Hey DIY, looking for some help here on something that I'm sure is really simple
A switch for my fog lights in my car broke, and my car being ~12 years old I couldn't find the OEM switch. I ordered a third party one and it fits like stock, it just has these on the back instead of a female plug like the original switch. I'm assuming its the two wires plus a ground since there's 3 spots? But i'm not really sure which is which is the issue. Was hoping for some help in figuring this out.
Pics of the plug and oem switch are coming too.
Thanks for any help
and heres the original switch plugged in
and heres looking directly at the plug
If theres anything else I need to include let me know
If there is only two wires to the original I would suggest using 2 and 3.
>>912903
Ill try that, does it matter which wire goes to them?
Could you explain why 2 and 3? I want to learn about simple shit like this
>>912899
It's double-insulated, so there's no reason it'd have a ground.
There'll be a common terminal, and a terminal it's connected to when the switch is one way, and a terminal it's connected to when it's the other way.
Unless the switch designers are fucking with you, the common terminal is in the middle, and then when you switch the switch, the terminal that gets connected will usually be the opposite side. This is because inside the switch will be a metal see-saw, and the plastic switch has a rod that pokes it. Press the bottom, and the rod moves and pokes the top of the seesaw, and connects the middle to the top.
If you've got, say, a dollarstore flashlight and some wires, you can test this all pretty easily yourself, so it'll work first time in your car.
But you can also wing it. The two things that can go wrong are:
- light doesn't work at all: you've connected the two wires to the two switched terminals
- light goes on when it should go off: you've connected to the common and the wrong switched terminal
In either case, you can fix it by moving one wire to the spare terminal and trying again.
There's no case with two wires leading to a switch where you can make the car go on fire, because the worst the switch can do is short the wires together, and that's what it's supposed to do anyway when you switch it to "on".
Alright so I think I'm grasping the terminal thing then. Any idea on why there's 3 connections then?
I ordered this off amazon but just went to the manufacturer website and they had this
#2: 12v Positive Source (IE battery, fuse block, etc)
#3: 12v Accessory (12v+ to your lights)
#4: Ground (for the light on the switch)
So how do I know which wire is which then? And how do I get a ground if theres only 2 wires?
>>912913
you only need the ground if you want to have a light come on when the switch is on. otherwise, ignore that pin and use the other two.
>>912915
Thanks, so if I wanted the light to work what would I have to do?
you'd connect the ground pin (#4) to ground.
you must be American.
>>912920
I am, I literally can't remember the last time I learned about electronics at all.
How would I go about connecting it to a ground?
the chassis is grounded, so drive a screw into it, or find an existing screw, and wrap your wire underneath it, then tighten. use terminals if you have them.
>>912925
A new wire? Does it have to be anything specific?
Theres metal from the chassis right behind where the switch is that I can reach pretty easily, could I just wrap some wire around it?
I know these are retard-tier questions
you can use pretty thin wire, like 20 gauge or bigger, coz it's gonna take very little current. if you use solid wire, and wrap it really well and tight, then twist it so it cant come off, maybe it'll be good for a couple of years. a screw/bolt is always better.
>>912931
Thanks, that cleared that up.
Can you explain what causes it to light up though just by running wire from it to a ground? I thought it would need a power source.
the power source for the light is pin #3, which gets power when you turn the switch on. it's internally connected, so you dont have to worry about it.
(anyway, no more answers from me, coz i'm out)
>>912934
the power source for the switch is 2 the power to the lights is 3
>>912908
This is whats called a single pole, double throw switch, typically abbreviated to SPDT. It only has one set of contacts (i.e., one central "pole", or center contact, in this example pin 2), and two throws (i.e., the switch "throws", or switches between position A and position B). Under switch flip is a moving contact. Flipping the switch moves this contact between either pins 1 and 2, or 2 and 4, making and breaking contact in the circuit. A practical example would be a source select switch on an amplifier. Position A might be to select the CD inputs (via pin 1), position B would be to select a tape input (via pin 4). Pin 2 would carry the selected signal onward to the amplifier depending on switch position. You can see in your OP pic that there are some blanks numbered 1, 5 and 6. If these were populated you would have a double pole, double throw switch (these pins would form the second half of the DPDT shown in pic related) You can get all sorts of cooky configs, 1P6T, 6P2T, just depends on the application. This naming convention also carries over to relays as well should you ever find yourself hunting for a relay to drive fog lights or other accessories, a relay of course being a switch thats thrown by a magnet as opposed to a finger.
In your scenario a SPST (single pole, single throw) switch would do, all you need to do is make and break the circuit, you do not need to "choose" between a signal. With the SPDT switch you have, you can connect the power supply to pin 2 then connecting your foggies to EITHER pin 4 or pin 3 to complete the circuit. A rule of thumb with toggle switches is that the pole OPPOSITE the position of the switch will be the one that is active (relative to the center pole), again, in your OP pic if the toggle was switched towards the number 4 pin, it would in fact be pin 3 that is connected to the center pole. The only gotcha here is making sure you orient the switch so that the up position is on, and the down position is off.
>>913341
> implying they were usable responses.
Just because you're too lazy or incompetent to give a guy who has clearly stated he has no fucking idea *why* people are telling him to use those pins does not mean we all are. Fuck you for discouraging it you cancerous faggot.
>>913349
>responses
One of those "responses" was a clarification from OP, you dumb, lazy shit.
If you'd read the thread, you'd know that OP is not dealing with a SPDT switch, and your advice was not relevant, and therefore misleading.
