Switch Torture Test (preliminary)

I will be testing some switches and want to give everyone a heads up.
I plan on building a test rig that will actuate the switched 4 times per second and the switches will have a 5A load. There will be no springs and the load leads will be soldered directly to the switch tabs. The fast cycling will tend to heat the switches up, so I think the 5A load should be sufficient.
Some of the switches are forward clicky, but the test will be ‘full click’ on all of the switches. I plan on testing 2 of each switch -I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m shooting for 20,000 cycles (I’m calling one click one cycle…on/off will be 2 cycles). If a switch reaches 20,000 cycles, I will consider it a ‘pass’.

If the switch fails to latch, it will be considered a failure. If the switch’s resistance increases to some point (to be determined), it’s considered a fail.
Part of the load will be driving an LED which will be monitored for output. I will log the output and look for anything unusual. I will be able to see if a switch stops latching or if the output drops or it just stops working.
I will multiply the duration the switch worked properly (in seconds) times 4 for the number of cycles. There may be some variation in the actual number of cycles, but this variation should be small and will be consistent with each switch tested.

The switch line up:
Solarforce stock L2 FC Switch
Convoy stock RC switch (M1, C8)
Mountain Electronics 17mm FC switch
McClicky FC
2 other switch from Kai that I just want to try

It will probably be several weeks before the test starts, so if you have another switch to suggest, just make sure it’s not specific to a particular light and it’s something someone may use as a ‘general purpose’ switch.
The Convoy stock RC switch is available separately and I’m testing the Solarforce switch just because I build a lot of SF lights.

Awesome. Subscribed

Awesome, thanks for the effort! I believe that mtnelectronics switch is a mini omten but if it isn’t then one of those should be included.

Awesome task you’ve set yourself up with!

I’d really like to see the small Omten switch tested. I use it a lot and it comes factory on the Eagle Eye X6/A6 models. I’ve got it in lights running as much as 21A and so far so good. Richard sells these at his store, they’re RC.

Subscribed. Should provide some very useful data. Thanks for doing this!

I have some RMM’s Omten 1217 1.5A switches I will test…If you’re talking about the Omten 1288 -I don’t have any of those and he’s out of stock.
The other RMM switch I’ve already listed for the test is 17MMFWDCLK-PCB forward clicky on the 17mm board ($2.75)

The Convoy switch I’ll be testing is an Omten -small white with no rating printed on it.

Sounds like a good project.

I assume that the reason you are monitoring LED output (rather than other things) is because you’re already all setup for logging brightness? That makes sense.

Maybe some high-current voltage-drop tests every 1000 cycles or so would be worthwhile? Something along these lines: djozz - switchtesting

You’re right, I can log the brightness of the emitter to indirectly monitor the switch performance.

I love djozz testing…I’ll read through it later tonight…I may get some additional testing ideas.
I can read resistance of each switch at the start and then every 1000 cycles.

Are you wanting to expand the database? I have some of the KAN98 and the black Omten in both large and small I think.

Those Omten 1288 (small omten) switches that RMM sells are very common in a lot of lights. I’d be really interested in seeing comparisons between them and the white ones. I use them in high powered lights, up to 13A with single li-ion input and it’s usually too much heat that kills them, the little spring inside ‘melts’ or melts through the plastic.

Should be interesting.

Thanks for doing this, can’t wait to see what you find!

One thing to consider may be the tiny sparks that are made when a switch disconnects. These may or may not have a significant effect on the switch life and reliability. They are caused by the stray inductance of the wires and springs in the flashlight and in the switch, and they may cause corrosion and abrasion of the contact surfaces. The effect is similar to the reason that the contact points in an old fashioned automotive high tension ignition system had to be replaced or honed every ten thousand miles or so.
I am thinking the tests may be more relevant to flashlight use if the inductance in the test is similar to that in a typical light. At least the inductance in the test should not be much greater than that in a typical flashlight, which is fortunately less than in most other circuits, because of the lack of wire connections and narrow traces. The springs do contribute some inductance.
Stray inductance is caused by the magnetic field energy wrapped around the current carrying elements. It is greater for smaller diameter elements such as thin wires and for coiled elements such as springs.

Did you happen to see scaru’s test rig? I think he set it up for the Tofty switch since he needed something that would handle first 3, then 7 xml’s on a 20mm mule board.

Wow would be great to see a video of this testing procedure.
Cool project!

Here is a preliminary schematic of the test setup.

!!

There will be a timed relay controlling a liner solenoid set at about 4 cycles per second.
The load will be split between parallel resistors and the LED… I’m shooting for about 5A.
I added an inductor to to the LED to make the output more consistent since my meter polls at 1 second intervals.
I also have a diode blocking the induction back to the switch. I have one resistor placed before the diode so the switch will see some induction which I think is typical in a normal flashlight circuit. The diode can be moved between the switch and all of the resistors (and inductor) if I want to remove virtually all of the induction from the circuit.

During the test, if a switch fails to latch, the light output will fall to about 1/2 output. If an internal problem occurs in the switch, the output will also fall…it should be obvious when everything is graphed out.
I will run the test for 10 minute intervals (about 2400 cycles). Once the switch has cooled, I will check the resistance of the switch and compare it to it’s initial resistance.

Please let me know if you find anything wrong with my testing logic. There are a lot of variables to consider and I may change some things when I start building and testing the setup.

4 cycles a second
Does that really mean 8 presses?
125ms to travel back and forth
Say 3mm movement in 67.5ms
The bang of stopping will be much harder then in ordinary use and fiction could raise temps also more.
I try to time and my max presses on a 2,55mm travel tail switch was 41 in 10 seconds.
~4 per second
~2 cycles.

This is going to sound interesting, please make a video.

I believe this test will give a good representative value of actual mileage we get out of these switches. Well thought out! Thank you for doing the test!!

What equipment and flashlight are you using that is giving you a 21 amp reading? And at what voltage?

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Though I have zero experience in any of this I was thinking 4 cycles a second seemed a bit extreme and might introduce variables that could hinder getting real world info.