Model T dash switch and Bosch dash switch

[Been Here Before]

In 1916 Bosch developed a new product to "meet a genuine demand" for electrical up grades.

According to period publications, Bosch had introduced a few years earlier, a deluxe lighting system. The 1916 system is a bit more versatile - automobiles and boats and more.

About 1918 Ford introduced electric starting and generator to their closed cars, optional to open style.

What is interesting is the dash configuration Ford chose for the switch and metering of the current from the generator.

Bosch 1916 design

DSCN1618a.jpg (48.01 KiB) Viewed 684 times

Ford dash for cars with starter and generator.

[John kuehn]

I’ll bet when Ford was designing a switch for his cars he wanted something practical and easy to produce. The Ford switch plate was a stamping or pressing and not hard to make.

Looks like the Bosch switch was more ornate and Victorian looking. I wondered if it was made from some type of light casting material but I’m not sure if it was a stamping or formed on a press or even could be at the time.

They both types worked OK but the Ford switch style was quicker and easier to replicate than the Bosch switch. Of course that’s my opinion!