I have a question for all of you circuit geniuses...

Im about to buy a GPS from another user to mount in the cubby of my 03Z and i already have an interior led kit that i pulled out of my last car. it goes under the dash and seats. (6 tubes, not sure what ima do with the extra two yet) anyway. im thinking of mounting two illuminated push button switches between the ashtray and center storage compartment (see image). the buttons im looking at are 2 of either of these two:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-SS-16mm-Push-B...item519a11135f

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Metal-...item3a689fbbcb

my questions are:
1. are these type of buttons where u push once, the power is turned on, push again and power is turned off?

2.is there a certain type of voltage and amps i need to get?

3. which way should the signal chain be?
a. GPS>power wire>inline fuse>button/switch>ACC wire
or
b. GPS>power wire>button/switch>inline fuse>ACC wire

4. what size fuse do i need?

5. when i had the leds in my old car, they seemed to always drain my battery. (thats where i had it tapped into). should i tap it into somewhere else? would it make a difference?



SN: theres also going to be a female aux plug mounted between the two buttons in order to connect an mp3 player into my CD deck or the GPS screen. not sure which one yet tho. I couldnt find any post with something similar done.. sooooo

any other comments, questions, suggestions...

 

1. Yes. When you push it, it switches until you push it again (latching)

2. The second switch you linked will be more than enough to use. Most switches like that are rated in amps and VAC but a 10amp switch at 125VAC will be enough for some lights and turning on your nav system. To be safe you can figure out the power draw in Amps of the lights and Nav system you are using.

3. You will want option B. You tap into Acc (i recommend battery though, not sure if the Z's Acc is fused or tapped into the computer) - less than 12" away you will want the inline fuse - then switch, then GPS. Remember to tie the GPS ground wire to a solid ground...and switch your power wire.

4. The answer to this will depend on the current draw of your setup. Lets say your setup will draw 1amp (arbitrary number) - fuse it for 5 amps so you know you can get the power you need, but if there is a short or surge you blow the fuse before your GPS.

5. Was there a box you tied the power to for the old LEDs? chances are there was a circuit in that box that drew power regardless. You can switch the power supply to that box to save the battery

SN: try any of these - hope you can solder!

http://www.google.com/search?q=panel...A&ved=0CGQQrQQ

Radio shack also has female panel mount 3.5mm jacks if you need them in a hurry.

PM me if you have any questions

TJ

 

 

 

 

Interior rice lights , oh sweet.

 

aaaaand now i follow with this one..... as the OP has now...... become a bait fish.

 

Well . . . here's what I did. In my '08, the power socket under the passenger dash is only live with the key on (Acc or engine running), so I hooked my GPS power supply to that source. I also have some LED lighting under the dash, which I wired to the interior roof light switches. That way, they'll turn on/off (including the fade) when you open/close one of the doors, and they can be manually switched on/off when you use the roof light switches. Makes for a nice, clean, factory-looking install.

 

Rice or not, different people like different things. i personally like it. im not putting any under the car nor do i desire to.. but what i do with my car is my choice. i wasnt asking for approval, i was asking for suggestions on how to get it done. i figured it out now tho. and thats a great setup dcains. i thought about doing that originally.