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Toronado back-lit door switches


wws944

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I was on a short trip out of town yesterday, and while there, stopped by a wrecking yard that I knew had a couple of '91 Toronados. Picked up a set of the door switches to experiment with.

As KDirk and DAVES89 relate, the switches are exactly the same size as the Reatta versions. Though they do have different cosmetics. The Reatta switches have chrome levers, and the Toronado has black plastic. The seat and window switch assemblies actually have an outer housing which separates from the switches themselves. So at least in Kevins case, he separated them and inserted the Reatta chrome switches into the Toronado illuminated housings.

The other cosmetic difference is the lettering. Note in the photo below that the Reatta switches have a lot more annotation. E.g., the Toronado version simply says "WINDOW", whereas the Reatta version has UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT on it. On the seat controls, the Reatta version says "SEAT ADJUSTER" near the bottom, whereas the Toronado does not. Here is a photo of the two next to each other:

189317-90-92-toronado-door-switches-front.jpg

Here is a photo of the rear. The gray and black wires are for the illumination:

189316-90-92-toronado-door-switches-rear.jpg

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We swapped out the switches as well. Overall the back lite housings to me is the way to go.

The nice thing is that I now have a real nice set of black switches for back up.

What do you think?

BTW as a tip get you self a pig tail with a plug that you can wire into the Trofero harness and hook up to the cup light, so if you have to go in the door you can unplug this harness as well.

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Guest Mc_Reatta
Any chance parts of this would work in an 89?

Good question. Looking at the photos, I'm guessing that the seat switches could be removed from the old's switch bank and used in the switch holder that holds the one in an 80's door. But I'm also thinking the mirror and window switch portions look to be wider than the ones in an 80's console, and also they sit flush in the olds, where they stick above the console in an 80's. But it would be interesting if they could be installed in an 80's console. Would have to convert the 110 AC voltage for the EL panel over to 12 volts to light them up. I'm betting there's better availability of the old's switches than 80's Reattas and Rivs.

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Yes, the three individual switch assemblies (mirror, seat, and window) are held against the plate by four hex head screws. Three of them are shown in the photo. So you remove them from the Toronado plate and insert them into the Reatta plate. Passenger side is the same, except that it just has seat and window controls.

If one finds a Toronado, the door panel definitely needs to come off in order to remove the plate with all the switches. This is different than the Reatta - where one simply removes the plastic cover and unscrews the two philips screws.

Cadillacs used very similar, if not the same, switches. Though again, there may be some cosmetic differences.

One other tid bit: The driver and passenger side seat controls have different part numbers - both on Reatta and Toronado. UP/DN is reversed.

Edited by wws944 (see edit history)
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I don't think the door has to come off, you just use a screwdriver to press on the spring steel on the end. Any idea what Cadillacs, etc. we should start looking for? Also correct me if I am wrong but how can you wire in a '88/89 without that little cup light found in the '90/91?

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I don't think the door has to come off, you just use a screwdriver to press on the spring steel on the end.

I tried that. But the clip (top edge - above the power mirror switch) was really tight. It only took a minute to unscrew the T15 behind the door handle, pop the door panel off and unscrew the hex head screw holding the clip.

Another thing I forgot to mention: To remove the connector for the power seat switch, there are a pair of whitish tabs that need to be pressed in order to free the connector. On the drivers side power window switch there is that little blue 'bottle cap' thing that needs to be twisted off. (I put the 'bottle cap' back on for the photo above.)

Any idea what Cadillacs, etc. we should start looking for?

For simple replacement purposes, the late 80s/early 90s Caddies used a number of the same/similar switches on the doors and seats. But my understanding is that none of them had illuminated back-light versions like the Toronados.

Also correct me if I am wrong but how can you wire in a '88/89 without that little cup light found in the '90/91?

Someone with a '88-'89 will have to answer that one.

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Guest Mc_Reatta
but how can you wire in a '88/89 without that little cup light found in the '90/91?

There's no appropriate power source available inside an 80s door for this, only hot all the time.

So a power source would have to be brought into both doors. Question is from what source. The obvious choice is the dimming panel lights 12 v circuit like used in the 90s for the door cup "flood" light. Goes on and off with parking lights and dims with the slider. But another source that I would probably choose would be the RAP power source. It isn't dimmable, but would keep the door handle silhouetted after the lights and engine are turned off allowing passengers to find the handle up until a door is opened. That seems to be the more important function rather than lighting the seat switch for an 80s car. Use of a blue or green LED placed so it isn't directly visible by a passenger should diminish any issue created by not being able to dim it, and the fact it would be on all the time the car is running, not just when lights are turned on.

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Guest Kitskaboodle

Walter, that blue bottle cap you're referring to is basically a speed nut / tinnerman nut. In this spplication it wedges over a smooth metal post to hold something in place.

Kit

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Walter, that blue bottle cap you're referring to is basically a speed nut / tinnerman nut. In this spplication it wedges over a smooth metal post to hold something in place.

Kit

Yes - one of the copper colored posts is longer than the others, and protrudes through the female connector. The 'bottle cap' provides a second method of keeping the connector in place - besides the friction fit. It is only used on the drivers side window switch. The passenger side does not have it.

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There's no appropriate power source available inside an 80s door for this, only hot all the time.

So a power source would have to be brought into both doors. Question is from what source. The obvious choice is the dimming panel lights 12 v circuit like used in the 90s for the door cup "flood" light. Goes on and off with parking lights and dims with the slider. But another source that I would probably choose would be the RAP power source. It isn't dimmable, but would keep the door handle silhouetted after the lights and engine are turned off allowing passengers to find the handle up until a door is opened. That seems to be the more important function rather than lighting the seat switch for an 80s car. Use of a blue or green LED placed so it isn't directly visible by a passenger should diminish any issue created by not being able to dim it, and the fact it would be on all the time the car is running, not just when lights are turned on.

Never seen the need for the '88/89 to be back lite in the door. Who needs to adjust the seat? If the console lights work then the mirror and window switches are seen. Unless of course one wants a light to see the door handle/locks.

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