I'm working on a project to create a homemade laptop cooler. I've got the basic wiring done but the particular switch I'm using is from Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...352&numProdsPerPage=60&retainProdsInSession=1) and there is no wiring diagram available that I've been able to find. I've got the basic pass threw wiring for the switch done and the basic setup works fine. Now what I need to know is how to wire the additional two wires on the switch so that the blue LED lights when the switch is turned on.

The basic parts I'm using

An old USB cable for power. (red & black wires)
An old pc case fan (red & black wires)
A new radio shack SPST illuminated switch (two prongs for the red wires from the usb cable and red wire from fan) + two White wires coming out of a little black box for the LEDs.

What do the two white wires need to connect to allow the LEDs to turn on? Are they some kind of Ground wires?

 

RadioShack didn't make the cheap surplus lighted switch so they also don't know what the white wires are for.
Experiment until it blows up or until the LED lights.

 

Play with a 9 volt battery and a 470 ohm resistor in series with one wire leaving the battery. At this time you don't know if the Switch/LED has a current limiting resistor already or you need to provide one.

This way it won't "blow up"

 

You do realize that the switch you have is for 125/250 V AC. right?

 

My guess is that the black box is either a 120VAC to low VDC SMPS (it's too cheap for that) or a capacitor-type "transformerless" power supply for the LED in the switch. Anyone open one up?

Ken

 

If you read the reviews on the OP's link to Radio Shack you'll see that some people have modded the little black box to work with 5 or 12 volts, there's only one screw holding it together.

 

I got the identical switch, and wanted to know if you figured it out. I'm basicically where you were when you posted.

Many thanks!

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I'm working on a project to create a homemade laptop cooler. I've got the basic wiring done but the particular switch I'm using is from Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...352&numProdsPerPage=60&retainProdsInSession=1) and there is no wiring diagram available that I've been able to find. I've got the basic pass threw wiring for the switch done and the basic setup works fine. Now what I need to know is how to wire the additional two wires on the switch so that the blue LED lights when the switch is turned on.

The basic parts I'm using

An old USB cable for power. (red & black wires)
An old pc case fan (red & black wires)
A new radio shack SPST illuminated switch (two prongs for the red wires from the usb cable and red wire from fan) + two White wires coming out of a little black box for the LEDs.

What do the two white wires need to connect to allow the LEDs to turn on? Are they some kind of Ground wires?

 

I got the identical switch, and wanted to know if you figured it out.

Just read the information at the Radio Shack website, its all there.

By the way why would a switch needs to "support English language" ?

I just don't understand why they choose to sell a part that they themselves don't know how to connect up and there is no PDF of the part to tell the user which terminal for what.

 

RadioShack doesn't know anything about electronics. Most of the parts they sell have physical spec's like weight but no electrical spec's, maybe factory rejects. They don't know how to use their parts because the parts were probably bought as surplus and they don't know who made them.

 

Though I use Radio Shack...when absolutely necessary (usually a time constraint)...their Web page has got to be the worst organized I have ever seen by a major company. Try to search for anything, and you wind up with pages of totally unrelated consumer products.
Some of their Technical Date is a hoot too...like an FET with 250mW of Dissonance.

Ken