qwik3r

I have a convertible switch that was originally wired to a Mccord cutout but unfortunatelly that entire setup went south so i have a qtec cutout now and i still have the convertible switch which i would like to use however i have no idea how to wire it up and its not as easy as "look at your current switch and wire it the same" because they are different. I did a search and came up short on this subject, anyone out there with good detailed info on how to do this? With the qtech? Thanks.

qwik3r

ttt come on!!!

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

There are eight pins on the switch arranged in two rows of four. They are labeled A-H starting with A on the bottom row right (when looking at the back of the switch with the lock tab of the connector at the top), going across the bottom row to D on the left then back across (left to right) with E thru H on the top row.

It is a double throw momentary switch with center off so you will have to add a latching relay to make it provide a continuous circuit.

Pins B and C provide the switch illumination - wire B to 12V from your dash lights and C to ground.

When the switch is in its neutral position, pin A is connected to pin D and pin E is connected to pin H. When the switch is in the UP position, pin A is still connected to pin D and F connects to E. When the switch is in the down position, pin E remains connected to pin H and F connects to A.

The original wiring has A connected to the down side of the top motor and E connected to the up side of the motor. F is connected to 12V accessory power, G is not used and all the rest go to ground (except B and C mentioned above).

For your purpose I would connect power to pin F and use A and E for the two outputs (up and down on the switch). Leave D and H unused.

qwik3r

Thanks for the info, alittle hard to follow for a novice but i will give it a try, one problem exists though, i only have seven pins on the convertible switch, perhaps one broke off? Is there a way to fix it or do i just buy another one? Thanks.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

No, only seven pins are actually used. I guess the unused position G doesn't have a pin in it.

qwik3r

When you say:

Now i am a bit confused, basically it seems like i I just wire A to D, E to H and F to E and F to A. Correct? But than below that you say that i should not use D or H which means i have to reconnect everything NOT using D or H correct? OR does it all remain the same?

I am thinking that maybe the person who originally wired this convertible switch removed the unecessary pin connectors to it would be less confusing. I will take a pic of what i have so its easier for you to understand. Thanks again for the help.

qwik3r

Below is a pick of the switch, the 3 pins are toward the top near the latch or if you are looking at the switch from the front the word TOP would be upright.

The below thing i have no idea what it is, i think its a relay. It has eight pins and they are all wired up together. I don't remember how anything was wired, it was all wired to the switch than this device than to the cutout. Now i have a different cutout and the switch but i am assuming i will still need this thing. Thanks.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

The description I gave tells you which pins on the switch are connected internally in the switch when it is in various positions - it is not a list of connections you should make. For example, you don't want to connect A to D because when the switch is in the neutral position A and D are already connected to each other inside the switch. This was intended to let you know the internal wiring of the switch so you could figure out which pins would do what you need for hooking up your accessory.

If you would like detailed instructions on what to wire where, you will need to tell me about your cutout. What wires does it have and what do they do? For example, does it have just power and ground wires so that it opens and stays open as long as power is applied then closes when you turn off the power?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

OK, the pins are labeled clockwise from the bottom right in your picture (starting with pin A at the bottom right). The top row is E to H from left to right so that the missing pin is the unused pin G.

Yes, that is a relay. It's actually a relay designed for circuit board use rather than automotive use but that's OK. If you want to replace it you can get an automotive relay from just about any parts store and wire it so that it latches in the on position.

qwik3r

The cutout is a qtec cutout and w/o me running to the car and dismanteling the switch it looks like there are 2 wires running off of it, a grey and a white. So i guess that would be the negative and positive however there are several wires connected to the switch itself. Upon testing of the cutout it appears that as long as you have the switch in either position it keeps attempting to provide power and doesn't cut off when its reached a certain point. Atleast i believe it does. Does this help at all and can you provide me with wiring instructions? Thanks

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

OK, I did some research on this cutout and found that it doesn't just have open and closed positions - it can be partially opened or closed depending on how long you hold the switch. This eliminates the need for a latching relay and makes the wiring much easier (you see, the latching relay is necessary on other cutouts so that a single push of the switch will continue to provide power after the switch is released).

First, you need to remove the relay and all the excess wiring from the switch you have. You won't need any of it so you can discard it - all you need is the switch itself.

Next, you need to figure out which of the two cutout wires (gray or white) is for open and which is for close. You can do this by connecting power to one wire and ground to the other then see which way it moves. Reversing the two wires should make it move the other way.

Finally, connect the cutout open wire to pin E of the switch. Connect the cutout close wire to pin A of the switch. Connect both pins D and H to a good ground someplace behind the dash. Connect pin F to a fused power supply - probably ignition controlled is best unless you want to be able to open and close when the car isn't running. If you want the switch to illuminate with the dash lights then connect pin B to the dash light power and pin C to ground.

