I decided to fire up my 1912 Roadster engine. The previous owner had it rebuilt and it had not run since the rebuild. So I hooked up a 6V battery to the battery post on the firewall and after much exertion I got it fired up. I switched the coil box switch to magneto to see how it performs and it ran until I completely disconnected the battery. So it starts on battery and will run on magneto as long as the battery remains connected to the battery post. I concluded that the battery provides juice whether on BAT or MAG. Hmmm, that sure doesn't sound right. So, we all know that it is ALWAYS the ignition switch

so I opened up the Heinz switch on the coil box in the car (which I am sure is a repro) and also opened up the switch on an older, crusty Heinz coil box to compare.
On the " new" switch it appears the brass contacts have been worn through. Not sure how that contact is made, whether it is an overlay over steel or was brass plated. Is this wear normal or does it need fixin'? I am going to experiment with retensioning the internal switch contact spring and see if it makes a difference.
Just for fun, I have included a picture of the internals of an original switch I have. Looks a little rough to me......