Kestas
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Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
bring back the foot switch!!
- Thread starter meep
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Quote:
Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
YUP. Some via a manual pump. And those OH SO COOL (/sarcasm) BAGS holding the washer fluid.
LOL.
Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
YUP. Some via a manual pump. And those OH SO COOL (/sarcasm) BAGS holding the washer fluid.
LOL.
I'm pretty sure some of the earliest bugs used spare tire air pressure to drive the washer fluid. Not too handy when tires blew out with alarming frequency. Kids now a days don't realize how reliable tires are now compared to "back in the day".
Originally Posted By: Rix
Quote:
Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
YUP. Some via a manual pump. And those OH SO COOL (/sarcasm) BAGS holding the washer fluid.
LOL.
The late '70s and maybe early '80s VW Polo had a foot-operated washer fluid pump. The main advantage was that you could squirt water on the windshield BEFORE activating the wipers. Useful when you had sand and other abrasive dirt on the windshield.
Quote:
Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
YUP. Some via a manual pump. And those OH SO COOL (/sarcasm) BAGS holding the washer fluid.
LOL.
The late '70s and maybe early '80s VW Polo had a foot-operated washer fluid pump. The main advantage was that you could squirt water on the windshield BEFORE activating the wipers. Useful when you had sand and other abrasive dirt on the windshield.
I like the foot operated switch. My 70 Monte Carlo has one and I've owned the car for almost 25 years and it has never gone out.
My 2004 Monte Carlo on the other hand has the switch on the turn signal stalk and it's on it's way out because it takes multiple flips of the switch to get it to work. The other bad part is it's a $500+ part for a GM one and over $300 for a aftermarket one and putting one in is a big headache.
Replacing the ones on the steering wheel on most cars is not an easy job especially if you have to remove the steering wheel with the airbag in it.
Wayne
My 2004 Monte Carlo on the other hand has the switch on the turn signal stalk and it's on it's way out because it takes multiple flips of the switch to get it to work. The other bad part is it's a $500+ part for a GM one and over $300 for a aftermarket one and putting one in is a big headache.
Replacing the ones on the steering wheel on most cars is not an easy job especially if you have to remove the steering wheel with the airbag in it.
Wayne
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: Rix
Quote:
Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
YUP. Some via a manual pump. And those OH SO COOL (/sarcasm) BAGS holding the washer fluid.
LOL.
The late '70s and maybe early '80s VW Polo had a foot-operated washer fluid pump. The main advantage was that you could squirt water on the windshield BEFORE activating the wipers. Useful when you had sand and other abrasive dirt on the windshield.
My '69 Plymouth Valiant still had foot-operated washer pump. It never failed.
Originally Posted By: Rix
Quote:
Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
YUP. Some via a manual pump. And those OH SO COOL (/sarcasm) BAGS holding the washer fluid.
LOL.
The late '70s and maybe early '80s VW Polo had a foot-operated washer fluid pump. The main advantage was that you could squirt water on the windshield BEFORE activating the wipers. Useful when you had sand and other abrasive dirt on the windshield.
My '69 Plymouth Valiant still had foot-operated washer pump. It never failed.
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: Rix
Quote:
Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
YUP. Some via a manual pump. And those OH SO COOL (/sarcasm) BAGS holding the washer fluid.
LOL.
The late '70s and maybe early '80s VW Polo had a foot-operated washer fluid pump. The main advantage was that you could squirt water on the windshield BEFORE activating the wipers. Useful when you had sand and other abrasive dirt on the windshield.
IIRC, my SuperBeetle used the spare tire's air to spray washer fluid. Or it was supposed to anyway. Mine didn't work.
Originally Posted By: Rix
Quote:
Didn't some cars have foot-operated windshield washer fluid?
YUP. Some via a manual pump. And those OH SO COOL (/sarcasm) BAGS holding the washer fluid.
LOL.
The late '70s and maybe early '80s VW Polo had a foot-operated washer fluid pump. The main advantage was that you could squirt water on the windshield BEFORE activating the wipers. Useful when you had sand and other abrasive dirt on the windshield.
IIRC, my SuperBeetle used the spare tire's air to spray washer fluid. Or it was supposed to anyway. Mine didn't work.
My camaro has the foot operated high beam toggle and it has power windows. my truck has the column mounted one with crank windows. I dont mind the floor mounted one probably cause its the wifes car and I dont drive it much.
The foot switch was a heavy duty switch which controlled the lighting current directly. Headlight relays were substituted to reduct the voltage drop to the lights by making the wiring path shorter. Once you had a relay up near the lamps, the control itself can be a low current device. I don't miss the floor switch. In the "real" old days, the STARTER switch was on the floor as well. You'll hear "step on the starter" in old movies. Recently, an elderly woman managed to drive a new car RIGHT THROUGH a seafood place in Maine. She said (afterwood) "I stepped on the starter and 'she' (the car) went right along." Some kind of flashback I suppose.
