Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Discussion of the physical aspects
JonW
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by JonW »

I'm not a fan of mixing both high and low voltage in the same switches. For simplicity and safety, I prefer to do the high voltage switching with either SSR's or contact relays and leave all the switches and LED's to low voltage.
Aerohead93
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by Aerohead93 »

Something I did (mainly because I bought the wrong LEDs) is I stacked another set of contacts onto the switches and ran 110V to those, jumpering that 110V to each. Then I ran my LEDs off of those contacts. They light when placed into each mode rather than when there is power to the load side of the relay but that was fine with the way I was doing it. The original set of contacts on the switches have the +5VDC run to them for powering the control side of the SSRs either through the BCS in Auto or instantly when placed in Manual. Not sure if that helps or not or was repetative from a previous post but it is how I tackled the issue.
clearwaterbrewer
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by clearwaterbrewer »

Yes, if you use industrial automation, and not a 'toggle switch', the best way is a second set of contacts...

Regarding mixing high and low on the same switch, isn't that what a SSR does, mix high and low voltages on the same device? And an SSR is basically a switch, right? ...Just Sayin'
JonW
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by JonW »

Mix the high & low voltage if you want, no skin off my back. I think having high and low voltage wiring on different poles of the same switch only millimeters from each other is quite different than wiring high & low voltage on an SSR. If you have extensive electrical experience and know the proper types of switches to use to accomplish this, then sure, you'll be just fine. But, for many of the BCS users, it's easy to tell that their experience level with any electrical wiring (high or low voltage) is quite limited. Because of this, I always suggest doing switch and LED wiring on the low voltage side and leaving the high voltage wiring to one point of contact: a relay. Not only is it safer for them, it usually is easier to explain and makes more sense to them since the BCS is doing low voltage switching already.
clearwaterbrewer
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by clearwaterbrewer »

Point taken... people should only get high and low voltage as close as they feel comfortable.. so triple check you wiring if you are new, and don't be surprised if you fry something, just by all means, do not electrocute yourself! Fusing any such circuit providing 120VAC power to LED's via the switch with a very small fuse is highly recommended...

but then again, before the switch closes, there is a as great of, or more, potential between the contacts that are millimeters apart... Just sayin ;-)
ksl177
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by ksl177 »

Got a friend trying to troubleshoot this very issue. Propper grounding and isolation of the high and low side are things you want to design into these rigs.

The last thing I'd suggest is running a single switch with 2 different voltages on it.
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by sfowler17 »

Grateful if anyone can recommend a supplier for 5Vdc illuminated selector switch (on / off / auto)

I am planning on using the wiring provided earlier in this post.

Does the BSC have enough power to illuminate 4 selector switches? I am controlling 2 pumps and 2 gas valves. Just so there is no confusion, I understand the "downstream" AC voltage coming out of the SSR's. Just wondering if the BCS can power these 5v DC voltage illuminated switches and where I can buy some online

Thanks
sfowler17
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by sfowler17 »

Answered my own question above, the switches from AC take a 6vdc bulb which works just fine
paulboth
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by paulboth »

I've been racking my brain about this for a few days. I have an On-Off-Auto switch and I want 2 LEDs that indicate when manual and auto are actually on. I am switching with the low voltage from the BCS. What I did and seems to work was, just wire another lead from each on state of the switch to another relay board that sends 12v to the LEDs. I would add another set of contacts but I am not sure if I can with the switches I have and I can't find 5v LEDs.

Does anyone see a problem with this. I know it works because I did a little test with the switches and sending 2 leads out to 2 different channels of a 4 channel relay board. Am I going to eventually burn out my LEDs? Am I wasting money buying a 12 channel relay board since I have 12 LEDs, 2 each for 3 pumps and 3 Honeywell valves? I didn't see anyone mention this option, so I am thinking that there is something I am missing. It is cool though, the lights only light when the load is getting triggered.
JonW
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Re: Toggle switch with 2 led lights

Post by JonW »

Paul,

The only issue to be concerned with is how much current you pull from each 5V output of the BCS. Each output is rated for 20 mA. As long as the device you're triggering plus the relay draw is less than 20 mA, then you're fine.

BTW, what end of town are you in? There are several BCS users around here.
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