[J3adSeed]

I've been on a few forums and no one can seem to answer this simple question. If i use an illuminated switch, but on the ground wire of the item instead of the power wire of the item, will it still light up right?

 

[tagyoreit]

It should. Not positive though.

 

[SQ GT-S]

Some illuminated switches require a seperate power wire going into the switch. Some switches use the power going through the switch to light up. It also depends on what kind of switch it is. Some lights in switches are made for higher voltage systems, and some are 12-volt ones. I would say just test it out and see what it does. What kind of switch is it, and how many posts are on it?

Curt

 

[J3adSeed]

well i don't have the switches yet. but i wanted to know they'd work before buying them. i guess if it was a double pole it would be ok.

but this is assuming a single pole, single throw switch that has three plugs:
1. power
2. ground (for lighting up)
3. acc

so would it light up? or would i need a Double pole use set one pole to power? its a bitch to find what i want in double pole. i already can't find what i want as it is.

anyone know good switch websites? i'm looking for blue led-tipped toggle's that are 3-way on-off-on. they're to select a ground (on or door) so i need to use em as ground switches now power switches.

 

[2000whiteGTS]

The light on the switch is not going to light without some kind of power being applied to it. If I understand what you are trying to do, it is the same as I did with my neons, putting the switch on the ground. Without being able to draw you a picture this is how I did it. All the neons that are lit up by the doors being opened share the same ground, the wire that goes to the door pins. From this connection, another wire goes to the toggle switch. From the toggle another wire goes to it's own ground, behind the kick panel. Now if the door is opened, the lights come on, and go out if the door is closed. If the switch is off, the new ground wire loop is broken, but if it is flipped on, the first connection can now complete the loop by going through thw switch to the new ground, and the lights come on. Now if you were to want the light on the toggle to actually light up, which I didn't anyway, you will have to put the toggle on the power wire to the lights. I haven't figured out a way of making this work because I can only see you having to have 2 switches, because if you are wanting to interrupt the power wire, then you need a constant ground, and the door pins aren't going to work, so you need another ground. But by having that constant ground it will be like having your doors open all the time, and you will have to have another switch to stop that. Unless someone else found a way of doing all of this with 1 switch, which I would love to hear how, I don't believe you can do it that way. But I could be wrong, good luck.

 

[J3adSeed]

i have em wired to come on with the doors as it is, using that ground switch, but i wanted to get a light-up switch. it seems no one knows FOR SURE if a light-up switch works to switch the ground as opposed to the power.

the reason i need to switch the ground is because i want to use a three-way switch, with selectable on-off-door. (like the dome light). the only way to implement this with a POWER switch would be to use a normal power switch, and then a ground-selection switch.

but i don't want to use two switches, i just want a simple 3-way switch. i guess i'll just have to try it and see if it lights up since no one can tell me for sure.

one other way it would work for sure, is if i had a double pole switch since the second set of poles could be a power and ground to light that led.

but it seems to me, the ground of the neons would become a power source the the led, just as it would if you had two in series. therefor you'd have 12v on lead 1, and the led ground on lead 2. so i would think that would make it work.