Rear seat reading light switch broken - 1999 S70

mshinrockford · Post by **mshinrockford** » 09 Sep 2008, 20:33

Greetings! I noticed today that one of my rear seat reading light switches is completely broken. By broken I mean that the switching mechanism under the toggle switch appears to be completely gone. The switch just flops back and forth with no mechanical action under the switch. Since the switch is stuck in the "on" position, I've had to shut down all of my interior lights to prevent draining the battery. I have not yet tried to pry the switch cover off. I'm assuming that the mechanism under the toggle switch became loose. Has anybody else had this experience? Does anybody have any suggestions or tips on how I can make this repair? Thanks much

(1999 S70)

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 09 Sep 2008, 21:08

Mine was broken when I bought my S70. I'm trying to remember but seems that after you take the plastic lens off, you unscrew it from the ceiling and the entire piece comes out of the car. In my case, I just bought a new one from the dealer (they can't really be repaired) but if I were to do it again, I would go to a junk yard or pick-n-pull and get a used one.

Post by **VCA** » 10 Sep 2008, 06:21

mshinrockford wrote:Has anybody else had this experience? Does anybody have any suggestions or tips on how I can make this repair? Thanks much

(1999 S70)

Use a small jeweler's screwdriver to pry it out of the courtesy handle. For a beige interior, the left (driver's) side is 1372869 and the right side is 1372870. They're pricing around $35. If your broken one is the right side (passenger's), PM me with your mailing address and I'll send you a spare one (I pulled a set of rear courtesy handles at the pick 'n'pull to replace my broken left-hand one.)

mshinrockford · Post by **mshinrockford** » 27 Sep 2008, 20:23

Thank you both very much. The switch that needs to be replaced in my S70 is from the driver's side. I did remove the switch assembly today, which was fairly easy. the vast majority of the assembly (lamp, etc.) looks to be in good condition. The only thing that has broken is the mechanism below the rocker switch. I wish that I could get into it and fix it myself, but the assembly does not appear to be easily disassembled.

Adler · Post by **Adler** » 05 Aug 2011, 16:46

I looked up this old thread since my driver side reading light was out on this 98 V70 I just got. I took it out and was able to pry that black connector off of it. From the outside it appears simple but the little snap tabs are a lot bigger than you can see. Use a small flat screwdriver and press hard while lifting with a bone tool. The rocker mechanism is really simple, but made of such thin plastic. Geez, Volvo. The rocker has a stalk on the back of it upon which sits a little bronze bushing. The stalk is what breaks off and makes the rocker flap back and forth with no feel to it. If you are really careful(!) and lucky, your stalk+bushing will be floating around in the rocker area. I was able to epoxy it back on and viola, it works. I suggest not popping the rocker out of the housing, the thin snaps on it won't survive. Saved myself $30!

topgun0728 · Post by **topgun0728** » 17 Jan 2013, 10:04

Howdy!

Mine is broken too and thank you so much for this thread. Mine is actually on the rear passenger side and I have a beige interior. VCA, do you still have that part that you pulled?

It would help a lot if you do!

Thanks,

S.