Switch Panel

[hopkinsrm]

Hey all. I been looking at switch boxes from summit racing and other places, and in my opinion, all are way to expensive for what you get. So I'm going to build my own switch box/panel myself. I already have the dimensions and have built a mock up out of cardboard. When i get home I'll take a picture of it so you can all laugh at it.

If I can find a place that can make me a box to my specs than I'm going to try and use aluminum. If I can't find one I'll at least use a piece of thin metal for the front face and the rest out of wood.

I will be using "double pole / single throw" switches, 5 of them. Reason for DP/ST is so when they are on it will have a small led just below the switch to let me know they are on or active. The thing I think that will make this stand out is that I am going to use backlighting above each switch to denote it's function.

The power for the backlighting will be tapped into my dash lights so they only come on when the lights get turned on and the brightness will be adjustable off the dimmer dial so I can adjust the intensity of the light as I like.

Like I've said, I already have the specs of the box for all the windows, switches, and led lights so this weekend I'm going to look around and see what I can find as far as building the box itself.

Also, I'll be taking pictures of the build as I go so you all can see the progress and maybe decide to build one yourself, a type of tutorial, or give you ideas for other things to do with it.

[tekemp]

sounds great! im looking forward to seeing this because i have been contemplating doing the same thing!

[hopkinsrm]

first time trying to upload pics, so here goes, and remember, this is just the mock up build so laugh away.






As you can see the first two are real switches, the last three are some cardboard taped to the box. The windows will be backlighted so you will be able to see the text will be illuminated when the dash lights are on.

[Jake]

God mode?

[hopkinsrm]

I haven't made it out to a radio shack yet to look at some switches, but I did find an on/off illuminated switch at autozone. Problem is it has 3 prongs, 1 for power supply, 1 for accessory, and 1 for ground. If I wire this up for the Torque Converter Lockup I dont want power feeding back into the transmission. Question I have is if I put in a diode on the tranny side will it work, as in the diode will only let power pass one way? and if so what specs am I looking for if it will work? test voltage/resistance off of the wiring I'm tapping into and go from there?

[Jake]

It shouldn't feed back in without a diode, the light that is on the switch and the circuit the switch is actually breaking are independent, they just share a ground.

[HVAC SuperTech]

the reason it lights up is because the power is sent through to the switch and when you send it through to the item you are powering, it also grounds out the side that lights the switch. SO, technically, the light would be ON when the TC is not locked and OFF when it is. Because all a TC lock up switch does is ground out the signal to the TC.

[hopkinsrm]

So with that being said I gotta lock for a 4 prong switch then, so the circuits are seperated completely. Hopefully I can track enough of the same type down localy, if not gonna have to order em.

[hopkinsrm]

well, the shelf was ordering from JC whitney got discontinued. So now I'm thinking of getting an aftermarket radio installed. Thing is, all the install kit's are cubby holes, not filler plates. Can an audio shop fabricate a faceplate to put in there? If I could get a faceplate I would just put the switches on the faceplate, right below the radio. Plus an aftermarket radio will let me run my IPOD.