Switch Panel With Carling Contura II
Well, I finally got around to finishing my switch panel in my YJ. It is mounted on the front well of my Tuffy Overhead console. For the face, I used a piece of stainless steel from a door kick plate. Cut to fit and drilled four holes to screw it to the Tuffy.
The switches I used are Carling Contura II rockers. They have a LED illumination. The green LED behind the large window is independently lit, so I wired it to come on with the dash lights. The amber LED bar at the bottom illuminates when the switch is activated. The icons on the large windows are nothing more than images shown at http://www.carlingtech.com/pdf/vl_serswitlegends.pdf I simply printed them onto clear labels and stuck them on.
I got the everything from Mouser.com
Switch bodies http://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...0-000virtualkey69100000virtualkey691-V1D2GHNB
Switch Actuator http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=VVAAC00-000virtualkey69100000virtualkey691-VVAAC
Connector Housing http://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...G_BLACKvirtualkey69100000virtualkey691-VCH-01
Here is the harness I made for the switches. Yellow wire is illumination via the dash lights. Red is power in, Black is ground. The switched wire will be inserted when installed in the jeep.
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Here it is with installed
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Here are the switches installed in the plate
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And everything put together installed in the overhead, daylight, lights off.
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Daylight, Lights on, switches turned on.
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I will get a night shot tonight and post later. So farr I am really happy with the way it turned out....
The switches I used are Carling Contura II rockers. They have a LED illumination. The green LED behind the large window is independently lit, so I wired it to come on with the dash lights. The amber LED bar at the bottom illuminates when the switch is activated. The icons on the large windows are nothing more than images shown at http://www.carlingtech.com/pdf/vl_serswitlegends.pdf I simply printed them onto clear labels and stuck them on.
I got the everything from Mouser.com
Switch bodies http://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...0-000virtualkey69100000virtualkey691-V1D2GHNB
Switch Actuator http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=VVAAC00-000virtualkey69100000virtualkey691-VVAAC
Connector Housing http://www.mouser.com/Search/Produc...G_BLACKvirtualkey69100000virtualkey691-VCH-01
Here is the harness I made for the switches. Yellow wire is illumination via the dash lights. Red is power in, Black is ground. The switched wire will be inserted when installed in the jeep.
Here it is with installed
Here are the switches installed in the plate
And everything put together installed in the overhead, daylight, lights off.
Daylight, Lights on, switches turned on.
I will get a night shot tonight and post later. So farr I am really happy with the way it turned out....
1 - 20 of 31 Posts
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Does your overhead console rattle at all? Switches look great.
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2,595 Posts
Just a small bit. I am looking to re engineer part of the mecanism and make it rattle free and operate smoothly. As of right now, though it is bearable as everything else is louder. i.e. tires, engine, radio, girlfriend, etc
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154 Posts
HAHA I hear you on the girlfriend part.Just a small bit. I am looking to re engineer part of the mecanism and make it rattle free and operate smoothly. As of right now, though it is bearable as everything else is louder. i.e. tires, engine, radio, girlfriend, etc
Here's a picture of my recent Contura II switch install, not quite as elaborate as yours, but clean none the less.
It's for my 1995 Wrangler YJ Rio Grande.
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2,595 Posts
The only problem with those switches is that at night you can't see the images on them. The "starburst" design of the colored window makes it impossible to see the image. I tried that first, then did it this way. I am much happier with the results now. Even the GF can see them and understand what they mean. Which is good, cause she is getting more comfortable with driving it on the trail.HAHA I hear you on the girlfriend part.
Here's a picture of my recent Contura II switch install, not quite as elaborate as yours, but clean none the less.
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It's for my 1995 Wrangler YJ Rio Grande.
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154 Posts
You're totally right. I should have asked here before I bought these. I got them in last night, and then of course noticed after I had power to them that I couldn't tell which is which.
Oh well, I can sell the switches themselves on eBay and order more like the ones you used. At least I have all my wiring and relays in place and it's just a matter of taking a few screws out and reconnecting some plugs.
I took your advice and used the wiring harnesses, that made for a clean install for sure.
Oh well, I can sell the switches themselves on eBay and order more like the ones you used. At least I have all my wiring and relays in place and it's just a matter of taking a few screws out and reconnecting some plugs.
I took your advice and used the wiring harnesses, that made for a clean install for sure.
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154 Posts
Are these the ones that I need? (besides the fact these are ON/OFF/ON(MM)).
http://www.otrattw.com/proddetail.php?prod=VRD2AH0B-A9C6U-200
http://www.otrattw.com/proddetail.php?prod=VRD2AH0B-A9C6U-200
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2,595 Posts
Depends what you want to use them for. For a simple on/off switch, no. Those would be a waste as you wouldn't need the momentary on. That is a 3 position switch.
