To wire a toggle switch with 2 prongs, first, you need to connect your grounds. Meaning, connect the negative terminal of the battery to the negative wire of the device you are trying to power. Then take two wires for each prong of the switch, and connect one to the battery’s positive terminal, and the other to the positive wire of the device. For safety, you can also add a fuse to this circuit and that’s it!
In this article, we will discuss how to wire a toggle switch with 2 prongs.
How Does A 2-Prong Toggle Switch Work?
A 2-prong toggle switch works by a simple mechanism. The toggle, or lever, is connected to a spring. When the toggle is moved to the “on” position, the spring pushes the contacts together, completing the circuit. When the toggle is moved to the “off” position, the spring pulls the contacts apart, opening the circuit.
Now, one common misconception is that the two prongs are to connect to the positive and negative terminals of the battery. But this is completely wrong and if you try this, it can cause an accident.
As we have said before, the toggle switch is used to open and close a circuit. So, the prongs must be connected to either the positive or the negative wire.
The picture above provides a better understanding of how a two-pronged toggle switch works.
How To Wire A Toggle Switch With 2 Prongs
Wiring a toggle switch with 2 prongs is simpler than you thought. Even if you have never done any sort of wiring work before, you can do it very easily and on your own. All you need is a basic understanding of how the switch works and some tools.
Tools Needed
First things first, grab your 2-prong toggle switch, a 12-volt battery, a wire connector, the device you will be powering (like a fan or light), and a fuse (optional).
Procedure
- Connect the battery negative wire to the negative wire of the device you are powering.
- You can use a wire connector for a proper connection.
- Now, bring out your two-prong toggle switch.
- Connect two wires to both of its prongs.
- You need to connect one of the wires to the positive wire of the device and the other to the positive terminal of the battery.
- Now, turn the switch on to see if the connection works.
- For safety purposes, you can also add a fuse to this circuit.
- Connect the fuse to the wire that goes to the battery from the toggle switch.
In the procedure, we connected the switch to the positive wire and another connection went to the battery from the switch. But if you want you can do the same with the ground.
Here is a video for your convenience-
How to wire a 2-prong 12v rocker switch
Tips For Wiring a Toggle Switch With 2 Prongs
Although wiring a 2-prong toggle switch is very simple, you can use some tips to make the procedure more efficient.
- Before working on wiring, always turn off the power to the circuit. This ensures your safety and prevents any accidents. Make sure to follow proper procedures for turning off the electricity in your home.
- Also, understand how the switch works before you start working on it.
- If you wire a light switch, wrap the wire around its terminal screws clockwise. By doing so, the loop on the wire’s end tends to close when the screw is tightened. If you put it over the screw counterclockwise, tightening the screw could cause the connection to loosen.
- Draw a wiring diagram of the circuit before making the connections.
- Use proper color coding while wiring. The positive connection is usually red and the negative connection is black.
Conclusion
So, to sum up, knowing how to wire a toggle switch with 2 prongs can come in very handy in many scenarios. And the best part is that it is very simple. Still, if you are not sure what to do and how to pull it off, get some help.