Illuminated switch in off position?

[Scarsman]

Does anyone know of a 12V switch that illuminates in the off position? I have been searching, but I only find ones that illuminate in the on position. There has to be one out there somewhere!

 

[speedy]

Not sure if this is what your looking for but the switches on this site have 2-lights.

• The Upper light is ON when the upper part of the rocker is pressed (ON).
• The lower light is independently wired

http://www.otrattw.com/index.php

 

[Scarsman]

I did look there from your link you posted before. I am going to call them after the weekend and ask them, but it looks to me like they are made so you can wire them to illuminate the lower part like with the headlights or something, and then they light the top when in the on position.

What I am looking for is a switch that lights up when it is put in the off position, so that it is noticable when the item is switched off.

 

[cbetts]

If all else fails, find a switch with an independent light and use a relay that has a normally-on mode.

 

[ReconH3]

I did what cbetts suggests. A switch and a relay that by default stays on. I used it for an electric fan. For water crossings I would turn it off with the switch and it would stay illuminated. I also had a buzzer wired to it. As long as the fan was off it would buzz and the switch would stay lit. Once I got out of the water, it was going to be hard to forget to turn it back on. In every day 4x4 that might be overkill, but this was in my competition Jeep, and with the stress and distractions of competition you needed something that really caught you attention or you risked frying the engine. Ended up getting rid of the electric fan because it failed way too many times precisely from being in the water.


"Ex Umbris Venimus"

Sent from my iPhone

 

[alrock]

For an everyday rig, wouldn't a switch with a light on it simply be a power drain? I realize a little light isn't going to kill a battery overnight, but perhaps when parked for a few days it would. Or are you going to have some other power cutoff when not in use?

 

[Scarsman]

Well, I guess I could explain a little! Sorry! :emb: I have two applications for this type of switch. First is work related. I want to plug into one hole of the brake light fuse slot, run the wire through an inline fuse to replace the one from the slot, then through a switch and back into the other hole of the fuse slot. Basically putting a switch within the fuse circuit. This way I can switch off the brake lights. By tapping into the fuse slot there would be no permanent modification to the vehicle wiring. Since it would only be used in the dark, having a switch that was lit in the off position, it would be obvious when the brake lights were deactivated, and one wouldn't forget to turn them back on. So there would be no issues with it being a power draw since the switch would be on and unlit 99% of the time.

The second application I have in mind woud be doing the same thing to deactivate the traction control in my truck. This would not be as critical though if forgotten as the brake lights would be!

I hope that all makes sense! it is really late and I am headed for bed. I'll read it tomorrow and see if I can understand it myself!