I bought some illuminated rocker switches a while ago and now I've built my circuits and have them wired up and tested. The on and off functions work just fine, no real brainer there. However, these rocker switches have a third connector for the light. I am totally stumped on how to wire this so the light turns on.

I've unfortunately lost the box with the wiring diagram, but since there's only 3 terminals on the switch it can't be that complicated, right? Well, wrong, at least for me. I'm really stuck here and would appreciate any help.

The way I have it set up now is 12v coming into the positive terminal (1) from a molex connector and the negative terminal (2) feeds into my LED and then back into my molex connector. The brass terminal (3) fits in there somewhere, but I'm not sure where heh.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Quote: Originally Posted by Scorpionic I bought some illuminated rocker switches a while ago and now I've built my circuits and have them wired up and tested. The on and off functions work just fine, no real brainer there. However, these rocker switches have a third connector for the light. I am totally stumped on how to wire this so the light turns on. I've unfortunately lost the box with the wiring diagram, but since there's only 3 terminals on the switch it can't be that complicated, right? Well, wrong, at least for me. I'm really stuck here and would appreciate any help. The way I have it set up now is 12v coming into the positive terminal (1) from a molex connector and the negative terminal (2) feeds into my LED and then back into my molex connector. The brass terminal (3) fits in there somewhere, but I'm not sure where heh. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

The third terminal almost certainly needs to be connected to an earth ... in this case, to one of the black wires in the Molex connector

ya it has to be grounded (correct term) use any of the black wires from your molex and it should work.

What they said -- connect the third terminal to earth if you live in the UK, or ground if you live in the US.

BUT, if you do connect it to ground and the switch light is always on (even when the switch is off), you might try reversing the 12V and "to LED" wires (leave the ground wire as is). With most switches, the light will be always-on with one wiring, and only on when the switch is on in the other.

There's an excellent active diagram at the bottom of this page on bcae1.com (reposted below for your convenience). Try clicking the "Open Switch", "Close Switch" and "Alternate Connection" labels on the diagram to see what I mean.

Quote: Originally Posted by computerman ya it has to be grounded (correct term) ...

Earth = ground = negative ... "negative" is _most _ correct in this context though

Well, technically, no. On AC systems ground isnt negative, its ground, IE zero volts, not a negative voltage

Also, when dealing with Dual powersupply systems, ground is 0volts. If ground were negative it would go to the negative side of the circuit, which could have catastrophic results.



Of course ground is always the black lead.

But If you are dealing with negative voltages, you can never refer to ground to be negative, other wise you would have everything going to a negative powersupply...

sorry, didn't know ground was called earth in UK

Well when you have hot and neutral in AC systems (aka 3 pronged plugs) it is.

Thanks for the replies. I still can't get it to work.

What I've tried so far:

wired the 3rd connector into its own molex connector pin (the one that would be paired with the 5v line)

wired it into the negative line before the resistor and LED

wired it into the negative line after the LED

I've also swapped the switch out with another identical one and it didn't light up either.

Are they Neon Lights inside or LED's? If they are neon they need HV to work (aka 120V). If they are LED's they should have a resistor inside of them too.

Hmm, I'm not sure. I got them from radio shack. They look a little small to have a resistor inside them.

It's this switch right here: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

Yea, probably takes 120 to light that baby. The resistor is probably for current limiting on the neon light

I've found that auto-supply stores or the automotive section of department stores often have a great selection of 12V lighted switches.

Only problem I've run into is that some of them use a white LED inside and the color lens doesn't do a real good job of tinting it, so it still looks like a white light.

Quote: rated 10 amps at 125VAC

you need one rated at 12V not 125

Allrighty, guess I'll have to find another switch. Problem is I already drilled holes for these ones heh. I need to read stuff more thoroughly. Thanks for the replies.

Quote: Originally Posted by Scorpionic Allrighty, guess I'll have to find another switch. Problem is I already drilled holes for these ones heh. I need to read stuff more thoroughly. Thanks for the replies.

Here ya go:
http://www.crazypc.com/Merchant2/mer...ct_Code=82396B
PimpRig sponsor.
Same size mounting hole.


If blue is not what you want:

http://www.12vp.com/item_rocker_switch_table.htm

There are lots of sources for illuminated 12V switches with a 3/4" mounting hole.