I never thought I would get stumped over a stupid toggle switch... but here I am.

So I wired up my friends aux lights for him (Used a kit he got for the fronts, and made my own harness for his other lights) and I used two generic plastic 3 prong lighted switches, same kind I have in my truck.

So he bought some nice metal ones. They have a LED at the tip. They have 3 prongs so I figured it was a simple swap.
I got it in and the switch turns the lights on and off no problem, but the light on the switch stays on...
I tried the other switch to make sure it wasnt the switch itself, the second did the same thing...

The prongs where aranged a little differently. 2 on one end, then 1 on the direct backside of the switch...

the idiots at the local parts store couldnt help me... I like these switches, I wanna use them in my ride... Help!

 

Show me the picture of the switch. It sounds like you got two wires mixed up.

 

Switch your wires that supply the power to the switch itself and the wire that sends the power to the lights. You probably have them backwards. That is why the toggle led is staying lit up all the time. Switch those and you should have your problem fixed. Let me know if it works.

 

I tried that, switch wouldnt work.

The 3 posts are not labled, but they have the 1,2,3. So I wired it up like I would any other normal switch..

 

Grab an ohm meter or test light and figure out which two contacts are for the switch itself and then the 3rd will be the light. Likely it is one of two setups, one where 12 volts goes to the switch and there is a load output (goes to what you want to turn on and off) and then the 3rd terminal is a ground for the back light. Other option is that the 12 volts and ground are swapped. With an LED, the polarity makes a difference, with a regular light bulb it does not.

 

plz tell me you used a relay ?

 

If he got them from lordco, or napa (something along those lines), return them and get the ones that have the prongs labeled! I bought some junkers from lordco in Castlegar, went in with the same problem, and they switched 'em up. No questions.

 

Thanks Roger, I will give that a shot. Im not in a real big hurry, his truck is not driveable at this point. But I want to use these switches, they are metal and are MUCH nicer then the plastic cheapy switch (which had the damn posts marked!)...

Of course. I don't take shortcuts when I wire. All lights harnesses are fused and running relays.

Yeah, I got it from lordco. But the problem is, I had two brand new switches, they both did the same thing.
These are pretty expensive switches, considering I run the cheapo $1.25 plastic switches without issues (they just wear out, look like crap and break!). I want to run these switches in my truck.

I will try again tomorrow!

 

Well I paid about $10 a pop for mine, now that I think about it, for something as simple as a switch that is quite a bit.

 

Well, its fixed. Swapped the load and supply lines and it works... Went and got the last remaining switch (ordered more) for my truck.
List price on these things was something like $12.00. I like them! Don't look cheap like the plastic switches.. and they feel better