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Old 10-28-2007, 10:47 PM   #1
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Lightswitches or Human Factors Engineering

SMB light switches? Bad engineering! The front and rear light switches being right together, the same shape, the same orientation... terrible design!

Not to mention they're hard to reach in the first place.

If I was going to keep the stock light switches I would at least turn the rear switch on its side. That way you can't accidentally flip on the rear lights and wonder why you still can't see, only to find out your trailer is lit like a Superbowl game a half hour later!

If on the other hand you've got lots of time on your hands and a yen for making a Human Factors Engineering example---


The panel pulls off with clips and yields a nice metal support, a favorite grounding location for all things added.



I already removed the High Idle switch to make a spot for my brake controller. The holes on the left are from SMB, specifically from top to bottom:
4wd light
Front Lights
Rear Lights



The front lights are now at the top, just left of center, and the 3 holes are now:
empty
Rear (sideways)
High Idle

Not only is the rear sideways, but the switches are entirely different shapes and sizes. This makes differentiation in any situation very easy.




Honestly I started out trying to be good about colors and connections, but in the end... well, I didn't have any black wire for example, and it turned out to be a small nightmare.

If you look closely I had to trim next to the 2nd to the left clip location to fit the switches. It was excess plastic anyway. Actually they might have fit, but I didn't want to get halfway through stuffing wires and find out I needed to trim a little.



Ready to go! I'm still unhappy with the 4wd light location as it's out of line of site, meaning you can't easily notice it's on when it shouldn't be, and it has a nasty knack of catching the sun so it looks like it's on. Still there was a hole and that was the last place I was going to put a switch or leave a hole. I guess a project for a future date...



Did I mention the wiring was complex? I had to put a relay in for the rear lights, but we'll get to that. I just wanted to point out the mess I made.



The whole shebang. What's what? Well the 4wd light, the reverse switch and the high idle on the left, we've already talked about. The high idle was simply relocated but there was something more to the reverse switch.

The original had no light but 3-prongs. I was kind of confused because the black-green-red seemed to be out of place. Assuming black was ground turned out to be a bad assumption.

The black was in the center and was actually power out to the rear lights. The green that seemed to go with it was feed from the reverse switch, and the red was power. With red and green on the outside, one or the other was "powering" the rear spot lights, so with an ON-ON rocker there was never double power.

My switch however was ON-OFF with a light in the ON position. This meant I needed a new ground and a way to switch with either the reverse lights or manually. I probably could (should?) have used a diode but there was a relay in the drawer. If I didn't go to the store for black wire, I certainly wasn't going for a diode.

The three switches next to the steering column?



The left orange switch is reserved for top or outside lighting (probably multiple fog lights under the bumper). The blue middle switch is for the SMB lighting, and the green will be for beam spots.

The orange is a different shape and if you look closely, the green is slightly longer. It's easy to differentiate by feel and position, and also to control any one or multiples at the same time.

I actually can't see the switch lights from the driver seat, but they are easy to reach. Only the rear light switch is really visible, but that's good because I don't want the rear lights on by accident, whereas I can probably notice if the front lights are on by themselves.

The reason for the colors is probably more for communication and my own memory... "the little orange switch" is easier than "the left switch of the three top switches".

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Old 12-04-2007, 07:34 PM   #2
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In practical use the switches are pretty good. I find myself reaching about 4" to the left of them, about 1/2 way between the old and new location. I've hit them with my knee twice, but only lightly and only when I'm really exhausted and slouching, getting out of the van I must slide forward.

Also I can't see them at all, and the lights are much dimmer than expected, so there isn't even a glow to let me know what's going on. I'm OK with doing it all by feel, but I'm surprised every time I crane my head and still can't see them.

The rear light switch is phenominal. I like the fat stubby switch too.
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Old 12-12-2007, 07:46 PM   #3
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This sure would be nice!

If you could fit the switch bezel from this company somehow and having all the relays and fuses combined into one small package...this is a plug-n-play set-up.


And then using a dedicated circuit to power everything:

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Old 12-12-2007, 08:22 PM   #4
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sPOD Switch Assemblies

Jage and all of the rest of the forum members interested in correct wiring harnesses for light and accessories in your Vans check out the sPOD web site as he is offering Mil Spec Harnesses and Switch Panels that are the neatest most functional after market assemblies that I have ever seen in the thirty plus years that I been Off Roading .I am going to see him next week after the long awaited delivery of my Van and he was excited to see what kind R&D that he might adopt for the SportMobiles . His Web Site Address is
www.4x4s-pod.com . John is the owners name and he even responds to his inquires quickly .
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Old 12-12-2007, 08:33 PM   #5
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I like the relay kit I was going to try to figure out something as I'll need at least 3 relays to finish my forward lighting project and I don't want them just hanging out like the rest of my work.
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Old 12-12-2007, 09:46 PM   #6
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It’s too bad that SMB doesn’t adopt a nice switch system that is illuminated as well as user friendly to knee hits. Let’s face it, Ford vans are cramped for large people and a nice system would be great looking as well as functional. Below the S-wheel is a poor place for almost anything. I will not put in lever type switches there because my fat leg will break em off. But where to put them? We each have unique setups. I have a laptop in front of the radio so I wouldn’t want switches there. It’s similar to gauges. I want an area to mount some Auto Meter Nexus gauges on the dash without it being too gaudy. I wish there was a nice molded setup that goes on the top of the dash, something low profile and attractive. Where the hell are the wireless gauges? That would be cool. Wait, were talking switches here but in a few years it will be a heads up display even though the van will always be 3 years behind. Crap! Guess I will just have to buy a new van. There might be a few spots for switches then.
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Old 12-12-2007, 10:20 PM   #7
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Switches

I have been using switches from Transportation Safety Technologies. It's

called Touch Tek6. Fuses and relays are in the same place, with a plug in

switch panel.. Similar to spod... It makes it easy to add switches and

relays...




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Old 12-12-2007, 10:26 PM   #8
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I really wanted to put them to the right of the steering column, in the dashboard itself, right where the tan starts to thin out (vertically) and go under the radio. The problem was (thank goodness I checked before drilling) the thickness of that dash piece was nearly 1/2" where I wanted to put the switches and I would have had to put a rectangular hole and mount a metal plate to get them to stay. I figured the kick panel is easy to replace if I fubar things too bad, but I didn't want to monkey with the dash.
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