The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 52 heater switch

I was reading through the archives, and got to wondering: is there a consensus on the most common or "correct" heater switch fo the 52 year? I am thinking it is either the bolted to the dash paddle switch, or the round rheostat switch that hangs down from the dash.

Jimmie,

It is a paddle switch mounted under the dash. Look at step 6 and look at the next page.

Tim

Tim,
Thanks for the info. I have the after market switch that hangs down, and it just never looked right to me.

so tc - is it a multispeed switch via resistors?

A lot of folks used a rheostat switch to get more speed control. My 55.1 panel had one of these.

The switch would be a three position two speed switch, with a off/hi/lo position. On the low speed the voltage dropping resistor would be in the circuit and it will get quit hot.
Denny G

thanks tc - i've read that mounting a separate resistor 'pod' in the air stream, vs a switch with integral resistors, helps to cool the resistors which makes them last longer

hmmm, a rheostat - completely variable speeds. does it have an off position?

Yes. First position off of the OFF detente is the highest speed. The farther you turn it the slower the fan speed.

interesting - i like that. i wonder if they're long lasting considering the higher amps of a motor, vs low amp dash lights

The one on my panel was almost 20 years old and worked fine. They are made for that application. I don't know if the new ones are the same but the one on my panel had a light inside the knob that got dimmer as the speed went down.

The original Delco Remy paddle switches were used on many GM applications from the late 30's to the mid 50's.
They work quite well on the original 6 volt systems but,not so well on systems that have been converted to 12 volts.
There are still alot of good used & NOS ones out there.
http://members.cox.net/mothertruckeraz/heaterswitches.JPG

light inside the knob that got dimmer - which makes sense as voltage dropped

I didn't intend to spark a new new debate over paddle vs resistor switches. My switch gets warm, but not hot. The motor is a single speed, so I think it is either on or off. I appreciate everybodys input here.

I don't profess to be an expert but I believe all motors are single speed, it's the switching that determines the speed by how much current is sent to the motor. If I'm wrong someone will point it out I'm sure.

yes - switching/how many resistors/total resistance are in the circuit