LED lighting

[Irving]

Hmmmm. The reviews on that switch pretty much say that it works great, then dies really quickly. I assume that's from people not using it with a relay? I didn't use a relay, and had the same experience a few years ago on my pantry light. I recently tried it again and it seems to be working fine. Having had that experience, I tried searching online for a more robust switch, but could not find one. If anyone has a lead on something better, I'm all ears. On my pantry I had a pressure switch that I repurposed from an old refrigerator, but it looked crappy and I could never get it to stay in place.

With all that said, can you link me to an appropriate relay switch? For the closet (and pantry) I'd probably just stick on the wall since no one will ever see them. I think I actually have a few 12v relays in my tool box, so I may already have one.

[00tec]

Hmmmm. The reviews on that switch pretty much say that it works great, then dies really quickly. I assume that's from people not using it with a relay? I didn't use a relay, and had the same experience a few years ago on my pantry light. I recently tried it again and it seems to be working fine. Having had that experience, I tried searching online for a more robust switch, but could not find one. If anyone has a lead on something better, I'm all ears. On my pantry I had a pressure switch that I repurposed from an old refrigerator, but it looked crappy and I could never get it to stay in place.

With all that said, can you link me to an appropriate relay switch? For the closet (and pantry) I'd probably just stick on the wall since no one will ever see them. I think I actually have a few 12v relays in my tool box, so I may already have one.

I remember discussing your pantry. It was about the same time I was working on my LED lit truck toolbox. My reed switch from radio shack had the "." worn off of the packaging. I figured I was good, until it stuck and almost caught fire. It worked great, enough to take a couple pics. After adding the relay in circuit, all was fine.

As far as I know, due to the nature of the switch, it isn't currently possible to get more amperage through them. Simple solution is to switch the 12v side of that supply, then relay the bulk of the power of that supply to the strip. It can be done out in the open, but you would have a significant amount of wires showing.

You could stuff the relay and relevant wire in a 2x4 project box and screw to the wall, or stuff it into a pop-in (post build) box and use a modified blank plate or a coax plate to hide it.

And yes, the relay I used and am describing is the same 4 or 5 pin Bosch automotive relay you likely have laying around.