Killed a microswitch somehow - is this common?

[P-chan]

I'm just now putting my build together and one of my switches has died.  I have a replacement on the way, but I can't imagine this is common?  It's stuck in the "down" (on) position and doesn't "click", the little button just goes in and is loose. 

I'm sure you know what a switch looks like, but it's almost identical to this type :

[Vigo]

I kinda doubt that you specifically killed it. It is more likely you got a dud. I have had old and new microswitches, cheap and name brand. They usually don't break on me before I retire them, The switching just seems to get less springy until I don't want them in anymore. I have had a few just die on my though.

If you really want to try to save the switch, you can try prying that little panel off and see if the contact is out of place and can be put back (easier said than done depending on the switch). I always try, but only because I like to open things up. Even if you do fix it, it is still worth putting a new micro in your panel. Chances are that it won't have the same feel of click that the rest of your micros have.

[mgb]

Its always worth it to keep some spares on hand. I've had switches go bad before.