Lower Console Switch Lights As Part Of Dash Start Up Sequence

OK, here is a solution to something that has been kind of on my mind for a little while now....

So the Lower Console's button and switch lights are on all the time currently even if the ignition is off.... not good I know, bad, bad, bad... as these are not LED lights in this buttons and switches and given enough time would drain the battery for sure. So last night I had a thought pop into my head as I learn more and more about what many of the electronics components are capable of... my idea was this:

"Why not run a small 22 AWG wire from the last top countdown indicator on the top of the dash and run that to the base of a Transistor to activate a Relay that would turn on my Lower Console Switch and buttons lights?

That way when the dash did it's startup sequence, upon the lighting of the very last indicator a signal could be sent to activate my Lower Console lights."

Very simple I thought, so I got into a great conversation with Andrea lannaccone on Face Book this morning and we hashed out this wiring scheme. NOT using a Transistor as I had originally imagined but instead using an Optocoupler. Hey whatever works and is simple I always say ;)

You can see in the middle section of our diagram how we have introduced the wiring of the last countdown indicator LED to the Optocoupler which in turn triggers the SPST Relay which sends power to the Lower Console's switch lights making it an interactive part of the Dash start up sequence.... should be pretty cool when wired up and tested out ;)

Lower Console Installation Challenges

On of the major challenges I am currently facing with the installation of my lower console is the huge "Rats Nest" of wires there are for all of the switches, it would be a lot less wires if I was never going to have any plans for the switches and just wanted the pretty lights lol, but I do want to do something with the buttons eventually so I most definitely want it all set up for that eventuality ;)

After a test fitting I found I had to take out the shifter knob so I could remove the forward OEM stock plastic console cover to thread my wire harnesses through. Even with that the huge "Rats Nest" of wires was still making it difficult to get the wires into the hole I had cut out. So I had to try to minimize the amount of "Chunk" with the wire "Rats Nest" even as well bundled and organized as it was it was still a "Rats Nest" lol

After going another test fitting and trying to get the now minimized "Rats Nest" stuffed down into that hole it was still difficult. I'm almost thinking that a smarter idea of installation might have been to have taken out the entire centre console, put it up on my work bench and installed it directly to the console. I must admit it might have make running the wire harnesses through the console easier and then I could have tied them off to the side of the console. Something to consider if I ever make another Knight Rider car in the future.

In any even a little more thinning out of the wires on the console will be in order and then I should find it easier to stuff the wires into the hole. I wonder if in the T.V. show if they only had the switch lights hooked up as I can see them having a real fun time with putting in some functionality by running the extra wires... I know I sure am lol ;)

Overview Diagram For Wiring My Lower Console To My 12 Position Fuse Block

Here is an overview diagram of my initial plan to wire my lighted lower console switches to my 12 position fuse block which is rated at 105 Amps Max, although I'm going to keep it at an even conservative 100 Amps Max. In this diagram you can see I have marked each switch circuit for what the switches are rated for and times that by the number of switches. These are simply controlling SPST Relays, I'm using a 10 AWG power wire to link up all of the switches, this wire is pretty short and then goes into a nice 16 AWG wire that is a little over 6 feet to reach the fuse block I have installed under the passenger side. According to my wiring charts it should be WAY more than I need to handle any load the lower console may consume.... even less if I eventually switch out the bulbs to LEDs. As near as I can tell this should be good.

Lower Console Switches Installation And Wiring Diagram

With my lower console overlay finally primed and painted and most of the buttons installed it's getting very near time to start thinking about the wiring job. The coloured buttons are from Jupiter Electronics and came with a small overlay which I was originally going to see if I could use but as it turns out it was just getting in the way of my custom switches overlay I had made out of the Lexan plastic so it hot scrapped. The buttons also came with a solderless connection board as you may recall from previous posts. It was a real bear getting all of the pins to fit into the board I can sure tell you, especially since the way I had done this I had to put the whole group of 10 switches into my overlay and insert them through the hole I had pre cut into the fibreglass console and then insert the pins from the switches into the solderless connection board. A very finicky job but I finally managed it.

Next job on my list of things to do was to carefully go over the connections on the switches to make sure they matched up with the markings on the edge of the board for "Common" or ground, "NO," and the two connections for the switch bulb. one of which on the switch is marked as "+" but no marking on the board so I had to make sure I reflect that in my wiring diagram pictured below. At first glance the solderless connection board looks a little confusing but it's not really, if you looks closely at it you'll see it makes perfect sense. I have made my wiring diagram pretty "Idiot Proof" so even I can follow it lol.

I have no real plans at the moment for what I want these buttons to do so for now they are just going to be wired up to a Molex connector which can be run to a relay board at a future time when I do have a much better idea of what to do with them.... lol I'm sure I'll find something ;)

NOTE: I made a change to the diagram as I realized that I had some connections in the wrong place, this latest one is the correct one.

Here is a sample of how you can connect each switch to a Relay in order to turn on any desired device you would like to hook up to the console switches. As you can see in the diagram below that the switch makes a connection to ground completing the circuit through the Relay's magnetic coil to 12V positive energizing the magnetic coil inside of the Relay and activating it's internal switch which completes the circuit from ground to 12V positive of your desired device. Gotta love those Relays ;)