19mm Push Button Switch Socket — 5-Pin Prewired Harness

Q: What's the difference between a 5-pin and a 2-pin push button switch?
A 2-pin switch only handles the switching contacts. A 5-pin adds power and ground for the built-in LED plus separate normally-open and normally-closed circuits, so one switch can indicate its state and control the circuit at the same time. The 19mm metal push button range this socket fits uses the 5-pin layout.

Q: What does normally open and normally closed actually mean?
A normally-open contact carries no current until the switch is pressed, then closes and lets current flow. Normally-closed does the opposite: it carries current until the switch is pressed, then breaks the circuit. Most auxiliary switching uses normally-open. The socket wires both, so either mode is ready to hook up.

Q: Which wire goes where?
White to switch power, red to LED positive, black to LED negative or earth, blue to the normally-closed circuit, green to the normally-open circuit. The colour code matches the standard 19mm 5-pin metal push button layout, so it lines up with the generic wiring diagrams for this switch class.

Q: Do I need this socket if I can solder straight to the switch pins?
You can solder directly to the pins, but the socket lets you swap or replace the switch without cutting or unsoldering the loom. On a dash-mounted setup where the switch is likely to come out again for other work, the socket saves an hour of rework each time.

Q: How do I fuse the circuit?
Fuse the power feed at the source (the battery, isolator or fuse block), not at the switch. Size the fuse to the load the switch drives, not to the switch itself. On most auxiliary setups the switch carries signal-level current only and the load current runs through a separate relay, so the switch does not need to be sized to the load.

Q: Will this fit any 19mm push button switch?
It fits 19mm metal push button switches built to the 5-pin rear terminal pattern the Series of Metal Push Button Switches range uses. Switches with 2, 3 or 4 pins will not line up, and 22mm anti-vandal switches use a different socket entirely.

Q: What does the LED do?
The LED is the illuminated ring around the button that shows the switch is powered up. The socket carries the LED's positive and negative on separate wires, so the LED can be wired to switched power (only lights when the accessory is on) or to a permanent 12V feed (an indicator light for finding the switch in the dark).

Q: What voltage is this rated for?
The socket carries whatever the wires and switch are rated for. The 19mm metal push button switch it plugs into is a 12V DC accessory-circuit component. Do not run 240V mains through it, as the switch and socket are not rated or certified for mains voltage.

Q: Will this handle the current for a winch or a big inverter?
No. The switch and socket are rated for accessory-level signal current, not the 200 to 500A a winch draws or the 200A a 2000W inverter pulls. Wire the load through a relay or contactor and use this switch to trigger the relay's coil instead of carrying the load itself.