Thanks for the heads up guys...Now I have to check the aftermarket toggles and see if the script is inked on there{won't light up with a source from the back} or it's made like the factory toggle and simply needs a backlight...So they make an LED for the switch ??

 

Thought I’d chime in here, as I recently did all of this. Granted it was a little expensive, but I really like the factory look.

I followed Ralph77’s procedure for the ext idle and applied to all the switches. Thanks Ralph!



Got some OEM Fog light switches, relay for the ext idle. You will need the OEM pigtails also!




All mounted and wired.




Backlit along with dash lights.


There were a couple things I came across...

- The aftermarket faceplates have white plastic between the lamps. As you see, the “on” light appears to be on when the backlight is on. I just took some black hobby paint to that plastic and they are totally separate now (sorry no pic of that).

- superbrightleds.com has the LED’s to replace both bulbs. NEO3 and NEO4 are the sizes. They are polarized, so I got one working and marked the tops with a sharpie so I knew which way was correct. Make sure they’re seated well, I had a couple wiggle loose.

- I used stage lighting gel and glued it in front of the faceplate lettering and matched the dash color as best as I could. The OEM bulbs have that little cap over them for color, but it won’t work on the LED’s

Hope this helps!

 

So I guess I had half a good idea about the switches. LOL.
If I had checked at night I guess I would have seen that the indicator light would have looked like it was on too with just the headlights on.
I bought this to run extra fog lights switches in my overhead console.

I went through my collection of fog light switches, picked the best ones (not melted on the inside), took them apart, cleaned them up, and put them back together.
Since I might run lights in the rear I sourced a couple of rear fog light switches. They come on European XJ's.
See how the symbol is different. Thought it would be cool.

But a rear fog light operates differently. Not a simple on/off but more spring loaded like a rear wiper.
So I had to do what I did with the Ext Idle switch I was trying to make.
Just use the toggle with the rest from a regular fog light switch.
I bought a few bulbs from Super Bright LED's to see if they would fit and work.
Best I could tell from the internet was that they were NEO 3's and 4's too.
NEO4-BHP: 4mm NEO4-xHP Blue
NEO3-NWHP: 3mm NEO3-xHP Natural White
NEO3-WHP: 3mm NEO3-xHP Cool White
NEO3-WWHP: 3mm NEO3-xHP Warm White
I wanted to try and figure out which white one would best resemble a factory switch or which one I liked better.
The problem was that one fit in there fine. Nice, tight, and worked.
The other fit but not tight. Had to be in there just right to work. Was thinking if I hit a bump something that it might just move enough to stop working.
I think it was the blue bulb but not sure.
I put the project aside cause I still have to figure out where I am going to put my aux fuse box and the central location of where my relays are going to go.
Also the battery cable for the fuse box still needs to be made plus all the other wiring.
And just so you guys know. Fuse #6 in the Junction Box runs all the dash lights with the headlights on.
So if you don't want to splice into orange wires on existing switches you can fuse tap into that.
I figure use some sort of a bridge to connect the orange wires from all the switches and then one from there to the fuse tap to the Junction Box.
I was able to determine that the light when the headlights are on draws .12 amps and half that if you turn the dimmer all the way down.
So I don't really see any problems with overloading the circuit.
But electrical work is a little over my head so I guess I will find out for sure when I do this.
Will finish it someday. LOL.

 

You guys have me digging out my switch panel project to complete.

I hadn't noticed the indicator light bleed, quickly fixed with a small piece of electrical tape. If it falls off I'll paint it or something. I bought a bunch of t3 neo and t4 neo leds off ebay. I used white for backlight and green for indicator. It turns the orange indictors green when lit.

I noticed another thing I don't like about the after market is the lens used for the indicator, they're way different from the factory one. I might try to see if I can swap the lenses around.

