Hello guys,

My first post and first time in ages that I have looked into electronic type projects.

I am building a kit car, and am looking at doing something a bit different for turning the lights and wipers on a bit differently to the clunky, ugly, mechanical switches that are available.

I have found some flush stainless momentary buttons and plan to use them to turn the lights and wipers on. But the lights have 4 settings being 1)off 2)side light 3)main beam and 4) Full beam and the wipers have 3 setings 1)off 2)slow and 3) fast

I am planning using relays to switch the existing wiring in te car, but I think I need a flip flop type circuit as an interface between the buttons and the relays.

I am so out of practice and touch with components now that I was wondering if anyone knew of an off the shelf circuit that may suit my application.

Ideally for each function I would like one button to select the on functions and 1 button to turn any of the one functions off.

Hope someone understands what I am mumbling on about. And thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Regards

Rob

 

Would a clocked digital circuit work for you? A bit cryptic for user interface, but with a 1/2 second clock, pushing the light button for less than 1/2 second would give you side lights, longer than that would give low beam. Once at low beam, with button released, pushing the button for under 1/2 second would go to high beam, and over 1 second would turn the headlights off.

Maybe switch around the timing, then a few flip flops and gates would have it set up so nobody could run it but you.

 

Hi,

I have found some flush stainless momentary buttons

Do they have 2 or 3 terminals?

But the lights have 4 settings being 1)off 2)side light 3)main beam and 4) Full beam

Does the side light have to be on with eg. the main beam, or is there any such "dualities" at all?

I was wondering if anyone knew of an off the shelf circuit that may suit my application.

I think you'll have to build it yourself.
Can you build from a schematic and PCB layout?

 

the switches are single pole, 2 terminals only (there are led's in them also but these are going to come on via the dashboard inluminatinon circuit)

There may be some duality with the lights on the car, but I was going to deal with this at the relay side of things by using double pole relays if needed, this way I would be able to use the same circuit for both the wipers and the lights.

I am able to build from a schematic. I did study electronics at college some years ago now. I have some board making facilities moth balled in the garage somewhere too. And an RS catalogue from about 8 years ago hehe. I am a bit rusty as like all things if you dont do it regulary then it gets stored in the back of ur brain. And difficult to remember.

Rob

 

I am able to build from a schematic.

OK.
For the lights, you can choose from the two circuits in this file.
If you go with option 2, you need to burn the program into it. Unfortunately, I'm not at (my own) home and it may be a while, since I'm on recovery, so I can't compile it for you, but I have thrown together a PBP program (with a possibility for auditive feedback), so if anyone else is able to run the code through the PBP compiler, please let me know.

When you've decided which circuit you want to use, just tell me and I will draw the wiper control to match.

(If you plan to make similar control circuits in the future, you might conside the programmable version, since it makes it quite easy to do other tyes of control as well).

 

Wow thanks for that Soren,

Now for me to come up with half of the work in those circits would of taken me all week to get that done. Do you use a CAD circuit program for that work or is it all done manually?

I think I would like to avoid the PIC route, as that is out of my "Comfort" zone. But the 4017 / 4093 circuits are not beyond my level of understanding. And I dont see much future use of these circuits as far as my car project are concerened. Although sods law says otherwise hehe.

Again thanks a million, I am overwhelmed by the effort you have put into my question. You are a star.

Rob