No thermoplastic switches. No nylon switches.

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750steve wrote: Lou, do you see any problem with wiring my normal sidelight & an LED rear light in the same circuit that we're discussing?

That should not be a problem.

But I'm having second thoughts on the automotive style push buttons. The waterproof ones I see seem to come in two types:
Really large metal type,
and small, cheap plastic type.

Neither one thrills me. The big ones, I suspect, will require a large amount of force to activate. The plastic ones may or may not take a lot of force to activate, but they just look so cheap.

You can buy just a rubber boot for a switch, to make it water resistant.

But before buying any button, I would look into the force required to activate. A horn button that may be hard to press could be a hindrance in an emergency situation. I picture the marine starter buttons as being difficult to activate as a deterrent from accidental starter engagement on a boat, especially since it would be mounted to a sturdy dashboard where one could put all of his weight onto the switch to activate it.

I try to search other possibilities for motorcycle push-buttons. I know there are generic, singular bar-mounted buttons available ofr dirtbikes. I think Dennis Kirk has them, but there may be other suppliers in the UK, or maybe on Ebay. They are not pretty, though.

Here's an example of the larger ones. It looks sturdy, but bulky, and may take a lot of pressure.

Another water resistant engine start switch:http://order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/44157/MOMENTARY%20ENGINE%20START%20SWITCH/

A momentary contact switch,water resistant:
order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/...TER%20PUSH%20BUTTON/

A sealed toggle switch(on-off-on):
order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/...Y%20TOGGLE%20SWITCH/

Another sealed toggle switch(on-off):
order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/...ITCH%208%22%20WIRES/

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationNo eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationOh dear, those all look a little on the humungous side! Looks like a relay job.

Or can I still use this type?

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationLou, i got a mail about the switch you pointed out to me but we didn't have any info on. They say they dont hace any infor in it either but it needs to be used with a relay so i can only assume its low current.

Would any of THESE be ok?
Personally im thinking THIS one but its still a bit of a brute!!

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750steve wrote: Lou, i got a mail about the switch you pointed out to me but we didn't have any info on. They say they dont hace any infor in it either but it needs to be used with a relay so i can only assume its low current.

I had a suspicion on that one, but disappointing nonetheless. But I think a 3-way toggle is really all you'll need.

Will the toggles be in a position that requires water-proofing? Usually you can put them some way where they really won't get wet. I haven't really ever used waterproof switches on anything, but all of the customs I've worked on used factory motorcycle switches on the bars.

The problem is that good, waterproof buttons seem to be huge, and I wonder if they will require a lot of thumb pressure. (I looked at the button links from you and Mfolks, and did some searching of my own.)

I wonder just how much waterproofing there needs to be. It may just depend on how the mount is made. Will the bar switches be in a housing?

If the bar switches are in a closed housing, and the wires run into the bars, then the only exposed surface will be the button itself. I'm not sure you would need a fully waterproof button for that.

What about these? They are not a pushbutton, but they are momentary. The word "on" in parenthesis means a momentary actuation where the lever snaps back. It also has a water seal, and it looks pretty small. The switch body will be parallel to the bars.
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/250/category/49

If you use 081804, you can either push or pull the toggle to activate it momentarily.

I'll try to keep looking for a small button.


I think you can get water seals for these too. IT is essentially just a rubber seal attached to the mounting ring, but it should work.
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/248/category/49
080201 or 080202 for ignition, and 080203 for lights. (32 amps when you double the contacts.)

Here's the seal, I think, for those switches.
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/249/category/49

The 2 momentary push switches at the bars will have their own housing but those toggle switches, although the best, may be a bit hard to hide. I've been finding out mounting depths in my spare time all day today & to be honest most are somewhere between 24 & 32mm. The big push button switch i mentioned is 28mm across BUT has a very shallow mount depth, this might actually make things easier for me as the casing that is being made for yhem can be substantially smaller/shallower.


Oh & i asked them about THESE black 3-way & 4-way switches. The receptionist said they are some kinda plastic (but im guessing she wasn't that knowledgable) but were fairly heavy

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationLou, where is the best place to earth my lights etc, i know there is a ground going to the enging but when i was removing the electrics i didn't see a frame earth.

Should i install some kind of earthed terminal block inside my battery box & run all to it? Like this?

Any place you see a Black with Yellow stripe wire, it's a frame ground or Earth. They are all over the bike. If you suspect a bad ground(Earth), take a M6 X 1 tap to the bolt hole as paint and corrosion will reduce it's ability to carry the Negative current.

Operation can be intermittent on lights or other electrical devices if the ground is not good.

okay. So due to the engine being earthed & the engine is bolted to the frame does that make the frame earthed? (sorry for the silly questions).
If i recall correctly the only wire that came off the (-) side of the battery went to the engine.

Would 1 of those earthing terminal blocks not be a good idea to install to ensure a good earth? The extra wiring would be minor & as it would 'run back' to the battery box area where the power wire is coming from it may actually look more neat. The extra expense is negligable too.

If you can waterproof it to limit possible corrosion(maybe inside a small enclosure with removable top & drain holes for condensation build up).

Most electronic supply places(at least on this side of the pond) carry cast Aluminum boxes for relays or other moisture sensitive devices. I'd think it would be a simple matter to buy the ground/Earth buss in the picture, and then take it to one of your local electronic/electrical supply places that carry these boxes.

You'll need to drill holes(use a rubber grommet for wire protection) for the ground wires, and of course where to mount it.

To ensure the box cover/top stays on the box, use some of the Blue Loctite #242 as it resists vibration, but is removable using tools.