Switches, pin switches and sensors
Most of what a security system knows about your vehicle comes from a switch. Is the hood up. Is the trunk open. Has the car been tilted onto a tow truck. Get the switch right and the system behaves; get it wrong and you'll be chasing false triggers for months.
Pin switches
A plunger that presses in when a panel closes. The standard way to monitor hoods, doors and trunks, and a required part on most remote starter installs, because the system needs to know the hood is open so it can refuse to start while someone is working under it.
Choose polycarbonate for engine bays where corrosion is the enemy, metal where the switch takes physical abuse, and a waterproof boot anywhere road salt gets in. If the gap varies or the panel doesn't sit consistently, a telescopic switch adjusts rather than needing shimming.
Magnetic reed switches
Two parts, a switch and a magnet, with no physical contact between them. That makes them the answer where a plunger has nothing to press against, or where a mechanical switch would be visible or in the way.
Normally closed means the circuit is complete until the magnet approaches, at which point it breaks. Normally open is the reverse. Which you need depends on what your system expects to see, so check before ordering.
Tilt switches
These trigger on movement rather than contact, which makes them the standard way to detect a vehicle being jacked up or towed. They also cover hatches and camper shells where no pin switch will fit.
Mercury switches are the traditional design and still the most sensitive. Ball bearing switches do the same job without the mercury, which matters because many jurisdictions restrict it. Either way, run them through a relay rather than powering a circuit directly.
Toggle and push button switches
For valet mode, kill switches, and any accessory you want to control by hand. Match the amperage to the load: our small toggles handle 3 amps, which is fine for triggering a relay but not for switching a load directly.
Not sure what your install needs?
Call us on 647-439-4485. See also our relays and relay harnesses.
