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Illuminating Toggle switches

2K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Greg Elmassian 
#1 ·
I have wired my terminal box with Radio Shack Illuminated toggle switches, 3 prong; however they
don't illuminate, the device they are controlling works but no toggle illumination????
 
#2 ·
Do you have a RS part number? If you still have the packaging, you might check that you're passing sufficient current to light the lamps. I recall having some after market illuminated rocker switches in a truck that were actually 24v and didn't light (though they worked as switches) on the 12v car power
 
#4 ·
On most 3 prong illuminated toggle switches, remember two of the prongs are actually the switch, the 3rd is ONE side of the indicator in the switch. Now depending on the switch, if L.E.D. may or may not require an external dropping resistor, also the other lead from the light or L.E.D. in the toggle is usually wired to the ON side of the switches prongs{usually the top prong if ON is up and OFF is down}, so if you have + going to the top prong, the bottom prong would need to be -, HOWEVER, if L.E.D. you need to know by the switch diagram on the back of the radio Shack packaging or insert that came with it, will show whether or not the 3rd prong that is the lone side of the indicator is an L.E.D. and whether or not it has a "built in" current limiting resistor or you need to add one or if it's a standard incandescent bulb and voltage ratings.

If we knew the exact RS part number of the switch, we could be of a lot more help, but all 3 prongs WOULD be used when wanting to use the illumination feature.
 
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