I don't remember foot switches all that fondly. They were often hard to locate, especially in a car you weren't familiar with. And, in the winter when you're wearing heavy boots you would have absolutely no feel--you'd just have to stomp in the right place a few times. I can remember some vehicles where I always had to hunt around for the switch on the floor--never got used to its funny location. Also, up here in the Northeast it is only a matter of time before it corrodes down there due to all the road salt. On the other hand, the stalk dimmers seem to break often too. But, when they're working the dimmer on the stalk is much easier to use.
My Dad had a 1979'ish Ford Pickup that had a floor switch. I thought it was a great idea especially for situations like someone mentioned... when you meet a car on a curve. The truck had over 300k miles on it when he got rid of it and the switch still worked.
I found it funny the ability to pulsate the headlights.....according to my 88 Dodge Aries Owner's Manual, it's supposed to be used when "changing lanes"? Really....? haha people out here have enough problems using blinkers/turn signals....and they expected them to flick their headlights wen changing lanes?
Anyways, down here, seems the big use of headlight switching, is to signal cops ahead
OR, to get someone's attention in front of you; i.e.: drunken driver, swerving in and out of his lane....
Anyways, down here, seems the big use of headlight switching, is to signal cops ahead
OR, to get someone's attention in front of you; i.e.: drunken driver, swerving in and out of his lane....I had a 1971 New Yorker that had both a headlight footswitch and a radio scan/tuning footswitch. Push the floor switch and the radio would scan stations.
The 440 was a nice option too.
The 440 was a nice option too.
Originally Posted By: rg200amp
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: meep
Now that 80+% of US cars are automatics, I want the left-toe highbeam switch back!!
+ + + + +x10,000,000,000,000,000
. Seriously, have you EVER needed to dim your lights during a shift?
Never.
Also, your worried about your hand not being free due to shifting??? What's your left foot doing????
What is: Working the Clutch!
Ding Ding Ding Ding, We have a winner!!!!!
The only time i even touch the clutch is to start rolling from a dead stop
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: meep
Now that 80+% of US cars are automatics, I want the left-toe highbeam switch back!!
+ + + + +x10,000,000,000,000,000
. Seriously, have you EVER needed to dim your lights during a shift?
Never.
Also, your worried about your hand not being free due to shifting??? What's your left foot doing????
What is: Working the Clutch!
Ding Ding Ding Ding, We have a winner!!!!!
The only time i even touch the clutch is to start rolling from a dead stop
I can remember having the simultaneous need to clutch and dip the high beams in the '66 Chevy pickup I drove in high school. The clutch always won, sorry oncoming traffic. That said, it wasn't hard to find the floor switch or uncomfortable and it always worked. And yes that truck did NOT have power steering or power windows or power door locks. AM radio only, one tinny speaker in the middle of the dash. The stovebolt 6 cylinder engine did not have much power either which was probably a good thing as the 4 wheel drum brakes didn't do much stopping. Anytime people bring up "real trucks" and the "good ole days" I just remember that POS and laugh.
So I'm searching for headlight dimmer switches to put one in my '13 C6 Corvette Grand Sport to control the dual mode exhaust. I could spend a couple of hundred dollars and get a remote control that plugs into the OBDII connector or I can buy a foot switch for $4.99 and run 6' of wire. Even with a 6 speed MT it's not like there is going to be a lot of left foot conflicts between the need to shift and the need to switch the exhaust mode. It's the kind of thing you might do once a day.
So I'm searching for headlight dimmer switches to put one in my '13 C6 Corvette Grand Sport to control the dual mode exhaust. I could spend a couple of hundred dollars and get a remote control that plugs into the OBDII connector or I can buy a foot switch for $4.99 and run 6' of wire. Even with a 6 speed MT it's not like there is going to be a lot of left foot conflicts between the need to shift and the need to switch the exhaust mode. It's the kind of thing you might do once a day.
Long live foot switches! ...yay, necro-posting.
I was a bit nervous about the foot switch when I got my truck, but quickly discovered that it's not confusing or distracting at all. I prefer it to modern cars where there can be no less than 15 different controls on the steering column. I frequently turn on the wipers or change the radio station when intending to do something else.
I was a bit nervous about the foot switch when I got my truck, but quickly discovered that it's not confusing or distracting at all. I prefer it to modern cars where there can be no less than 15 different controls on the steering column. I frequently turn on the wipers or change the radio station when intending to do something else.
I really miss the foot switch.
I remember having a car with a not only a foot high beam switch but a rubber mechanical windshield washer pump button with a plastic bag hanging on the inside of the fender for the fluid wit hoses going to the button.
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