IFR RATED PILOT FLYING FRIEND'S PA32 FROM THE RIGHT SEAT ATTEMPTS ILS WHEN WX DETERIORATES. REPORTER DESCENDS BELOW GS AFTER BREAKING OUT ELICITING A LOW ALTITUDE ALERT FROM THE TOWER. SECOND APPROACH IS SUCCESSFUL.

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MY WIFE AND I WENT WITH FRIENDS TO ZZZ1 FOR DINNER. I FREQUENTLY FLY IFR. OUR FRIEND ASKED US TO GO WITH HIM IN HIS RECENTLY ACQUIRED PIPER LANCE. HE CHKED WX AND UNKNOWN TO HIM I ALSO OBTAINED A FULL BRIEFING ENRTE TO THE ARPT. THE WX WAS VFR AND NOT SUPPOSED TO DROP UNTIL LATE IN THE EVENING. I STOPPED AT MY HANGAR AND GRABBED MY COMMERCIAL CHARTS AND PLATES JUST IN CASE. WE FLEW FROM ZZZ-ZZZ1; VFR CEILING ENRTE WAS 3500 FT AGL. I RODE R SEAT BOTH WAYS. WE ATE DINNER AND ON THE RETURN FLT THE CEILING STARTED TO DROP. I PULLED UP ZZZ ATIS. WX WAS 7 BKN 10 OVC 2 1/2 FOG. I TOLD PLT WE WOULD HAVE TO GO IFR. I AM CURRENT CFII AND ACFT HAS FRESH ANNUAL WITH IFR CERTIFICATION LAST MONTH. APCH GAVE US IFR CLRNC CLB AND MAINTAIN 3000 FT VECTORS ILS ZZZ. WE INTERCEPTED ILS WITH CIRCLE TO LAND CLRNC. I WAS FLYING CROSS PANEL WITH ILS TUNED TO #1 AND #2 RADIO. AFTER INTERCEPTING ILS AND STARTING DSCNT MY PUSH TO TALK SWITCH ON YOKE BROKE. I HAD HEADSET ON AND SO I WAS HAVING TO NOW USE THE HAND MIKE ON THE CONSOLE WHICH WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO REMOVE FROM THE HOLDER; IT PROBABLY HADN'T BEEN USED IN YRS. AFTER WE WERE HANDED OFF TO THE TWR #1 RADIO DIDN'T SEEM TO BE RESPONDING WENT TO #2 RADIO AND CONTINUED APCH. WE BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS A COUPLE OF MI S AND WHILE I WAS LOOKING OUTSIDE I INADVERTENTLY DSNDED BELOW GS. LCL CTLR YELLED AT US TO CLB THAT WE WERE TOO LOW; SO I TOLD PNF TO TELL THEM WE WERE GOING AROUND AND WE MISSED THE APCH. WE WENT BACK TO APCH AND RECEIVED ANOTHER VECTOR FOR ILS; SHOT APCH UNEVENTFULLY AND WAS GIVEN HDOF. TWR HAD JUST CLOSED SO APCH CTLR TOLD US CLRED FOR APCH CIRCLE TO LAND OUR DISCRETION. I WENT TO TWR FREQ (APCH CTL HAD TOLD ME TWR HAD JUST CLOSED). WE BROKE OUT AND I CHOSE TO LAND STRAIGHT IN ON RWY 1 INSTEAD OF CIRCLING; WX LOOKED MARGINAL AND THE WIND WASN'T THAT STRONG. WE LANDED UNEVENTFULLY AND I CONTACTED APCH THROUGH GND CTL REMOTE AND CANCELED IFR. I WOULD HAVE LIKE TO HAVE TOLD LCL CTLR WHAT HAPPENED BUT HE HAD CLOSED THE TWR AND LEFT THE ARPT. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE THE YOKE MIKE BUTTON BREAKING; AND HAVING TO USE THE HAND MIKE WHICH WAS DIFFICULT TO UNCLIP FROM THE CONSOLE IN THE DARK. ALSO; ANYTIME YOU FLY ACTUAL IFR CROSS PANEL IT CAN BE A BIT OF A CHALLENGE. IF I WAS ABLE TO FLY THIS FLT OVER I WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE L SEAT PRIOR TO LEAVING ZZZ1 JUST IN CASE THE WX DROPPED. (LIKE IT DID.)