Momentary water pump switch

[rustykramermetalfab]

I have been searching for a momentary lighted water pump switch that is located in my living room area panel. This is a green rocker type that is momentary.  It will "rock" up or down but returns to center. Light is lit when on and no light when off.  My light is out so I can't visually check if my water pump is on or not unless I go to the bathroom and check the light.  I had a Hose blow out on the pump once so I don't like to leave it on when I am not in the coach.    Coach is 2000 Dynasty.  Anyone have a source? 

[Pampero]

rvautopart.com

https://www.rvautoparts.com/Rocker-Switches-Illuminated_c_9598.html

You want a two way momentary switch

https://www.carlingtech.com/rocker-switches-full-size

[Dr4Film]

I always use Northwest RV Supply for all of my switch needs as they seem to have the best selection and variety too.

Here is their web site address for Switches - http://www.nwrvsupply.com/category/176.html

Here is their web site address for the momentary switch you are inquiring about - http://www.nwrvsupply.com/176/12675.html

They also carry the RED indicator light that is usually adjacent to the Water Pump switch. Those never lasted very long as they have an incandescent bulb inside. I have since switched those out and now have small LED's in the same place. I had purchased those from the RV shop in Wildwood FL which has changed ownership and is now Lazy Days RV. Not sure if they still carry them or not.

Photos of before & after change-out.

[rustykramermetalfab]

I bought a switch from NWRV supply.  It was not the momentary type, physically it looked the same. The NWRV rep told me they have been trying for years to find a supplier to build this switch. 

 

[Dr4Film]

 

6 minutes ago, rusty@kramermetalfab.com said:

I bought a switch from NWRV supply.  It was not the momentary type, physically it looked the same. The NWRV rep told me they have been trying for years to find a supplier to build this switch.

You have to verify that what you are ordering is in fact a momentary switch versus an On/Off switch as they both LOOK the same and have the same number of contacts. Based on Northwest RV Supply's web site I posted above it appears that they found someone to supply the momentary switch as they now have them available.

[wamcneil]

7 hours ago, Dr4Film said:

I always use Northwest RV Supply for all of my switch needs as they seem to have the best selection and variety too.

Here is their web site address for Switches - http://www.nwrvsupply.com/category/176.html

Here is their web site address for the momentary switch you are inquiring about - http://www.nwrvsupply.com/176/12675.html

They also carry the RED indicator light that is usually adjacent to the Water Pump switch. Those never lasted very long as they have an incandescent bulb inside. I have since switched those out and now have small LED's in the same place. I had purchased those from the RV shop in Wildwood FL which has changed ownership and is now Lazy Days RV. Not sure if they still carry them or not.

Photos of before & after change-out.

I like that indicator light. Is that a panel-mount LED that you installed in a switch blank, or was it supplied that way with terminals on the back like a switch?

Thanks,

Walter

[Dr4Film]

47 minutes ago, wamcneil said:

I like that indicator light. Is that a panel-mount LED that you installed in a switch blank, or was it supplied that way with terminals on the back like a switch?

Walter, it was made that way so they snap right into the panel opening exactly where the larger RED light would go. There are also long leads on the back with I think a small resistor heat-shrinked into one lead.

I imagine that one could build these easily by using a switch blank, a LED bulb, a resistor, etc.

[Moonwink]

LED Resistor Calculator

The package the LED comes in will have the specs needed to fill in the blanks on the website linked to above.  LEDs are all low voltage and need a resistor to work correctly.  The size of the resistor is determined by the the voltage applied and the maximum current the LED can carry.  Just plug those numbers into the blanks at the link above and pick the next standard higher resistance size resistor.  It's not rocket science and there's a lot of tolerance in picking the right one.  LED too bright, use a resistor with a higher resistance.

[Guest Tim503]

I have two switches I took them out. I hooked up the macerator to the circuit and blew out the relay that controls the pump. Be careful as I believe it was over $50 for a new one. I leave mine on all the time. They are not lighted. Mine had separate lights, front panel and bathroom, that should have been replaced with LED.

[Pepperell]

I bought a bundle of 100 led’s with resisters and leads already attached.  I think I paid $10 or $15.  There were 20 each of 5 different colors.  You can drill out the back of the existing light assembly and hot melt glue an led in.  Or you can drill a small hole in the panel adjacent to the switch and hot melt the led there. 
 

The only one that stumped me was the light for the 120v Aquahot switch which was 120v.  Maybe neon?  I suppose I could have sacrificed a cheapo receptacle tester.  

[Dr4Film]

16 minutes ago, Pepperell said:

The only one that stumped me was the light for the 120v Aquahot switch which was 120v.  Maybe neon?  I suppose I could have sacrificed a cheapo receptacle tester.  

Are you positive that your Aqua-Hot switch is 120 VAC? Mine is a Carling Technology 12 VDC switch.

[Moonwink]

Just buy new indicator LEDs:

https://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-12725-Indicator-Switch/dp/B002UC14SS/

[dl_racing427]

15 hours ago, Pepperell said:

I bought a bundle of 100 led’s with resisters and leads already attached.  I think I paid $10 or $15.  There were 20 each of 5 different colors.  You can drill out the back of the existing light assembly and hot melt glue an led in.  Or you can drill a small hole in the panel adjacent to the switch and hot melt the led there. 
 

The only one that stumped me was the light for the 120v Aquahot switch which was 120v.  Maybe neon?  I suppose I could have sacrificed a cheapo receptacle tester.  

You can calculate the current at 12v based on the resistor, and use a higher value resistor to get the same current at 120v.
The AC vs DC won't matter, as the LED will only conduct when forward biased.

