Four Wheel Drive Indicator

[etpm]

My Yanmar SA425 does not not have a 4wd indicator on the dashboard. The 4wd is controlled by a lever. Up is 2wd - down is 4wd.
I am thinking about using a tilt switch (mercury?) or a magnet switch. When the lever is down then the switch will complete the circuit activating the dash LED. Has anyone else addressed this? Any ideas are welcome.

I use cylindrical proximity switches in my shop. I have found that they can be easily damaged sometimes. But looking on Amazon I found these switches: Amazon.com
They look more robust than the typical cylindrical ones I see for the same price and they even come with mounting hardware. They can handle 300 milliAmps of current. So a LED used with these would be perfect. There are gobs of 12 volt LED indicator bulbs on Amazon. Here is a link for some waterproof ones: Amazon.com
Eric

 

[WinterDeere]

A parking brake dash light has rarely ever stopped me from driving off and heating them up. Dummy lights remind me of who I am! hahaha

A light won't stop you from starting your trip with the parking brake or 4wd engaged, but it should at least save you from getting too far down the road, in that mode.

 

[SmallChange]

a mirror down by my feet would be totally useless in short order

Absolutely. I was hoping something around knee height would work.

 

[BlueKnife]

Absolutely. I was hoping something around knee height would work.

In the environments where I have run a tractor, mirrors are almost always useless in short order, no matter where they're located on the machine. Not necessarily from breakage, just from getting covered in dust and grime. If you were operating in a low dust/dirt environment, that might change. I have to assume that the OP has some sort of mobility issue that prevents him/her from easily leaning forward and seeing the lever or reaching down to touch it briefly. That being the case, an indicator light would certainly be easier to see than a reflection in a dirty mirror.

 

[BlueKnife]

I would rather verify that the lever is in the appropriate position for the activity rather than assume that the switch for a dummy light is operating correctly. Dummy lights like that quit working often enough, especially on off road machines, like a tractor, that I'd want to be verifying manually anyway, making the light moot.

 

[Oaktree]

Mine's in 4WD probably 95% of the time, so I don't really need an indicator for that, but the proximity switch ETPM linked to might be just the trick for a reverse indicator. I'm forever forgetting whether it's in fwd or rev when doing loader work, but there's so much slop in the shuttle lever a physical switch probably wouldn't work very well. For $10 it's worth a shot on the prox switch.

 

[ismilelots]

My Yanmar SA425 does not not have a 4wd indicator on the dashboard. The 4wd is controlled by a lever. Up is 2wd - down is 4wd.
I am thinking about using a tilt switch (mercury?) or a magnet switch. When the lever is down then the switch will complete the circuit activating the dash LED. Has anyone else addressed this? Any ideas are welcome.

I would love to have an indicator showing I'm in 4WD (like my truck). But I would rather have a sensor in the transfer case showing it's actually engaged rather than just showing the lever is in the 4WD position. Issues with the linkage could have the lever in the right position, but the tractor not going into 4WD

 

[RVGuy]

My Yanmar SA425 does not not have a 4wd indicator on the dashboard. The 4wd is controlled by a lever. Up is 2wd - down is 4wd.
I am thinking about using a tilt switch (mercury?) or a magnet switch. When the lever is down then the switch will complete the circuit activating the dash LED. Has anyone else addressed this? Any ideas are welcome.

I would not use a tilt switch.You might see distracting flashing of the indicator light as the tractor bounces around. I think a less expensive solution would be a simple microswitch with a spring lever. Get one that is "Normally Open" and put it on the 4WD side of the lever such that the switch closes when you put it in 4WD. You can probably find a place to mount it but will need to make a small mounting bracket. Slot the bracket so you can have some adjustment of the switch. Be sure to put a small fuse in the power line going to the switch so you don't end up frying the primary tractor harness in case of a short.

 

[Razzmatazz]

I would not use a tilt switch.You might see distracting flashing of the indicator light as the tractor bounces around. I think a less expensive solution would be a simple microswitch with a spring lever. Get one that is "Normally Open" and put it on the 4WD side of the lever such that the switch closes when you put it in 4WD. You can probably find a place to mount it but will need to make a small mounting bracket. Slot the bracket so you can have some adjustment of the switch. Be sure to put a small fuse in the power line going to the switch so you don't end up frying the primary tractor harness in case of a short.

Good call. I will look into a lever switch and a proximity switch. Not sure which one to use. I will wire it into a fuse block.

 

[etpm]

Good call. I will look into a lever switch and a proximity switch. Not sure which one to use. I will wire it into a fuse block.

Speaking as someone who has used both I think a proximity switch is best in your situation. It will be much more tolerant of water and mud. Proximity switches are also much more tolerant when it comes to mounting because the detection range is so large. The typical lever microswitch needs much more accuracy in mounting compared to a proximity switch. If you need precise switching then the lever type microswitch is best. They typically repeat within .0005". So while great for dry locations where precise switching is needed, such as homing switches in a 3D printer, unless hardened for outdoor use they are problematic. Don't get me wrong, proximity switches are also very repeatable but can tend to not be as repeatable as a lever type microswitch.
Eric