Neon Switch
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HCF Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 24
Neon Switch
hello everybody,
I have a 1996 Honda Civic 2Dr coupe. I recently bought a bunch of blue neon interior lights. I wanted to be able to turn them on or off whenever i wanted, because they're illegal where i come from. So I decided to add a switch to my left side dash. The switch is nothing special, just a simple rocker switch. So I ran a power wire directly from the back of the switch to the battery, and another one from the ground port on the switch to the right front wheel well. I then ran the neon wires to the correct wire, and made sure the ground and power were set correctly. It is correctly grounded, because as soon as I put the power wire on the battery, the neon lit up, but i hadn't turned the switch on.. so I thought that I maybe wired something backwards, so I flipped the switch on, but the neon stayed on. I flipped the switch on and off, but the neon stayed on the whole time. I'm really not sure what's going on, and it's really bugging me. So if anyone has any hints, or can solve my problem, please do so! Thanks alot everyone!
I have a 1996 Honda Civic 2Dr coupe. I recently bought a bunch of blue neon interior lights. I wanted to be able to turn them on or off whenever i wanted, because they're illegal where i come from. So I decided to add a switch to my left side dash. The switch is nothing special, just a simple rocker switch. So I ran a power wire directly from the back of the switch to the battery, and another one from the ground port on the switch to the right front wheel well. I then ran the neon wires to the correct wire, and made sure the ground and power were set correctly. It is correctly grounded, because as soon as I put the power wire on the battery, the neon lit up, but i hadn't turned the switch on.. so I thought that I maybe wired something backwards, so I flipped the switch on, but the neon stayed on. I flipped the switch on and off, but the neon stayed on the whole time. I'm really not sure what's going on, and it's really bugging me. So if anyone has any hints, or can solve my problem, please do so! Thanks alot everyone!
Super Cereal Admin
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,081
From: Lexington, KY
Is it a two-post or a three-post switch?
If it's a two-post, ground all the neon lights wherever, run all the powers to one post on the switch, then run a fused wire from the other post to the battery (or run a wire from the second post to a fused power source).
If it's a three-post, do the same thing (using the top and bottom posts) and run a ground wire from the center post to a good ground.
I have a feeling you wired something incorrectly since the only way for the lights to stay on like you're describing is a short-to-power.
If it's a two-post, ground all the neon lights wherever, run all the powers to one post on the switch, then run a fused wire from the other post to the battery (or run a wire from the second post to a fused power source).
If it's a three-post, do the same thing (using the top and bottom posts) and run a ground wire from the center post to a good ground.
I have a feeling you wired something incorrectly since the only way for the lights to stay on like you're describing is a short-to-power.
Super Cereal Admin
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,081
From: Lexington, KY
I'll see what I can do 
Okay, so you're going to take the negative wires from the neon tubes and run them to a good ground (basically, any bolt that goes into the body of the car will work). Then, run all the positive wires from the neon tubes to one wire, which should run to one post on the back of the switch. Run another wire from the other post to a power source (in this case, either a fuse box or the battery). As long as there's a fuse somewhere in the circuit, you're safe.
That's assuming it's a two-post switch. If it's a switch that incorporates a light, it's most likely a three-post switch. If that's the case, use the posts on either end of the switch for your power wires (wire it just like a two-post switch), and simply run a ground wire to the center post.
If that's how you already have the wires run, then you're either looking at a bad switch like kanarrjl said or you're getting power somewhere along the line where it shouldn't be getting power, which basically bypasses the switch (short-to-power).
Okay, so you're going to take the negative wires from the neon tubes and run them to a good ground (basically, any bolt that goes into the body of the car will work). Then, run all the positive wires from the neon tubes to one wire, which should run to one post on the back of the switch. Run another wire from the other post to a power source (in this case, either a fuse box or the battery). As long as there's a fuse somewhere in the circuit, you're safe.
That's assuming it's a two-post switch. If it's a switch that incorporates a light, it's most likely a three-post switch. If that's the case, use the posts on either end of the switch for your power wires (wire it just like a two-post switch), and simply run a ground wire to the center post.
If that's how you already have the wires run, then you're either looking at a bad switch like kanarrjl said or you're getting power somewhere along the line where it shouldn't be getting power, which basically bypasses the switch (short-to-power).
Recognized HCF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 10,023
Put a fuse in first, in your new wire to the battery, have the fuse near the battery. Near the battery because a fuse only protects from shorts in the wiring after the fuse.
If you don't have a fuse and miswire the switch, the wiring will catch on fire.
If you don't have a fuse and miswire the switch, the wiring will catch on fire.
Last edited by mk378; Jan 21, 2010 at 04:46 AM.