Bonnet switch broken, need help to source. (1 Viewer)

[XRN]

I have a broken alarm bonnet switch on my Hymer. The alarm system is a Cobra and unusually the bonnet switch has 2 spade connections, one spade obviously goes to earth through the mounting screw and the other to the central pin. The 2 cables going to it from the alarm loom are blue and orange so not the normal single earth wire and stupidly I disconnected them from the switch before checking which one went where!! My problem is I cannot find a switch the same anywhere and I'm not sure which terminal is blue and which orange. If anyone has a similar system fitted can you advise which spade is which? Secondly are these switches available, and last would it still work if I replaced it with a single spade switch? Photos show the switch. The connection with the loop on is where the screw fits to the body and the other goes to the pin.

 

[irnbru]

Hope you get it sorted soon. Someone will know, just bumping lil they come along.

 

[pappajohn]

Easy checked if you have a multi meter but having a pair of wires I suspect it isn't an earth switch, it simply breaks the live wire....12v+ feed..12v+ return.
Put a meter, set to continuity/ohms, on one terminal then touch the other.
Repeat with the pin pushed in.

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[jockaneezer]

Looks like it might have the option to be switched NO or NC, activated either when pushed in or let out. I think you could use a generic one as it will probably need to be activated when the bonnet is open.

 

[TheBig1]

i thought it was one terminal normally open the other normally closed. so one wire is connected to ground till the bonnet opens and vice versa

 

[pappajohn]

View attachment 210074 Looks like it might have the option to be switched NO or NC, activated either when pushed in or let out. I think you could use a generic one as it will probably need to be activated when the bonnet is open.

i thought it was one terminal normally open the other normally closed. so one wire is connected to ground till the bonnet opens and vice versa

But why are there a pair of wires connected to the two spade terminals.
The switch is earthed via the copper tag to the body and would only need one wire regardless of n/o or n/c to make or break the circuit which is why I thought it was a 2 wire in-line switch.

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[XRN]

@TheBig1 thoughts make sense. I have just had a look and it appears that one terminal is permanently earthed through the fixing and the other is open circuit when the plunger is in (bonnet closed) so essentially a normally open circuit. I suppose I could us a single spade switch with the live to it and permanently wire the other wire to earth via the fixing screw and a ring termination. Does this make sense and would it work? Just need to work out which wire is the permanent earth, orange or blue? I have a multimeter.

 

[XRN]

Just learned something - Push to break is a normally closed switch. So that is what I have. Wonderful thing this internet!!

 

[tonyidle]

i thought it was one terminal normally open the other normally closed. so one wire is connected to ground till the bonnet opens and vice versa

That is correct. If you connect the wires wrong way round the worst that can happen is that the alarm will think the bonnet is permanently open. If it does reconnect them the other way round. The Halfords switch looks ideal but they are readily available.

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[XRN]

I'll get a single spade switch and try it out. Thanks for all the help guys