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Need help making a toggle work

Old 06-10-2004, 11:10 PM
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This is basicly the circuit. Pins 1,2 & 3 may vary on your switch, though. That'* the reason for the question marks.

Originally Posted by FiReDeViL
when wiring a lighted switch, look on the BODY of the switch it shoudl say pwr, acc, and ground
I would expect to see this too. Or at least on the back of the package it came in.

*EDIT* The diagram was fixed.
Old 06-10-2004, 11:14 PM
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hmm, on the back of the toggle it does have little markings. and one of the prongs is bigger than the other two.
Old 06-11-2004, 03:08 PM
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Thanks everyone, I got it working. I went out and bought some of those clips and they work really good! Now, I got a new question. Since I am using the fuses from the fuse box underneath the dash, how many wires can I run down there without causing any damage? And, when I was testing it out just a few minutes ago, then shut the car off, I still had power going to my toggle and the device it was powering. The fuse I am using is the radio fuse, and the doors were open to! I might try other fuses like AC or wipers, since I know for sure they shutdown when the car is off. Or having power to the toggle constantly is ok? I think I am going to hook up a neon instead of the radar detector, since I dont have any cool places to put it. I was thinking in the grille but how would I hear it or see the lights then?
Old 06-11-2004, 03:37 PM
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I've never been a big fan of "fuse tapping". Years ago, an installer used one of those brass looking fuse taps while installing a phone. The customer returned with a ton of intermittent electrical problems. Come to find out, the fuse tap widened the slot too far and made a crappy connection. The Acura dealer quoted over $400 for fuse box replacement. After that I always went directly to the ignition wires or battery to get power. Plus, there'* no guessing:

Red: constant 12v
pink: ignition
brown: accessory
orange: heater circuit
Old 06-21-2004, 05:40 PM
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Default Re: Need help making a toggle work

Originally Posted by Twister97
Trying to hook up the toggle, and eventually to the radar detector. Right now I am using a little neon light as a test dummy to see if I can get it working but no luck so far.
If you genuinely mean you've got a _neon_ bulb for testing, you're never going to light that thing with 12 volts; the household bulbs (such as for wall-socket testers or illuminated wall switches) need 120 volts to illuminate. Neon _tubes_ need thousands of volts, driven off of transformers. Wal-Mart has a 12-volt test light available as well as the neon one; the 12-volt version is the one you need here.

Originally Posted by Twister97
The toggle has three prongs in the bottom of it. Do I need to use all three? The yellow wire is for the power going into the fuse box, the black one is the ground, then the white looking one is for the neon light tester.
Yes, you need all three; your power input from the fusebox tap goes in, the switched output goes to the device that the switch will control, and the third (ground) connection goes straight to the nearest piece of metal in the dash; that one is your ground connection for the indicator light built into the switch.

And for Gawd'* sake get yourself some 14-gauge (blue-insulator) female crimp-on spade lugs; those are what are supposed to be connected to those contacts on the back of the switch. You can buy the crimping tool and a little assortment of connectors at Wal-Mart for a few bucks. Your switch will never work reliably if wires are just twisted on to the back lugs, and the potential for shorting directly to the ground tab is high.

I'm sure the indicator light in that switch is rated for 12 volts; I think I've seen that exact switch at Wal-Mart and it is indeed a 12-volt LED; an external resistor is not required. Good luck...
Old 06-21-2004, 06:10 PM
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Thanks for the tips bro, but got it up last week.
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