Led switch replacement

neilc75 · Dec 4, 2018

I have just fitted some fog lights , I bought a harness from eBay and it works really well however the switch is cheap and looks awful , I have opened it up and there are 3 wires going to it , can I strip the 3 wires , yellow , black and red , attach spade connectors and put this new switch on , I'm assuming I can but before I cut the wire off a brand new switch and harness I thought id check

Colthebrummie · Dec 5, 2018

Are you using a relay for your fog lights? If not, I would suggest you do. If you don't fit a relay, is your replacement switch man enough to handle the load? I had a switch like that for a pair of Cibies years ago and it got so hot the internals melted. You can put spades on the wiring but I would suggest you solder them on rather than just crimping then use a bit of heat shrink sleeve to cover the joints.

Col

neilc75 · Dec 5, 2018

Yeah , I've got a relay and a fuse fitted , I've had a situation in the past where the plastic was melted off the full length of a wire in the past and I panicked and pulled it off the battery !! , It was a miracle it didn't melt to my hand , thanks for advice , I'll give it a go this afternoon

Bobsticle · Dec 5, 2018

Switches are rated the same as any other electrical device. If you get one that is rated higher than the wiring and both are higher than the fuse you will be fine.

neilc75 · Dec 5, 2018

Just a quick update , due to weather haven't got around to it , ( went to Halfords the mountain bike warehouse that still has a few car bits ) and explained what I was doing to the "expert " , he was horrified that I was wiring directly from the battery , however with a relay and a fuse it's not ideal but I was assuming it was safe ? I suppose it's just a preference?

dag019 · Dec 5, 2018

neilc75 said:
he was horrified that I was wiring directly from the battery , however with a relay and a fuse it's not ideal but I was assuming it was safe ?

Where else does he think power comes from if not direct from the battery?
As long as the supply you have wired direct to the battery has a fuse in it then that will not be a problem. I have a fused supply direct form the battery feeding a bank of relays for all of my lights. Been that way for years and never caused any issues.

Colthebrummie · Dec 7, 2018

The main issue in wiring direct from the battery is if you forget to switch them off when you park up. You will come back to a flat battery.

Col

dag019 · Dec 7, 2018

Colthebrummie said:
The main issue in wiring direct from the battery is if you forget to switch them off when you park up. You will come back to a flat battery.

Col

That is no different to the headlights in a series, and something you only ever do once

Colthebrummie · Dec 7, 2018

dag019 said:
That is no different to the headlights in a series, and something you only ever do once

I never take my series out in the dark, it's too hard to fix when you can't see the bits properly.

Col

dag019 · Dec 7, 2018

Colthebrummie said:
I never take my series out in the dark, it's too hard to fix when you can't see the bits properly.

Col

Very true, but in the dark you cant see it leaking so can deny you caused the oily patches in the carpark

neilc75 · Dec 8, 2018

I originally wired it to the battery and it worked ok , however I then noticed there are bulett connectors from constant live to fog lights/ headlights and just put the live wires X2 (light and switch twisted together into the 4th bullet connector that was empty ), I'm assuming that's ok ?? Its all fused and relayed . I've used heat wrap to seal all the connections up , so far all ok , only problem is that I've killed battery checking lights . Thanks all for advice , I realise to battery and to constant live are the same , I just wanted to tidy it up a bit and now I know how the harness is put together I might attempted an interior light , theres a switch for it on the dash but no light so there may be a live already to that ??

neilc75 · Dec 12, 2018

Just an update and further help needed please , fog lights are working great , all sealed with heat shrink , all done properly with relay and fuses . I am now wanting to put in a reverse light , I have fitted light on rear and earthed it via rear lights , I have piggy backed a wire from the rear of the new fog light switch (permanently live ) to back of Landy ( all very loose , nothing set in stone at moment ) and switched it on and rear light lights up so that's all good , I'm going to wire it like this now I know power is getting to it ........ Lamp to earth in rear lights , lamp to wire to front of cab and to a new switch and then that switch will piggy back to permanent live from the original switch , will this work ?? is this safe ???. Obviously the reverse light will only be on for 60 seconds at a time , is another fuse required somewhere here and if so where please ?? Thanks in advance

dag019 · Dec 13, 2018

neilc75 said:
Just an update and further help needed please , fog lights are working great , all sealed with heat shrink , all done properly with relay and fuses . I am now wanting to put in a reverse light , I have fitted light on rear and earthed it via rear lights , I have piggy backed a wire from the rear of the new fog light switch (permanently live ) to back of Landy ( all very loose , nothing set in stone at moment ) and switched it on and rear light lights up so that's all good , I'm going to wire it like this now I know power is getting to it ........ Lamp to earth in rear lights , lamp to wire to front of cab and to a new switch and then that switch will piggy back to permanent live from the original switch , will this work ?? is this safe ???. Obviously the reverse light will only be on for 60 seconds at a time , is another fuse required somewhere here and if so where please ?? Thanks in advance

Is the live feed you are piggy backing off fused? If it is you should get away without an additional fuse as long as the cable and existing fues are rated for the power draw of the bulb ou have used in the rear light. On a similar note running it like this the full power of the circuit will be drawn through the switch, this will not be a problem if the switch is heavy enough duty to cope with it. If it is not it is likely to melt around the contacts. This is the reason relays are used in a circuit so the switch only has a very low power draw as it only needs to switch a relay.

rob1miles · Dec 13, 2018

You can put an in-line fuse holder in the circuit (e-bay) and fuse it at (say) 5A if its an LED lamp. You must have a warning light on the dash (you can use an illuminted swich to save another hole) . this covers you for regs as its a "work light" and it reminds you its on if its wired off permanent live. Theres' a good case for using permanent live as you may want to light up the back for loading without putting the ignition on. If you use in-line fuse it must be less than the main fuse its off, its job is to go first and only islolate the rev lamp not take out the fuse for all the lights.

neilc75 · Dec 13, 2018

I've bought a switch I'm hoping that it will be sturdy enough ( what do you think ) , if not will the fuse go between piggy backed switch and new switch? , also I've just taken out the gearstick and I'm happy to report that it has the little hole in it for the reverse switch in the selector so I'm going to do that eventually.

rob1miles · Dec 13, 2018

That looks fine, looks like it has a light in so it will need 3 wires.. Put the fuse in line where it will protect the longest run of wire in case the wire chafes on something and shorts to earth

Led switch replacement

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