If you're going to go through the trouble of shorting out the switch leads, you might as well just replace the switch. I have a tutorial on the repair at my site, or a direct link to it here.
Shorting it is a great way to check if that's all the problem is before replacing the switch however. I've also noticed that on some systems the plastic plunger in the top half of the shell that depresses the switch gets stuck or worn, which is probably what happened with Graham Mitchell's system.