Switch starts fire when off??????

[bball09124 10+ year member]

So I installed some new switches that i was planning on running to the amps remote wires and I was testing them to make sure they work. I test with switch on, the switch lights up, the voltage meter hooked up to it comes on and reads 12.6 with car off. I test with switch off, the wire starts to heat up, and burn where it meets the battery terminal. Same thing with the other switch.

These are blue light up switches, it has spade terminals coming out of it. I wired the ACC to the POS and then to the battery. I wired the GRD to the negative terminal of the battery.

I know little to nothing about electrical, can someone help me out?

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[Lil Poot 5,000+ posts]

I know little to nothing about electrical, can someone help me out?

research, which is easy online, or have someone else do it then

 

[jer_stud56 10+ year member]

were you touching power to ground? That shorts out the battery = smoke/fire?

Sounds like you were shorting out the battery. Hook up the ground to the chassis of the car, not the battery.

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

Perhaps it is because I wired the ACC to the POS instead of the NEG?

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

ACC needs to be wired to a switched 12v source...

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

nG

 

[Crzy 10+ year member]

sounds like the wire is grounding out somewhere? maybe defective switch try another if u have it laying around

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

I know that is what happens when you touch the pos and neg together, creates a short and starts fire. I was not doing this of course, but all evidence points towards a short somewhere. That is what I cannot understand.

 

[silvercookie 5,000+ posts]

you have to connect positive to the positive and then the acc dirrectly to the ground spade.

i had the same switches in red and thats what you have to do.

pos to pos. then acc directly to ground or negative.

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

ACC needs to be wired to a switched 12v source...
//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

nG

I wanted the switch to light up only when flipped on, I figured wiring the ACC to the POS would allow me to do this.

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

you have to connect positive to the positive and then the acc dirrectly to the ground spade.
i had the same switches in red and thats what you have to do.

pos to pos. then acc directly to ground or negative.

i tried this and the switch does not even light up when turned on. can anybody help me?

 

[chrisdwnng 10+ year member]

If it is a three pronged switch, which it should be, connect the accessory wire to the middle spade, take the other wire going to your amp and connect it to one of the other spades. Then find a spot to ground a wire, and hook that wire up to the last spade on the switch.

 

[Got_Bass89 10+ year member]

Why did you hook acc to power? Should be 3 prongs right? Pos Acc Ground. Easy Pos to Bat pos. Neg to ground and acc to your amps.

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

Originally I thought the ACC needed to be wired to the ACC already in the car, like Ngsm said, in order for the light to come on. But I was incorrect, now I got it and the switches look great. Thanks for your help.