At a glance
- The original switches are old and replacements are getting scarce, so a new panel is the way many owners now go.
- Type 116 Motorsport sells a ready-made replacement switch panel for the VX220. Owners who fitted one were pleased with it. See their switch panel listings.
- Reported downsides: a 3 week wait in 2021, and sold out at times. One owner thought the fit was "so-so".
- DIY conversions with generic switches work, but the hazard circuit is awkward and no wiring is guaranteed. Test everything.
Type 116 Motorsport's replacement panel
Type 116 Motorsport (see the UK specialists and suppliers list) makes replacement switch panels for the VX220. Check their site for what is currently offered, the price and the lead time. We haven't listed a price or part number, because those change.
What owners said about it between 2021 and 2026:
- Several owners fitted it and liked it. One said the switches were brilliant and the fit "a bit so-so". Another called it "really easy to fit even for a complete mechanical numpty", and another thought it much better than the old Vectra-based ones in function and looks. An owner who had also seen a DIY conversion said the DIY one looked nicer.
- It wasn't always in stock. In April 2021 one buyer waited about 3 weeks, and another found it out of stock. They are built to order, so ask about timing.
- The original frame gets cut. One owner said you cut the original switch frame ("cradle") to fit the new switches. If you want to go back to standard later, buy a second-hand frame first (one owner saw new old stock on eBay in 2021).
- Keep your old switches. Owners who fitted the panel kept the working originals in a box. One suggested refreshing them at leisure so the car can be returned to original when sold, and thought second-hand panels would sell for not much less than new. That's his guess.
- Price for fitting. In 2018 an owner asked the firm for a fully fitted price. The thread doesn't say what it was.
This is based on owner reports, not on the manufacturer. Ask Type 116 Motorsport what the current panel is and what it fits.
Other ready-made options mentioned
- An owner who wanted to keep it simple used cheap switches from an electronics shop with LEDs in four colours and a mounting plate made by a workmate. He wanted something that showed at a glance which lights were on.
- An all-in-one twist-and-pull light controller from a VW or Audi was used by one owner in a neat conversion.
- One owner tried pressing round-button kit switches and found the wiring too complicated, and went for a simpler set. The photos are gone from the thread.
Nothing is known to be a direct plug-in apart from the Vectra B switch swap in the faults and repair guide.
DIY conversion: what one owner did
The owner's conversion used motorsport-style rocker switches with built-in LEDs, which he said are almost a direct swap. You cut the car's terminal blocks off the old switches and crimp spade connectors on to push onto the pins of the new ones. Extend wires with thin-wall automotive wire if you need to. He fitted them about 9 years before the 2020 post and said they were still working perfectly. A second owner used similar switches in 2015, and said the hazards were the awkward part because you need an extra normally closed pin for a straight swap.
He didn't keep two original features: the ignition-switched backlighting feed, and the wires that stop one light being on without the other. He wanted each switch to work on its own. Think about whether you do (see MOT below).
The notes, switch by switch
These are his, from memory, for the three terminal blocks at the back. Colours are the car's wire colours. I have kept his wording where he was unsure.
| Switch (block) | Wires |
|---|---|
| Sidelights (green block, far left) | Black to LED ground. Both brown/blue wires to pin 1. Red/blue to pin 2, and bridge pin 2 to LED positive. |
| Headlights (blue block, second from left) | Black to LED ground. Blue to pin 2, and bridge to LED positive. Brown/black to pin 1. |
| Front fogs (brown block, second from right) | Black to LED ground. Red/green to pin 1. Purple/red to pin 2, and bridge to LED positive. |
| Rear fogs | Not in his notes. A later owner worked it out by connecting the wires himself. |
| Hazards | Needs a 6-pin switch with five push-to-make pins and one normally closed pin, or a relay with the switches he used. See below. |
Hazards, as he described it: the light green wire goes to pin 1 on the top side, which is the normally closed contact, along with the purple/brown. The purple and purple/brown wires go to pins 2 and 3 on the top side, which are push to make. The lower pin set is isolated from the top side. Both green/whites and the green/red each get their own pin, and the green/red is bridged to the LED positive. The black wire goes to LED ground. He described the pair of pins as "to there own pins", and the wording is ambiguous.
A problem reported in 2025. An owner who followed the notes with 8-pin switches (double normally open, common and normally closed) found everything worked except the hazards. With the ignition off they worked, but after switching them off and turning the ignition on, only the left indicators carried on flashing. He asked whether "their own pins" meant the normally open or the common pin. Nobody answered in the thread. If you see this, the hazard circuit is not wired the way the original switch does it.
What the original wires do
An owner listed what each wire on the original switches does in 2015. It's a single post, written for the NA car, so check against your diagrams. The fuse numbers and relay names match those in the relays and fuses guide only if they're the same, so check them.
| Switch | Wire | What it does (as posted) |
|---|---|---|
| Sidelights | Green | Feed from fuse 7, switched with the ignition, out on black (backlight) |
| Brown/blue | Feed from fuse 19. Pressing the switch connects it to red/blue | |
| Red/blue | To relay K20 | |
| Black | Earth | |
| Main beam | Green and black | Same as sidelights |
| Brown/blue | Feed from fuse 19. The blue wire takes the power to relay K19 | |
| Front fogs | Red/green and black | Feed from the sidelights, and earth. Lights the switch light |
| Blue | Feed from the light switch | |
| Red/violet | To relay K4 | |
| Rear fogs | Red/green and black | Lights the switch when the sidelights are on |
| Red/blue and grey | When pressed, connects fuse 1 to relay K5 | |
| Red/yellow | Return feed from K5 to light the second bulb in the switch | |
| Hazards | Green/red | Right-hand indicator bulbs |
| Green/white | Left-hand indicator bulbs | |
| Black | Earth from the switch bulb | |
| Violet/brown | To the flasher relay | |
| Violet | From fuse 9 | |
| Green | From fuse 6 | |
| Green/white | From the flasher relay |
Note that green/white appears twice in the hazard list, as the bulbs and as the feed from the flasher relay. That is how the thread put it, and we can't tell which wire is which from the post alone. The same owner said that once you pull the switch assembly you can see which cable is which.
MOT and safety
- The original switches have wiring that stops the main beam or front fogs being on without the sidelights. If you drop that, make sure it doesn't leave the car able to show a headlight with no tail lights. Think it through before you do it.
- The hazard switch is the awkward one. Test the hazards with the ignition on and off, and with each indicator, before driving.
- Keep the original switches and wiring in a box in case you sell the car or need to go back to standard.