Cheap Switch Panels and Perfecting my Light Game

Hey all, I wanted to pick your brains about some upgrades I am thinking of making to my electrical/lighting system. I was cruising through old posts earlier and I found references to ebay switch panels that got me interested. I know a lot of people use Switch Pros controllers for their lights and that they work well. But, it seems with a little searching you can find cheaper alternatives that may work just as well.

I have been wanting to add some ditch lights and an air compressor under the hood, but I HATE fucking with running wires through the firewall. I have done this for my AUX reverse lights as well as my front light bar, but the thought of going through it again has made me hold off. Enter this little number -

$88 6 Gang Switch Panel, NIRIDER 12V Universal Circuit Control System with Fuse Relay Box Button Switch Pod Touch Switch Box for Truck Wrangler 4Runner ATV UTV SUV Car Boat

Nirider 6 Gang Switch Panel.

I figure that for the cost of two more relays, two more switches that match the OEM ones, etc, I am pretty much at this price. I can hook it up to my AUX fuse panel and add things down the road more easily. Plus I can get rid of the rats nest of wires I already have in there and eliminate old relays I have zip tied all over the place.

So, my question is, why don't more people go this route? 20% of the cost of the Switch Pros controller and lots of options (this is just the one I liked most with the best ratings). It just seems like a much cleaner way of going about adding additional 12v accessories that we love. Obviously you can't run fridges, winches, inverters and other high draw items right off this, but it takes care of pretty much all your switchable light needs. My only complaint is that I haven't found one that has orange/matching illumination or momentary switches.

 

The concept is great. But why risk purchasing cheap electronics?

I know that similar "quality" products are expensive.

 

Sure, I get not wanting to get a crappy product, but at some point you are just paying more for a name. Switch Pros doesn’t claim to be US made and looks damn similar to a lot of “Chinese junk” I’ve seen on eBay/Amazon.

But, there are more reputable options that are still much more affordable. Here is a step up, American made from a reputable company. Whelen 8 Function Power Control Center.

I guess I am just excited about the possibilities for these things. I think I am going to try it and I will post back with results!

 

Drill paint and grommet a 3/4 hole in passenger foot well and live the easy life.

 

Some products you actually do get what you pay for. While I would never pay $800 for this product. I do feel confident that its 800 times better than Amazon / EBay.

https://www.4x4spod.com/8_circuit_se_system_w_hd_panel_toyota_tacoma

 

holy shit. That thing is amazing! Kinda in a whole different league. I can’t justify the price either, but damn I wish I could!

 

I’m pretty sure Switch Pros are made in the US. They have a Made in USA logo on their website and I thought I’ve read before they do almost everything in house.

 

Looks like they’re using the same MicTuning relay box I got off Amazon , unwired and without relays, for $13. If you look close you will see that 5 of the relays are standard Bosch style relay slots and 6th one is a non standard relay which is my only complaint about this wire-it-yourself box.

 

Cool switch with remote can be found here! (not bad for $50 compared to $550 for the switch pro, and the best part is you don't need to run wires through the firewall)

It seems to have the relays built in. You can do ditch lights, bed lights, light bar and backup lights as long as they're below the amp rating, 60A total. The unit is not waterproof, so you might want to install it in a WP box like

$22 Bud Industries CU-3285 Plastic Style A Utility Box 8.25" L x 5.15" W x 3.12" H, Black

this. Remote is rated for 100', but may lose distance if installed in said box...

 

Well, I decided to bite the bullet and try this. Ripped out my old switches, relays, and gross wiring and got the thing mounted and installed. Pics to come, but so far she is working perfectly. Like the cleanness of the install, actually prompting me to go back and improve my aux fuse box wiring. Once everything is really clean I will take pictures and post them here.

In the meantime, I do have two switches I am willing to give away to the good people of Tacoma World, just pay to ship. DM me if interested

 

@andrewprime1 I've ordered one of these and was wanting to keep my OEM style switches. Does it look like instead of using the switch panel that it comes with I can instead hook up my switches to it and just use the relay box?

 

Possible, yes, recommended, no. Everything is pretty tightly wrapped up in this unit, kind of the beauty of it for me. If you want to get some of the clean aesthetics/all in one capability of this, but you want your own switched you could buy the MicTuning relay box off Amazon as someone else commented. Add a bunch of relays and some wiring work and you have this with the ability to use whichever switch you want.

 

Gotcha, yea that WAS the route I had started down (and even ordered all the product for) to build my own Fuse/Relay box, but couldn't find something to house it all in to make the fuse block portion waterproof as well. Saw these for cheaper than all my parts were going to be and thought I'd get that and instead of plugging in the switch panel just connect that wire to my OEM style switches I already have... But you don't think I can connect to that bundle of wires that is going through my firewall anyways?