For a simple on/off switch, that is both, illuminated when the lights are on, and the other light is illuminated when the switch is activated, see the links I posted in first post. You can get other carling switches from other places, but they are unreadable at night as the starburst lens distorts the light in such a way that you can't make out the picture on the lens, nor can read the writing without shining a light on them. That reason alone is why I made this write up. A few companies are selling the ones above and they look good. Screen printed and everything, but they spec'd them wrong they ordered them from Carling and made them unreadable. The white face is the way to go because it is a smooth diffused lens that allows an even glow of the LED that lends its self to being readable when back lit. Also, the ones with white faces that they have on their site only have one window. While they will work for the switching, they wont have the two seperate lights for activation/night illumination.
If you want the same effect I got, order the switch bodies and actuators from Mouser. They are showing over 150 in stock right now. Plus it would only cost 11.50 for each switch and actuator, plus the ones from mouser are LED lit so they will likely last forever. OTRATTW doesnt show any white face lenses in a standard on/off.
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I noticed with the blue ones in this same location (where the stock defrost would be) I have no issues at night seeing the print because there is the little light above that area. BUT,,,,, I mounted three more below them and you can't see the print at night without a light shining on them.. I'll be putting a small LED above those.HAHA I hear you on the girlfriend part.
Here's a picture of my recent Contura II switch install, not quite as elaborate as yours, but clean none the less.
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It's for my 1995 Wrangler YJ Rio Grande.
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154 Posts
I went in and replaced the factory light over the switches with a H.O. LED. They're much easier to see, but I'm still going to replace them with the green switches I got from OTRATTW.
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2,595 Posts
I'm pretty sure they only have 4 terminals. They are wired as shown in the pics.
Power in
Ground
Illumination
Switched power out
What other terminal are you refering to?
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1,148 Posts
I can't believe that light still works on your yj I have never been able to keep a light in there for more than a few days so I gave up about 10 years ago
Okay, I must have a slightly different model switch. Its upper light on when switch is on, and the switch that OP has is lower light on when switch on. Must be the difference. However, what is the difference between power in and illumination? Dont you use power from the dash lighting? Here is a pic of my switch and someone posted the wiring for it like such:
So you just tie power in and illumination together, correct? If not, what is the difference?
Also, how did you connect the two wires and splice them into the same spade connector? As in the first pic, two black wires come out of the same connector housing, as with yellow and red. Thank you for your help
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2,595 Posts
I'm on my way out the door, but yes you do have a different switch. See the part number at the top of the pic you posted. That number is a code that explains exactly how the switch was made and with what options and parts. The part number I used and have linked to is V1D2GHNB. To decipher the part numbers, look here http://www.carlingtech.com/pdf/CarlingSW_V2_3.pdf on page 6. It shows the break down of the numbers.
The reason I picked the switches in the first post is because they light up exactly as I wanted them to so they would illuminate the big window with the image on it when the parking lights are on. I did not use the illumination as the switch power because if there is a short with the switch wiring, I don't want to risk loosing my tail lights if the fuse pops. I didn't wire the illumination into the switch power because I didn't want the switches to be illuminated at all times as the switches are not powered via a keyed circut.
Remember, just because you have a carling contura switch, doesn't mean its teh right one. There are literally thousands of different builds of the contura II switches. I listed the link and part numbers for a very specific reason. If someone wanted to recreate what I did, then the part numbers I listed must be used. If you use switches with different part numbers, then I'm not sure how you would need to wire your switches.
The reason I picked the switches in the first post is because they light up exactly as I wanted them to so they would illuminate the big window with the image on it when the parking lights are on. I did not use the illumination as the switch power because if there is a short with the switch wiring, I don't want to risk loosing my tail lights if the fuse pops. I didn't wire the illumination into the switch power because I didn't want the switches to be illuminated at all times as the switches are not powered via a keyed circut.
Remember, just because you have a carling contura switch, doesn't mean its teh right one. There are literally thousands of different builds of the contura II switches. I listed the link and part numbers for a very specific reason. If someone wanted to recreate what I did, then the part numbers I listed must be used. If you use switches with different part numbers, then I'm not sure how you would need to wire your switches.
Okay thank you for your help. What did you wire the power to the switches then? For my switches, I should wire the illumination to the dash lighting, then what should I wire the power from? Can I run it from my auxiliary fuse box that will give it 12 volts from the battery? Really, Im confused about the power for the switches. It says one for lower light illumination and one for incoming power. Can this incoming power be from the battery? (12v) if I were to run it from dash illumination would that mean the switch wouldnt work unless the dash lights were on? Therefore if I ran it from the battery (via the aux fuse box) I could power the switch at any time even without a key in the ignition because it comes straight from the battery. Thank you again for your help!
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2,595 Posts
My power for the switches comes directly from the battery via 10amp inline fuse. The illumination wire comes from the tail light wire that I tapped into at the drivers seat. The ground terminates in the console. The switched power out is the 18ga wires. I can use such a small wire because the switches only control a relay. Every circut has a relay under the hood so I dont have hi amp loads running in and out of my console.
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