What is this Crown Vic dash switch?

That switch was added by "someone else". I think that you will find that the connections on the back are quite unlike anything else that would have been factory equipment.

The tone of your post makes me think that you drive this cab for someone else? Perhaps asking him might help....

Rear window defogger, possibly? Doesn't turn your roof light on/off, does it? (I'm sure you must have checked that, though.)

SC Tom

well if "someone else" added that switch, they had more balls (and skill) than me to cut into that plastic without wrecking it.

gotta be something unique to a cab to go to that trouble.......or maybe the Cloaking Device.........Quiller Drive?

We are regularly called upon to add "toys" to new vehicles.... Nothing ballsy.... use the appropriate tools.... measure and work carefully.

FWIW, many currently available rocker switches require that we only drill a round hole...

Thanks for your replies so far.

The defogger switch is on the center console, so that's not it. It's not for the light atop the cab.

The mechanics at the cab company don't know what the switch does.

I doubt very much that the cab company installed the switches because

(a) it's unlikely that the installation would be so neat, and

(b) they probably wouldn't buy switches with a built-in LED such as these have.

My best guess is that it's a switch peculiar to Ford's Crown Vic taxi and police vehicles.

I'll look at the dash of some other cab companies' Crown Vics and at some Crown Vic police cars, and maybe I'll take the photo to a Ford dealer and ask.

Older police CVs (up until about 1990) would often have a separate switch for the wig-wag lights, but I seriously doubt a 2007 would need it.

as jim stated, it is not factory, and ford will not have any idea what it is. and it is not a "police/taxi package thing", cause i have never see one like that before. .

See if it kills your brake lights or auto headlights......(police thing)

I would follow the wires to see where they go.....it would drive me nutts not knowing .... :)

This doesn't appear to be a quality job. The dash isn't flat any more. It looks a lot like an add-on that does something that wouldn't be obvious, hence the pilot light.

Killing the brake lights would be an interesting guess, with the pilot only illuminating when the brake is depressed. Add on fog lights? Some special exterior illumination?

Next clue would be the size of the wires attached to the switch, and where they go, in the immediate vicinity. I presume if you could trace them you would have. The mechanics could, but don't care. A brake light cut-out should be easy to follow 12" to the brake light switch.

Sure! Check how fast the taxi meter ticks up per mile and per minute of wait time as you drive with the switch in both positions - it's a very common practice to illegally rig the taxi meter so it runs faster and charges more. It's probably a felony considering the overcharges you could rack up...

Except if you suspect that the passenger you just picked up is an inspector from the local Taxi and Limo Commission and they'll immediately know they've been overcharged. Then you flip the switch back to the "Legal Fares" setting.

But I doubt that's what you have, since the switch is usually hidden a lot better than that - the inspector would see you flip it. Much better to put it somewhere under the lip of the dashboard, or above the pedal cluster where you can tap it with a toe... Or better, they mickey with the computer program ROM for the meter itself, and it toggles in or out of the running fast mode if you push a certain control button combination...

And if they DO have a switch like that rigged in the cab you regularly drive, consult a lawyer - I'm betting even if you don't own the car, if a T&LC Inspector finds the switch /you/ are the one that gets busted, not the car (or medallion) owner. They can easily deny everything and say you had it installed to cheat them too.

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PS: And for all you nay-sayers, it happens regularly. Los Angeles has been known to go through and bust cabbies with City Taxi Seals for doing it, as have other local cities with their own taxi licensing systems. There are garages that specialize in this, and they can have your meter rigged and the car back on the road in 10 minutes - if you have the cash to pay for the work.

And for small towns with no regulation systems in place, it's all Caveat Emptor. If you know the trip is normally $10 and suddenly it's running you $20 but the Official Rates never went up, that's why.

I take the bus.

So do I - actually, my first choice is to rent or borrow a car. Second choice would be an airport shuttle van service with pre-arranged rates.

And if I ever get into a situation where I have no other choice but hail a cab, I'm going to have a copy of the local taxi rates and fees, and know what the trip should run ahead of time.

Bring my handheld GPS. And the GPS track log is evidence.

Oh, and if I get "a very bad feeling" about the fare, smile for the camera! I'm taking pictures of you, the car, the hack license on the dash, the license plates and the medallion. Just in case you're using your cousin's Hack License when he's home asleep, and thinks he has an airtight alibi...

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I'm the original poster. Someone finally figured out that this switch...

...is the "roof-lamp switch and indicator" mentioned in the Crown Vic taxi package detailed at the bottom of this page:

Taxi Package (Hole in Roof - 973; No Hole in Room - 974) - Rear door pull handle, door ajar indicator lamp, lateral bow reinforcement, removable headliner, roof-lamp switch and indicator and roof-lamp wiring

And here I thought you had already checked that. That's what I get for assuming. . . LOL.

SC Tom

Ford doesn't usually mount switches in that particular trim bezel. Without more info, I can't be sure, but if this car was a factory P72 taxi package, it may be a switch for factory wiring available as an option on P72s to operate the roof light. You might check on Ford's website to see if the switch corresponds with any photos. If your car is leased from a company, it may also be a switch that your taxi company installed for this purpose. If it is a P72 with a factory switch installed, it is possible that the roof light (if applicable in your locality) was powered by a method that bypassed this switch.

To find out if it is a P72, look at the VIN, it will show P71, P72, P73, or P74 in the VIN

P71 = Police Interceptor Pursuit Package (No Speed Limiter) P72 = Taxi/Police Package (Has Speed Limiter and factory taxi light wiring option) P73 = Base Crown Vic P74 = LX Package

Hope that helps!

Not a ford switch

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