Cool Hidden Switch panel thing Options

[korban]

I decided I wanted some switches available in my car to do... well stuff. I thought about all kinds of locations, glove box, dash, under the headunit. Then I remembered the coin box in the center console. This seemed like a great place to put some switches.



First I needed to make a little panel to sit inside to mount the switches on. So I made a template from cardboard, and then used the template to cut a piece from perspex (Any metal or plastic would do). I put some measurements on a piece of paper next to the final panel. I'd make it a little bigger and file/sand to fit if you want a perfect fit, mine was almost perfect, but I had to glue it anyways.



I bought 4 switches, a blue 'duckbill' type, 12mm mounting holes. They look pretty good all mounted up.



And then placed them into the coin box for a test fit.



Drilled a hole for wires and threaded the wires through.



Next I needed to wireup all the switches, 4 wires to each center pole, power to one side, and ground to the other. All these I put into a 6 way connector, with heatshrink and some plastic tubing.



After connecting 6 wires, I then needed power and ground rails to join them all together.



I then needed a hole in the center console for the plug to fit through. One side has a clip to hold the unit in, so I made a hole on the other side.



The all I had to do was put it in placed, connect to the other wiring that I ran to my Link programmable ECU and viola!



Now I can control stuff, I have launch control on one switch, datalogging on another, I've set ACIS on another one to try turning it on earlier. Not sure what i'll use the fourth one for, maybe a speed limit. Now of course this doesn't seem very useful for people without an aftermarket ECU but you could use them to turn your amp on/off, aerial up down. I want to add a switch elsewhere for garage door remote even.

I'll try and get some night photos as well as they light up when on.

[ZGear]

Nice, it looks clean too!

[Driveby]

Nice work mate, very stealthy!

[Celiquick]

That's gorgeous! Where did you get those switches?

[AnaXyd]

Just, WOW! I am doing the same thing! Thank you!

[azian_advanced]

it would be safer using connectors to attach the wires to the back of the switches instead of soldering them to it....
but a clean install nonetheless..
have you thought about making the fourth switch to put the car in diagnostic mode? i think it would be a good idea

[Cutrara]

haha, you should do the garage door opener... i just did that with my opener and used a small black momentary push button my my clock. Its so stealthy and James Bond like.

[relyks95gt]

its cool

[korban]

it would be safer using connectors to attach the wires to the back of the switches instead of soldering them to it....
but a clean install nonetheless..
have you thought about making the fourth switch to put the car in diagnostic mode? i think it would be a good idea

I thought about using connectors but I would still have to splice/solder 4 wires together for each power and ground rail, connectors can fall off, solder doesn't and solder is cheaper than connectors. Oh and there wasn't enough clearance at the bottom of the box for connectors, not without bending the tags, which threatens the integrity of the switches. The box is closed at the bottom so nothing can shortout the connections, I think it's just as safe or even safer than using connectors. The wires all go to a 6 way connector just 10cm away, so I can disconnect the box in one go, and not forget which wire went to which switch.

Oh and i'm not using the factory ECU, so I don't have diagnostic mode. I've setup the check engine light for over temp warnings, and I can plug a laptop in to see Air/Fuel ratios, temps, inj duty cycles etc. That would be a good idea for anyone else doing this tho.

That's gorgeous! Where did you get those switches?

Thanks!

The switches are Hella Duckbill Blue: http://www.alanco.com.au/view/pg?command=c...em_id=STG-H4423
Not sure if you can get them in the US. I also looked at the Narva toggle switch: http://www.alanco.com.au/view/pg?command=c...id=STG-N60051BL but it's height would have required removing the base of the box, and then the hole beneath that etc (although now thinking about it they might have been long enough to just mount in the bottom of the box).

Just did a quick google, and Hella seems to be from Germany, but has a big US presence, here's a link for their online retailers: http://www.hella.com/produktion/HellaUSA/W...e_Retailers.jsp

haha, you should do the garage door opener... i just did that with my opener and used a small black momentary push button my my clock. Its so stealthy and James Bond like.

Pics! Where did you put your remote? Is it permanently wired? I thought about mounting a socket on the side of mine so I can disconnect it, and then have a plug with wires running to the switch. Although batteries last ages in a remote, have you thought about running it off the car so it never runs out?

This post has been edited by korban: Mar 14, 2009 - 6:19 PM

[Cutrara]

haha, you should do the garage door opener... i just did that with my opener and used a small black momentary push button my my clock. Its so stealthy and James Bond like.

Pics! Where did you put your remote? Is it permanently wired? I thought about mounting a socket on the side of mine so I can disconnect it, and then have a plug with wires running to the switch. Although batteries last ages in a remote, have you thought about running it off the car so it never runs out?

Don't have a working camera ATM, but its just 3/8" Black momentary pushbutton next to the clock. The button has 2 leads that go to the button that opens/closes the door. I was able to wrap the wires around the legs of the original button. The remote is taped to the top of the air duct (behind the clock). I thought about running it off the car but dismissed the idea quickly. If I remember correctly, the battery in my remote is 3V and lasts about 2-3 years. the car is 12v. It would be more trouble than its worth to wire resistors up when I can just pop off that panel (which I have off fairly often... I'm always tweaking my electrical system, stereo etc) and pop a new battery in.