Now, when you press and hold the UP side of the switch the cutout will open. You will have to hold it for 4-5 seconds to get it fully open (or you can release the switch sooner to leave it partially open). When you press and hold the DOWN side of the switch the cutout will close. Again, you will have to hold it until it is completely closed or you can close it partially by releasing the switch anytime. Whenever you release the switch the cutout will stay in that position until you move it again.

qwik3r

Thank you so much for the info, i hope it all works out, unfortunately i can't test it right now because i was involved in a motorcycle accident and i have a shoulder injury and i can't move around much. I hope to try it in a week or so though. Just curious, if i decide to connect the switch to the dash lights, which i probably will end up doing, does that mean i still connect pins D and H to a ground in addition to C? Do i need to have a small wire connecting pins D and H together or just have seperate wires? Thanks again.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Yes, you still need to connect D and H to ground whether or not you hook up the light with a ground on C. This is because D and H provide the ground for the motor that opens and closes the cutout. They both have to go to ground because the cutout uses a reversable motor so the switch takes care of which side gets power and which gets ground depending on whether the UP or DOWN side is pressed.

It doesn't matter whether you connect all three together and then to ground or have each one go to ground separately (or any combination).

qwik3r

Ok so far i have no luck i followed your directions to a T and connected everything to the new switch and than connected D and H to a ground and the fused power supply to a positive and nada. Is it because i did not connect C to a ground? Although at this time i do not wish to hook it up to a dash light so do i still have to connect C to make it work? Below i have taken pics of the new switch and the original switch. You can see the pics of the original switch where the white/grey wires were connected and than all of the other wires went to the relay. Help! thanks.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Uh, the new switch you have in the bottom two pictures isn't a factory convertible top switch! It looks like the switch that came with the cutout. Is that what you're trying to wire? If so, I can't help you - you'll have to refer to the instructions that came with the cutout. My instructions apply only to using the factory convertible top switch after you had removed the relay and the mess of wires connected to it.

qwik3r

no, i am wiring the convertible switch which is the first 2 pictures, i just submited the other 2 pics (which is the original switch) for reference if you needed it. So where am i going wrong with this convertible switch?
The first 2 pictures show what i did, it isn't the best wiring job but i did it quickly right now so that i can test if it works which it doesn't. Would it have anything to do with using different guage wire? Although i doubt that.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

OK, let's make sure we're numbering the pins the same way. On the second picture you have a green wire on pin A, nothing on B or C, a gray wire on D, pink (could be red) on E, a larger gauge red on F and black on H.

You said that the cutout had a white wire and a gray wire. Figure out which is for open and which is for close - the other has to ground to complete the circuit. In other words, if you connect the white wire to power and the gray wire to ground the cutout will move one way - if it opens then we'll call the white wire the open wire, if it closes then we'll call the gray wire the open wire.

Connect the open wire to pin E where you currently have the pink/red wire. Connect the other cutout wire to pin A where you currently have the green wire. Connect pin D (currently the gray wire) and pin H (currently the black wire) to ground. Connect pin F (currently the larger red wire) to an ignition controlled power supply.

That's all there is to it. The other pins are only necessary if you want the switch lighted.

qwik3r

thanks for the quick reply. You can't see the white/grey wire in the pics but i didn't have white or grey wire so i just attached red wire to the white "open" wire. (i didn't test which was open or closed because i didn't understand how at the time, but if its reverse i'll just swap them) I attached a peice of green wire to the grey "close" wire. Both of those connect to a DC power connector as shown in one of the pics.

The red/white "open" wire is connected to pin E the green/grey connected to pin A. Pins D and H both have the black wire/ground. Pin F has the thicker gauge wire with a fuse in it because that is how it was originally wired on the other switch with a fuse, that goes to a positive. It sounds like to me we are on the same track how come its still not working?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Well, there's several things we can check. If you have a multimeter we can test the switch to make sure it's working properly.

Or we can test it with a test light if you leave the thick red wire connected to power and disconnect the other wires. Connect the clip of the test light to a good ground and use the tip to test for power. In this case you should have power at only pin F (where the wire is attached) when the switch is in the neutral (center) position. You should get power at both pins E and F when the switch is pushed to the UP position. You should have power at both pins A and F when the switch is pushed to the DOWN position.

Now reconnect the ground wires to pins D and H. Connect the clip of the test light to power and use the tip to test for ground. You should have ground on pins D and H in all switch positions. You should also have ground on pin A when the switch is pushed to the UP position. You should have ground on pin E when the switch is pushed to the DOWN position. In other words, pin A and pin E will each change between power and ground depending on which way the switch is pressed.

If these tests don't produce the expected results, first check that your choice of power and ground locations are working as expected then you can assume that the switch is damaged or has been modified by the previous owner.

If the tests work as expected then you should check the cutout itself and the wires to it. Connect the wires directly to power and ground to see if it opens and closes as expected.

qwik3r

i do not have a test light but i am going to disconnect the white/grey wire now from the switch and check if the cutout is still working by attaching power to them directly just in case. If it doesn't work well than i must have fried something, but if it does than i'll have to go out and get a test light and try again.