I'm replacing the switches for the KC and Maxtel lights on my 2000 f150. There are three old switches that I want to replace with some new push switches.

How can I wire the switches so the LED on the switch lights up with the headlights and dims when I adjust the the dimmer switch.

Which wires should I use. The new switches have five posts on the back: -,+,NC1,NO1, and C1. The old switches have three wires going to them.

I'll post pictures soon.

 

The old switches:




Here's the new switch, with five posts: NC1 , NO1 , C1 , + and -

The switch has a blue LED

 

sorry i have not used this switch before so i dont know much about them. ok i know that the - on the switch is the ground for the light in the switchs. the + on the switch may be power for the light in the switch so you could run a wire from the dimmer to this post on switch but if the main power in on switch is + your kc lights will dim to but may not this switch have 5 post. what i would do is hook up the - to ground and 12 to the + on switch turn on the switch and use an multimeter to check if you have 12 volts dc on the other three post. if you have power with just this two hooked up on NC1 ,NO1 C1 then the + powers the whole switch but if not the light will dim with the dimmer. next step check NC1, NO1, C1 use the multimeter again to see witch of these three have power. say if you put 12 volts on NC1, and have power on C1 and not NO1 with switch off that means NO1 is your main power in for these three posts you can check all five with no power just with the meter.

 

http://adafruit.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=34543

That may help some, pretty much same thing your doing.

 

Thanks all. I guess the LED does not have a direct input. It looks like my ground goes to - and my 12v goes to + with the output to the lights going from the NO1. So what it looks like is, the LED lights up when on, no changing that. I'll post when I figure it out.

 

Led power is +
Led ground is -
Your kc lights is c and either no1 or nc1 I can't remember off the top of my head which one is when it's pushed in and which ones when it's out, but I think it's nc1 that you wire it too.

So use the dimmer switch power to power the led, aka wire from dimmer switch power to the +.

C would be the power to the kc lights but you should be running a relay and not power wire through the whole cab for that current.

 

Ah, I see.

So, what are the wire going to the old switches? If you look at the pics, two of them have three wires (these two are lighted switches) and the other non-lighted switch has two. They're not color coded. I didn't wire this, somebody else did. Maybe I'll have to get my multimeter out and check all the lines.

 

On the ones with three wires, two will be for the kc lights and one will be for a ground for the switch for the switch light on it to come on, it uses the power coming from the other wires to power the led in the switch. I'd try to trace them back and try to find a relay somewhere, if you don't find one I'd go back and rewire the lights with one in it.

 

Thanks pizzaman711 for the help.
I've got a few more questions. I got someone to solder the wires on to the posts on the switch for me. Using a multimeter, I found that + and - power the led, and c and nc1 control the lights. The original switches had power straight from the battery attached (with a 30A fuse), but I was told with my new switches (which read 3A) I need a relay for each switch. So I got those.
And then now, someone else told me that even with the relay, the switch won't last very long. He said I need a breaker to reduce the amps. Is this true and what is the best way to do this?

 

Breaker's don't reduce amps, so I wouldn't listen to that person. A breaker would replace the fuse and just get you a resettable fuse basically, like in your house, but I've heard bad things about them in car settings so I don't mess with them.

You will still need to fuse the power wire going to the relay and make sure the relay is rated for the same amount of current, so 30 amp fuse, 30 amp relay.

 

Okay. I've been looking at instructions for all the off road light manufacturers and they only use a fuse. So, I think thats what I'll do

 

Yea I'd stick to a fuse, make sure to keep it within like the first foot and half of wire from the battery.

 

Okay. So the guy finally finished soldering the switches.

My questions is, where is the best place to place the switches? I thought about directly below the headlight switch. There's not a whole lot of room behind, but it could work. Another place could be the right side of the steering bezel, although the steering wheel would be in the way. Or, below the a/c control on the center trim panel.



I also thought about on the door trim right behind the window switches. I would have to run the wires through the door. Or, on the A pillar. The only problem there is that thare aren't many flat places to put all three switches on.

If everyone posts a pic where they put theirs, I would be interested to see.

 

I put mine to the right of the steering wheel, where your second arrow is

 

This would be a great place. The switches have 6ft of wire on them, enough to bring it down to the relays, which are behind the steering wheel.