Wiring up waterproof switch and driver

Ok this might be a dumb question but i havnt seen this talked about much:

how do you wire up the batteries to a driver and switch, in my case a kd 8x7135 V2. I dont know how the switch enables the driver to "cycle" through the different modes ie... high, low, SOS and so on.. should i be using a clicky style momentary switch and if so where the heck do you find them. i have found only one so far here. Also this light its going to be going under water to about 100 feet so the switch has got to be really waterproof


i think my diagram is how it might look....any help here is greatly appreciated!!!

That will work. You can put the switch anywhere between the batteries and driver ( + or -) or even between the batteries.

These drivers generally change modes by turning off then quickly turning back on.

Don't use a clicky switch. The pressure at 100 feet would turn your light on, and keep the button pushed in. So you wont be able to turn it off, or switch modes. Magnetic switch, twisty, or even the old flickswitches works better for divelights

ok thanks for the helpful tips guys. jorn are you sure that it will click on at depth, i have never heard of this happening

BlackAngel-SCUBA said:

ok thanks for the helpful tips guys. jorn are you sure that it will click on at depth, i have never heard of this happening

Click to expand...

Have you ever seen of a commercially available dive light with a clicky switch?

Yes im sure. Have been freediving/spearfishing for many years and it always happens when i go too deep with a normal (non dive) light. My divelights are twisty for a reason.

BlackAngel-SCUBA said:

ok thanks for the helpful tips guys. jorn are you sure that it will click on at depth, i have never heard of this happening

Click to expand...

If you've seen what happens to an empty plastic water-bottle as you descend you can imagine what happens to a press switch. That's not to say they are not used, for example on dive watches but you must be careful to consider how deep you plan to go and what the pressure will be doing to the switch at that depth.

Typical torch switches that operate at depth are toggle with rubber boots; screw-ups with O rings; twist switches with O rings; magnetic switches with magnet and sensor separated by a bulkhead; piezo switches and no doubt others.

Some years ago we used a marine starter press switch with a thick rubber boot down the the 20M depth we were diving. I can only imagine the pressure on the angular sides was opposing the pressure on the top, however it it worked and lucky because at the time we hadn't even thought about pressure on a press switch...

BTW, the reed switch is not for ON/OFF, it was isolating the brass recharging bolt from shorting out during the dive in salt water. It was a sealed unit that eventually corroded away on the inside due to contained humidity which condensed and pooled (don't make fully sealed units unless you want them to be disposable!).

A neat trick some night divers use is to screw the screw-switch of their UK face-mask torches to just before it switches on and as you hit the water and descend it comes on automatically with the pressure, and again off as you approach the surface. First couple of metres. One less thing to worry about during the dive.

Moral of the story, think about what pressure is going to do to your switch.

This is my first light build. I've spent some time looking at options and parts but have one question. I'm planning to build a canister with a modded maglite using a 1200 lumen 5 cree drop in module. I want to mount a piezo switch in the head but haven't a clue how to wire it with the drop in unit. I have no experience with schematics or circuitry so can someone give me directions for dummies on how to wire the switch in? here's a link to the module if it helps.

http://dx.com/p/5-cree-r2-5-mode-12...drop-in-led-module-52-7mm-42mm-8-4v-max-35242

TERRY76 said:

This is my first light build. I've spent some time looking at options and parts but have one question. I'm planning to build a canister with a modded maglite using a 1200 lumen 5 cree drop in module. I want to mount a piezo switch in the head but haven't a clue how to wire it with the drop in unit. I have no experience with schematics or circuitry so can someone give me directions for dummies on how to wire the switch in? here's a link to the module if it helps.

http://dx.com/p/5-cree-r2-5-mode-12...drop-in-led-module-52-7mm-42mm-8-4v-max-35242

Click to expand...

Check out the search function on this site.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...1200-Lumen-2D-Maglite-Mod&highlight=klem+1200