 

Thanks for the fantastic info guys..Veeb0rg, I didn't think about the switches not being backlit until you brought it to my attention..I haven't got that far into it yet but I wouldn't have liked the result in the end without being able to see it at night...
You've all got some great craftsmanship going on there I'd be happy with any of those switch panels... Nodak1I like that 7 switch panel it looks great...And Ralph that overhead console switch panel is a great idea as well it would be cool to have those up there....I have no USB charger port anywhere and that's why I went with the one I did.. I might pull the back ashtray from the console and add one there too...
Ralph I had seen in one of your past posts where you stated that there was an unused fog light switch connector on vehicles that didn't come with factory fog lights so that's another bit of good info if anyone is looking for the fog light switch connectors..
Well now my boneyard item list is getting bigger and bigger I want to get these done before I install the interior back in the vehicle..I can't thank all of you enough for showing what's going on and how it's done...

 

You guys got me to install the switch panel i'd had sitting around for a while. Here's what mine looks like. (the blueish color is from the shifter indicator.)

 

My goal is to keep the Jeep stock looking. The overhead console bezel was bought from Shapeways. Designed by a guy here named WizardPC. But he has not been active for awhile here. And his work was the first I ever saw making bezels and whatnot for extra switches.

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/gctent

Not going to lie. The overhead console bezel was not cheap but I really wanted it so...

https://www.shapeways.com/product/LT...15302&li=shops

He also makes one for the contura switches IIRC.
Another reason I liked it was cause it went in the garage door opener part of the overhead which was of no use to me so....
I would have went with the bezels with extra switches in the regular area but I was able to score a 4 slot Mopar one.

And while not an American one, European one cause they have the extra slot for the rear fog lights over there, still pretty proud of my score.
Plus all my technology being older I really don't need a USB port. Power plug serves me just fine.
And truth be told I probably only really need 2 slots out of the 4 in the overhead bezel.
But I might wire them all up anyway. Relays too.
But I also might just cover up the 2 holes with blanks also. Now the blank on an XJ can not be removed.
But TJ's have blanks that can be. And since I am almost positive that they use the same fog light switch they should fit in an XJ bezel.
The 4 pieces in the lower right


And yeah I have yet to come across a Jeep in the boneyard, '97 to '01, that did not have fog lights and not have the pigtail behind the blank.
So finding them should not be a problem.

 

Awesome build!

 

Well, I made a boneyard run and got some fog light switch connectors.. Enough to get the job done.. Notice I didn't say fog light switches...LOL.. They were picked clean..Guess I went at a bad time.. The inventory gets switched out every few weeks..So I ordered up some new factory fog light switches which is probably the way to go anyhow and I'm playing the waiting game on them coming in..
In the meantime I'll throw up some "in progress" pics of the electrical chaos going on inside the cabin.. Amps are going under the rear seat.. Finding two amps that fit under there is a task on it's own..Between the back up camera, stereo system wiring, amp cooling system, and the aftermarket heated seat harnesses I'm in deep...

 

So with the amps under the rear seat comes the concerns of just how much air gets around them...I know there have been plenty of guys stating the amps did fine under there but I need to play it safe.. What I came up with for the amp cooling is two stinger fans that will move the air in and out of the rear seat cavity.. Air intake is on the left.. Air exhaust is on the right... The fans will be run by a TM-1 temperature controller so I don't need to babysit how hot they're getting ...The TM-1 can be set at any temp for the trigger and will come on about 30% increments depending on what's needed...What that means is you won't have a full voltage roar going on with the two fans unless it's needed...

 

I measured what I had to work with and came up with some dimensions that would be needed to fit... As it turns out the 99-07 chevy silverado dash vents would fit nicely in the area needed...So the modifications were made...


The power cable and signal wiring will also pass through the openings as pictured to get to the rear seat area...

 

Some careful carpet trimming makes the vents look like they belong there..


With the carpet installed It's pretty much a done deal on the amp wiring and cooling system..So I have a Pioneer 4 channel amp running the JBL component speakers, the crossovers, and the MTX sub amp all stuffed under the seat..

 

 

I am liking what I'm seeing here! Now, I'm gonna have to go back to the beginning and catch up. I've started my build and resto-mod, and you've got some great things happening I may have to emulate.

Todd

 

Carpet goes back in... Back seat finds it's home...And the stereo is a done deal under the seat...