Technical Gm headlight Switch

Hey, battling a problem here.All new wiring,46 Chevy pickup. Basic GM headlight switch. If you gently pull switch on/off everything fine. If you engage it like you normally would, pops fuse in block and breaker on back of switch. Arcing out internally? New but feels cheap.Any better quality out there? Or all junk now. Thanks

 

Find a good used or new OEM from GM.

 

I surf the net for vintage NOS headlight and ignition switches, points, and especially condensers. Will even pull some from junk cars.

 

Make sure you are not making it touch something behind the dash and short out when you pull on it "normally ".

 

I used a piece of Styrofoam cup to insulate switch contacts from hitting other metal under dash when turning lights on.

 

I've had especially bad luck with almost all recently built replacement parts, but top of the list are electrical car parts. My last headlight switch for a 60's Chevy lasted about 6 months, and only saw two short nighttime drives of maybe 30 minutes before my lights started failing.
I will pay premium prices to buy NOS and know they last for decades of use.

 

With his comment, Is the switch tight in the dash or ????

 

This is probably of no help but I tried fitting a GM headlight switch in my dash and it was a bit too large to fit. I went with a similar MOPAR headlight switch and it was just a bit smaller.