[jason]

Looks very nice!

im with azian as far as the soldering goes though... i was always told (dont know how much water this holds) that solder is to make a connection in a circuit and is not to hold any weight - aka should twist wires together first to hold the tension/weight, and then solder to make it permanate - instead of just over lapping two wires and soldering

but unless you get seriously pissed one day and start beating the switches you wont have any problems

:thumbsup for the great idea! i use that slot for change and often thought it would be cool for switches, but never thought it was deep enough to fit anything nice

my switch box is mounted to the side of the console, in between the drivers seat and the console, down about 2" so its "hidden" unless you are the driver and look down

[korban]

haha, you should do the garage door opener... i just did that with my opener and used a small black momentary push button my my clock. Its so stealthy and James Bond like.

Pics! Where did you put your remote? Is it permanently wired? I thought about mounting a socket on the side of mine so I can disconnect it, and then have a plug with wires running to the switch. Although batteries last ages in a remote, have you thought about running it off the car so it never runs out?

Don't have a working camera ATM, but its just 3/8" Black momentary pushbutton next to the clock. The button has 2 leads that go to the button that opens/closes the door. I was able to wrap the wires around the legs of the original button. The remote is taped to the top of the air duct (behind the clock). I thought about running it off the car but dismissed the idea quickly. If I remember correctly, the battery in my remote is 3V and lasts about 2-3 years. the car is 12v. It would be more trouble than its worth to wire resistors up when I can just pop off that panel (which I have off fairly often... I'm always tweaking my electrical system, stereo etc) and pop a new battery in.

Some remote run off a little 12V battery, if you needed 3V then i'd just use a regulator. But I agree with your method, remote batteries last ages and I'm also always pulling that panel out to play with stuff. Above the vent it a great place to put it, out of the way, yet still should get signal forwards and backwards.

Looks very nice!

im with azian as far as the soldering goes though... i was always told (dont know how much water this holds) that solder is to make a connection in a circuit and is not to hold any weight - aka should twist wires together first to hold the tension/weight, and then solder to make it permanate - instead of just over lapping two wires and soldering

but unless you get seriously pissed one day and start beating the switches you wont have any problems

:thumbsup for the great idea! i use that slot for change and often thought it would be cool for switches, but never thought it was deep enough to fit anything nice

my switch box is mounted to the side of the console, in between the drivers seat and the console, down about 2" so its "hidden" unless you are the driver and look down

What you were told holds true for wire to wire connections, but if you were to use a spade connector in place then it would come loose so much quicker than both if it got yanked on. I'm happy with it, and i've done enough wiring (whole engines from scratch) that I trust my wiring/soldering. Stick with what you feel confident with, if all methods never fail, then you want the one you are not constantly doubting.

I assume since my car is a Jap import that the coin slots were designed for yen, they never fit NZ coins very well, so I never used it. When you remove the coin insert there's a decent amount of room.

[cardshark525]

It looks very nice. Now all you need is a box of tacks and oil to shoot out the back lol.

Am I the only one that realizes that the "coin box" is actually an ashtray?

[Slick]

Nice, and very clean!

[korban]

It looks very nice. Now all you need is a box of tacks and oil to shoot out the back lol.

Am I the only one that realizes that the "coin box" is actually an ashtray?

Yes. There must be some sort of ash-tray insert (never seen one, but then haven't been inside another 6gc than mine) but mine came with the "coin box" insert.



Also has slot in the middle for credit cards etc. Got a photo of the ash-tray option?

[blu94gt]

Cutrara you've just inspired me to dig thru my box of switches to make a stealthy garage door opener lol. I have a little black momentary switch, gonna wire it to my garage door opener next chance I get. Never even thought of such a simple mod.

And Korban, switches look good! I've been thinking of places to put a switch panel with things like that, and maybe a fuel pump cutoff and such.

[Cutrara]

Cutrara you've just inspired me to dig thru my box of switches to make a stealthy garage door opener lol. I have a little black momentary switch, gonna wire it to my garage door opener next chance I get. Never even thought of such a simple mod.

And Korban, switches look good! I've been thinking of places to put a switch panel with things like that, and maybe a fuel pump cutoff and such.

haha i think everyone has a "box of switches" laying around... I have a case with fuses, crimp connectors, switches, resistors, etc. a 5 gallon bucket with misc wiring, a deep tool cabinet drawer with wiring, fuse holders relays and harnesses and a few other stash spots of wiring junk for any project when inspiration strikes haha.

[MercuryFree]

Also has slot in the middle for credit cards etc. Got a photo of the ash-tray option?

It's similar, just empty instead of with layers and such like yours. It also has that slot in it as well. Also has a flap on top and is made of the same kind of plastic as the rest of the car, whereas yours seems not to be, judging from that picture.

[cardshark525]

The very top picture in the thread is a picture of the ash tray, and the inserts on the sides are cigarette holders. The actual coin box looks neat. In my car the only place to store coins really besides the opening in front of the stick, is right where you reach to open the center console. Theres two little slots where you can fit about 6 coins.