My problem with my reverse lights was that they were just on all the time. After removing the center console panel, which is really just a couple of screws and disconnecting a few harnesses, then fishing lots of change out of the top of the trans tunnel, the switch (which looks like the head of an aluminum 1-1/4" bolt) is visible. However, you have to remove the selector mechanism cover to get at it. I could not find a socket that would fit, not could I get at it with a strap wrench, so I had to get out the channel-locks.When you take the switch out, be mindful of the shim washers under it. The switch itself is merely a plunger sticking out of a boss. Mine was pretty frozen, and if you could push it in, it popped back out on its own time.
It’s pretty easy to open up: You just have to pry the aluminum which is swaged over the plastic coverplate on the outside of the switch all around the circumference and then the cover plate pops off. The disassembled switch is shown in the picture. Mercifully, it is not too complicated, it just makes the circuit when the plunger is pushed in by the selector being in R. Note that the plunger has a little oring, which I suspect swells over time. I cleaned up and polished all the components and contacts, including honing the plunger cylinder with 1000 grit on a mandrel, then oiled the plunger and oring with a silicone lubricant – if the oring was EPDM, any hydrocarbon oil would just cause it to swell, creating the problem all over again. After reassembling, I partially screwed a 3/8 nut on the shaft to give me somethign to clamp against, clampted it up and then peened the aluminum down over the plastic endcap once again. I probably lost half the aluminum in that process (it work hardens and gets brittle), so I added a layer of epoxy at the joint and let it set up overnight. Now I have backup lights only when I am backing up!
