2 with a bad motor knock that would likely have ended up as scrap is now back on the road and getting even more life out of the resources expended in its manufacture. Repairing before replacing grows from the same idea and is cheaper for the consumer as well.