Hooking up 3-terminal LED switch?

Question

I have a toggle switch with 3 terminals; power, acc, and ground. The switch has an LED that lights up when power is on. Is it possible to hook this switch up to AC current, and how would I do so?

Also, the switch has "12V20A" stamped on the side, usually it shouldn't matter what voltage a switch is hooked to, but the LED may be a different story... will it work if I hook it up to 120V power from a wall socket?

Answer 1

an led is a diode, this means that it will only allows electricity to flow on one direction.  All diodes are rated by voltage and forward bias current (as well as reverse bias current but that is a whole different story.)  most LEDs are rated for no more then 300ma at 3V so feeding 120V at up to 30+ amps will likely cause the LED to literally explode violently.  I have seen LEDs explode at 12V DC so 120 would be an awesome sight.

The draw for the bulb will not matter, the LED will draw a lot more for a split second before it blows up.  any switched that lights under 120v AC is based on a small neon.

In short, no I wouldn't try it.

Answer 2

Ask Austin, he'll know.