[Pepperell]

Thanks!  Sometime I’ll have to dissect one to see if I can id the resistor.  

[Pepperell]

22 hours ago, Dr4Film said:

Are you positive that your Aqua-Hot switch is 120 VAC? Mine is a Carling Technology 12 VDC switch.

That was on my totaled 2003 Dynasty.  My current 2006 Dynasty handles this on the multiplex system.  Again, that was the 120v element switch.  
 

And I could be confused/mistaken!  

[wamcneil]

20 hours ago, Moonwink said:

Just buy new indicator LEDs:

https://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-12725-Indicator-Switch/dp/B002UC14SS/

Are the new ones LED? The replacement I bought couple years ago is not LED...

Cheers,

Walter

[Moonwink]

Walter, I think that's about the time they changed over to LEDs.  I bought a couple in an RV Supply store behind Love's in Quartzsite about then and had to look at the fine print on the package to make sure I was getting the LED lamps.

Resistor Sizing:
The link I shared above has all the information needed size a resistor for LEDs and any voltage you want to use them with.  It's not that critical.  If the LED is too bright, use a stronger resistor.  If it's not bright enough, use a smaller resistor.

[Dr4Film]

30 minutes ago, Pepperell said:

That was on my totaled 2003 Dynasty.  My current 2006 Dynasty handles this on the multiplex system.  Again, that was the 120v element switch.  And I could be confused/mistaken!  

My 120 VAC Element switch is still a low voltage 12 VDC switch but when activated it triggers an additional relay that can handle the 120 VAC current. I have not seen any Aqua-Hot switches that were 120 VAC. Check your manual also.

[Ivan K]

3 hours ago, wamcneil said:

Are the new ones LED? The replacement I bought couple years ago is not LED...

Cheers,

Walter

I bought a pack of green ones to replace water pump indicators and they are LED

2 hours ago, Dr4Film said:

My 120 VAC Element switch is still a low voltage 12 VDC switch but when activated it triggers an additional relay that can handle the 120 VAC current. I have not seen any Aqua-Hot switches that were 120 VAC. Check your manual also.

Few years difference and no multiplex but our AH element switch is also 12V and activates a contractor behind breaker box in bedroom. I can easily hear the contractor clicking.

[Guest Ray Davis]

1 hour ago, Ivan K said:

 our AH element switch is also 12V and activates a contractor behind breaker box in bedroom. I can easily hear the contractor clicking.

My 03 Windsor is the same,  12v sw with relay in bedroom.

[Bob Nodine]

On 12/28/2020 at 5:50 AM, dl_racing427 said:

You can calculate the current at 12v based on the resistor, and use a higher value resistor to get the same current at 120v.
The AC vs DC won't matter, as the LED will only conduct when forward biased.

I believe the AC versus DC does matter in this case because the current will only flow about 50% of the time on AC. To maintain the same brightness the resistor value would need to be reduced about 50%.

[dl_racing427]

3 hours ago, Bob Nodine said:

I believe the AC versus DC does matter in this case because the current will only flow about 50% of the time on AC. To maintain the same brightness the resistor value would need to be reduced about 50%.

That may be true, however the 120v is an RMS value.  The actual peak voltage is around 170v, which may offset the half-wave effect.
Either way, the perceived brightness could be tweaked with the resistor value.

[Harvey Babb]

On 12/28/2020 at 4:50 AM, dl_racing427 said:

You can calculate the current at 12v based on the resistor, and use a higher value resistor to get the same current at 120v.
The AC vs DC won't matter, as the LED will only conduct when forward biased.

Do NOT use an LED on 120 volts this way. It works as you say on lower AC voltages but an LED is only able to withstand 20 volts or so in reverse before breaking down. Add a diode in series with the resistor that is rated for the voltage to prevent the breakdown. (A 1N4001 is a good choice. Give me an address and I'll be happy to mail one to you.)

 

[dl_racing427]

1 hour ago, Harvey Babb said:

Do NOT use an LED on 120 volts this way. It works as you say on lower AC voltages but an LED is only able to withstand 20 volts or so in reverse before breaking down. Add a diode in series with the resistor that is rated for the voltage to prevent the breakdown. (A 1N4001 is a good choice. Give me an address and I'll be happy to mail one to you.)

 

Thanks Harvey, I wasn't aware of that.
I guess If I'd bothered to look up specs I'd have seen it. LOL

[waterskier_1]

On 12/30/2020 at 5:25 AM, Harvey Babb said:

Do NOT use an LED on 120 volts this way. It works as you say on lower AC voltages but an LED is only able to withstand 20 volts or so in reverse before breaking down. Add a diode in series with the resistor that is rated for the voltage to prevent the breakdown. (A 1N4001 is a good choice. Give me an address and I'll be happy to mail one to you.)

 

This is not quite true.  Granted there is both a maximum forward voltage and reverse voltage at any diode can withstand, that is the purpose if the resistor.  Also, please realize that LED stands for Light Emitting Diode.  It is a diode, so putting another on in series is either redundant at best, and if put in the opposite direction, the LED would not work.  

That said, most LED's operate on 1.5 - 2.0 volts.  That means that you will be dropping 118 volts (assuming 120 VAC circuit) which is 98% of the voltage.  If the diode draws 20 mA (0.020 Amps) that means that the resistor would be around 5.9K Ohms.  That resistor would be dissipating about 2.5 Watts which is just wasted energy.  There are devices on the market that use electronic circuits to drive LEDs from high voltage (greater than 20 volts).  Or, as other have suggested, use a neon or incandescent bulb.