Switch-Pros SP8100 Switch Panel Information & Discussion

Anyone know if you can run 2 30" light bars on 1 switch? Total watts=240

 

Watts Law:
Watts=Volts(Amps)
240=12(Amps)
Amps=20

So you would have a 20A draw with both light bars. Not sure if you have the 8100, or 9100. But the 9100 has 4(ea) 35A circuits, and 4(ea) 20A circuits. So you would be fine using one of the 35A circuits.

 

Thanks for help.

 

Anyone else have an issue where the unit will just randomly cut out and then be in-op for a period between several minutes and several days, then randomly spring back to life like nothing happened?

Been chasing gremlins trying to get it, and even Switchpros themselves are perplexed.

Thought it was a loose 12v+ stud bolt, so that got tightened, then thought it was a bad connection on the blue wire, which fixed it for a little while. Now it is back to being finicky again.

I have it wired in line with my bluesea fuse block on a powertray which is a common setup, so hoping someone else has this issue.

Odd thing is it seems like it is temperature affected. Seems on cold/wet days is when it has the issue. It all worked fine when it was in the 60s and sunny, but now that it snapped to 40s and wet, it is having issues.

 

It really does sound like a contact issue. When it's cold metal shrinks and looses contact. There are switches that can go faulty and have similar effect. Space Shuttle had the same issue where a switch would lose contact and give an error when they filled the tank with liquid hydrogen, but would work perfectly when empty. Took them a few cycles to figure out what was happening.

Maybe remove the bluesea as a variable? Have you used a DMM to probe continuity around the system?

 

So I have my HAM radio connected to the blue sea amongst other stuff, and even when the switchpro is dead, the radio still works just fine and shows the same voltage as my scanguage. That tells me continuity of the system as a whole is fine. The ONLY thing I haven't checked / retorqued / recrimped at this point is to replace the fuse tap connected to the blue wire. I redid the connection, but maybe the fuse tap is bad and it finally shit the bed... a cheap $1 chinese part is a likely failure mode. May have to go source one today at lunch.

I'm thinking the issue is on the input side of the switchpro because of the bluesea working just fine.

-Fuse tap to blue wire faulty
-some switchpros had an issue where the seal around the power stud corroded internally and more or less fried the board. The fact that the issue is intermittent tells me this is a slim possibility.

Temperature is very likely a factor at this point because all connections are solid at this point. Worked fine all saturday/sunday as I bounced it around a desert track, worked monday and on my way to work yesterday, then on the way home is when I noticed it went in-op again (about the time a cold/wet front moved in)

 

I thought I’d let you guys know this now exists. I asked Tandem to mount my switch in the front sunglasses holder and this is what they came up with: https://tandem-offroad.com/products/mount-for-9100-switch-pro

 

Any one know how to remove the bulk connector off the main box? Is white switch up or down? what a PITA to remove!

 

Where?

 

Switch Pro main control box. Although I figured it out. There was a lot of corrosion inside. Going to celan it really good and use some dielectric grease to keep water out.

 

This seems to be part for the course.

 

Most commonly it’s from people mounting them flat with the connection facing up meaning anything that drops in from the top
Stays in

Switch-Pros even goes to length to say
Do not lay flat it will corrode

But alas.


I’ve had mine for a couple years now
Both 8100 and 9100

No corrosion and it’s mounted against the bulkhead in the engine bay quite easily

 

Mine isn't vertical because there's no room for me to do so. I do, however, have it covered so that little to no water gets in. I've had one melt and the replacement is showing corrosion in places. I don't understand how you can market an item to the off-road community and not expect it to get wet, muddy, or whatever.

 

All of the systems to include spod are massively flawed in how they are able to be exposed to the elements

They are both very susceptible to any form of outside elements

But I think the Switch-Pros May be a bit more susceptible to temperatures creating cracks in the housing seals over time

But the Switch-Pros is more safe in turbulent off-road heavy use as its protected from vibration by being solid state.


There is no perfect switching system in my opinion but Switch-Pros is still by far the best.

And honestly
All high end products require maintenance and cleaning

As for the melting thing
I had a similar problem and Switch-Pros replaced my unit under warranty so in my opinion no harm no foul

 

So out of curiosity I'm wondering what reasons you have for thinking that the Switch Pro is the best. Not trying to start a debate, just wanting some differing opinions.

To explain further: When I was looking at switch deals I wanted the sPOD. I based that mostly on the form factor. I liked that the wiring goes into the box and there isn't a huge plug hanging off it with unused wiring. On the same note, I like that the sPOD accepted the ground wiring as well. I also liked the way the box closed up. Not perfect, but it just appeared a better solution. Finally, I also liked the touchscreen.

