few years back, my dad had his ignition switch replaced, and now its showing signs of needing replaced again (was a cheap, aftermarket unit)
he has been swearing up and down that his mechanic friend went under the dash, and squeezed these clips together and it fixed the issue he's having right now, and i was there when the guy did it, but i feel that he's full of it, seeing as there is nothing under the dash that the ignition switch could connect to
can anyone confirm this, i dont want to outright call my dad a liar, or stupid, id rather have some proof
The MN12 switch is the same as the Fox switch. He may have squeezed the terminal together in the ignition switch harness so that it makes tighter contact on the blade in the switch connector - I seem to remember if you remove the knee bolster you can get at the ignition switch wiring harness in an MN12.
Regardless, I hope you told him to replace it ASAP, or at least make sure his fire insurance is paid up
Where the metal housing of the switch comes together with the plastic part the harness plugs into, there are little metal tabs that hold the two together. He may have squeezed those tabs to help keep the plastic part tight to the metal mount. Just a guess.
that must be it
if we replace that switch, will that plastic/metal housing issue be fixed?
It should be, I think over time the heat from the load on the switch along with the movement from the rod pushing on it loosens the plastic part from the metal housing. A new switch should be tight to start with and last a long time. I would get one from ford if they haven't discontinued it.