Doug White wrote in
:

"Ron D." wrote in
:

You can get slide switches with threaded holes. This is typically
used in a ceiling fan.

I haven't found any with threads with the required 1.125" hole
spacing.

I have found both a Switchcraft and a CW switch that use the old style
folded metal & phenolic PCB construction, but no threaded holes. Both
are rated for 3A (vs 6A for the plastic C&K), which should still be
OK, even for the original 20W 12V AC halogen bulb. With the LED
replacement bulb, it should be loafing.

Both the Switchcraft and the CW cost about half what the C&K do. They
are all so cheap that I will probably just order a couple of each. I
will try the C&K again on the theory that I may have gotten ones from
a bad batch. I'll also take the flaky one apart & see if I can figure
out what the failure mechanism is. if one of the replacements dies
prematurely, I will install a Switchcraft.

I'll report back when I have the replacements in hand & do an autopsy
on the bad one.

Haven't had a chance to tear apart the old switch, but one of the CW
brand switches Digikey sells has threaded holes (although it's VERY hard
to tell from the data sheet), so that will make replacing it easier in
the future. Also, it's a DPDT, so I can tie the contacts in parallel.
That ought to extend the life at least a bit.

In the meantime, I tried to fix a dead rechargeable stick vacuum this
morning, and the proprietary 3 position slide switch is toast. I
suspect it got cooked from my daughter's hair clogging the beater brush
& stalling the motor. It seemed like every time I went to use it the
brush was seized up and I had to spend a half an hour pulling hair out.
She's got her own place now, so that should be less of an issue in the
future...

Doug White