What finally budged me onto the Switch Pro was SDHQ's switch panel solution. It looks OEM and it's pretty awesome. To deal with my perceived short-comings with the Swith-Pro, I constructed a cover out of acrylic and used distribution blocks. It works, but it looks like a rat's nest and takes up a lot of room.

Now sPOD has a Tacoma-specific switch panel mount..... I'm almost as the point where I want to remove the Switch Pro and replace it. So I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

I emailed switchpros about some strange issues I’m having with my unit. Currently waiting to hear back from them. But in the mean time I was wondering if any of you have experienced any of these issues and how did you fix it.

here is the email I sent quickly explaining what’s happening.


Good evening,


I was wondering if you could help me troubleshoot my sp8300. Over the last few weeks I have been having some strange issues that have seemed to develop from nowhere.


I have been running the sp8300 for a while now with no issues. About 3 weeks ago the unit didn’t power on when I started my truck none of my switches would activate any of my lights or accessories even lights set up to battery. After checking the connections I was unable to find any issues. Later that day the problem seem to resolve itself just as it showed up. Haven’t had that issue occur since.


Last week I had the Bluetooth activated via my iPhone the voltage that was showing was 8.3 while the truck was running. it was concerning because normally the voltmeter on the switch pro is pretty accurate. when camping this is how I check the condition of my battery. I connected a voltmeter to the battery and it was charging at 14.2. After once again troubleshooting what I could I found no issues. This too seems to resolve itself and was getting correlating readings.


Now tonight I can’t seem to get the bluetooth from the switch pro to connect to my iPhone. With this issue I didn’t know what to troubleshoot. I restarted my phone, downloaded the app to another phone and the switch pro won’t show up in the devices. Unfortunately this problem has not seemed to resolve itself yet. I am able to use all the functions on the in cab mounted control only bluetooth is not working.


I was wondering if similar issues have come up. Do they sound like wire connection issues? I was wondering if you had any suggestions on things to check or another way to get the bluetooth to connect to my phone.

 

Short of typing a bunch of tech stuff
The easiest way I can explain this is as follows

I was gonna buy an SPoD
Even toured their shop and met the owner

Super cool experience nice people ect ect

Switch-Pros on the other hand
I saw online
Made a comment on their post
And then they emailed me and we opened a business dialogue and 48hr later I had two of their units at my door and shortly soon after in my truck.

The simplicity of the wiring made it quick
Easy to organize
No need to find a hole to fit a huge box in an already tight engine bay
And room to move the whole module into the cab if I really decided to do that.
Not as easy to move the Spod... still doable
But not as easy.
Ontop Switch-Pros also told me they can cut you custom length harnesses to order meaning length of this or that wire won’t hold back your choice of placement.
I’m unsure if Spod will do the same without losing the warranty.

Additionally
My first 8100 did have a catastrophic failure that I wasn’t even around to stop
(Thanks Toyota lexington)
And it fully melted in a couple of places and two things immediately happens

Switch pros jumped to the plate to help.
And all my lights accessories and other items on my truck were all checked for damage.
What we found was this

Head unit- nuked
Everything else in the whole truck?
Protected and perfectly fine.

On the other hand
I know Spods will fail under the same conditions as the Switch-Pros

But
Do you know what will happen when it does?
Will all your stuff be protected
Will your unit get warranty?

I don’t know... but I’m gonna stick with Switch-Pros



And this shouldn’t matter at all
But I’ll add it for conversation

I also worked at Intel in research and development for 2 years building stuff like this for computers and then 6 years in the Marines working on this level of tech in satellites and communications vehicles and I as well carry a degree in various aspects of computer design and engineering. And after having both units from Switch-Pros and Spod in my hand...
I’ll stay switch pros for life

 

If it was me
I’d do this

Check the Switch-Pros add a fuse in your cab and replace it with a freshie

Pull all the cables for the Switch-Pros and check by hand and eye for visible cable damage or discoloring.

Pull both plugs on the head unit and clean with a dry toothbrush where needed.

Reinstall into your vehicle as if it was a new device following all Switch-Pros install instructions.

If problem persist
Then you’ve completed all the basic reasonable troubleshooting and all other issues will likely need resolving with help from Switch-Pros troubleshooting.

 

Additionally
Go take your battery to Vatozone and have them charge it overnight

If your battery is failing it will make the Switch-Pros act funny to protect the power needed for the truck to run

Switch-Pros will always cut its power if it’s putting a strain on the vehicle
(When set up properly)

 

Thanks for the information. And thanks for not getting technical. It would have mostly gone right over my head.