2 prong crazy stiff power switch

[telengard]

I have a 2 prong power model and the power switch on it is insanely hard to turn on. It seems to loosen up after a few uses, but always goes back to being super stiff. I'm always afraid I'm going to break something with all that force. Are there any suitable replacements that will fit through the shield and pcb holing (it's quite a small rocker)?

[srowe]

I have one in this condition too. I've sprayed some switch cleaner into it and have taken to leaving it in the on position in the hope it will ease off over time.

[OhMyCommodore]

Yeah I've had one like that too. I say play with it and give it time.

[armypavarmy]

Hello everybody
I have always used Vic power
a 5 Volt 2.5 Ampere "NO Charger" power supply
It works very well The only limitation does not work The recorder.
If you use the Drive 1541 there are no problems.
Only modification: change the connector with
5-pole din plug.
On request photos and diagram available
Armando

[Rmzalbar]

I had the exact same thing on my VIC-20. The reason it gets stiff is because the grease in the spring-loaded rocker plunger has stiffened into an extremely high viscosity glue over the decades. It will not cure itself; no matter how long you leave the switch ON, once you stop moving the switch for a while the spring will verry slooowly extend the plunger back out again through the sludge, and the grease itself will resolidify and it will be just as stiff as ever within an hour or three.

Last week I took the switch apart and refurbished it. It is not hard to do.

Unsolder and remove it. With a pointed metal tool, get under the little metal tabs in the rear that hold it together and one by one, pry and bend them out straight. Maybe brace the body of the switch flat against the edge of a table or something while you do this so that you only bend the tab, and not tweak the metal shell itself.

Slide it apart, being careful not to lose the rocker contact which will fall out of the switch body, or the rocker plunger from the thumbswitch side that also contains a spring, but will anyway probably be glued in place by the degraded grease.

Clean out the switch body with isopropyl acohol.

Polish oxidation off the electrical contact points by rubbing them across a dry, ordinary sheet of paper. You shouldn't use sandpaper for this and there is no need, paper has silica in it and acts as a very fine polishing surface. You can shove a little ball of paper into the switch body and use a narrow tool to scrub it across the contacts in there, too.

On the thumb switch plunger, pull out the little plunger and spring from the stem and clean the old grease out with solvent, probably with something better than alcohol like mineral spirits or lighter fluid. Replace with a silicone grease or another good grease on the plunger and spring. You can put just a tiny amount on the end of the plunger where it will slide across the contact rocker, but be mindful that you don't want to put so much that it ends up on the other side and gets on the electrical contacts.

Before you put it back together, use needle nose pliers to crimp out any bend in the tabs and make them nice and straight, that way they will crimp back into position tightly when you bend them over again later.

Put it back together, and bend the little tabs back down by pressing on them with a screwdriver end. Here again it's a good idea to support the body flat down against a table edge while you fold the tab up, so that you only bend the tab and not the frame.

There, good as new, for another several decades. Although I do have some new C64 switches, I don't know of any good replacement for the 2-pin VIC-20 switch. In any case, I've never had to use any new switch. I just do this process. The metal tabs seem to be able to take *at least* 2 or 3 bending open and closed cycles, as I haven't had one weaken yet.

[eslapion]

@Rmzalbar
Wouldn't dumping the switch in flux remover take away the hardened grease and then you just need contact lubricant ?

Flux remover is 99% alcohol but the 1% extra reduces rosin and dirt to a fine dust.

[Rmzalbar]

Maybe, but I worry that a lot of dissolved grease would stay in and foul the contacts, plus it would be full of liquid for a long time. I prefer to open the switch. Is it unsealed enough to drain easily?

[telengard]

I ended up removing and cleaning out the switch, and giving it a little bit of lubrication, works MUCH better now. I don't feel like I'm gonna snap it from force anymore.