Directed Electronics 8600 Micro Magnetic Switch

The media could not be loaded. I used them to wire up some truck bed lights to turn on when the tailgate or tonneau cover is open.Pros:- Installation was super easy- While the adhesive is good, since this was used outdoors and on the road I drilled the tail gate switch and attached it with screws. I couldn't use screws on the tonneau cover, so I held it in place securely with heavy-duty epoxy.- There is a reasonable amount of contact distance. Meaning that they don't have to be perfectly touching to open the circuit, they just have to be within about an inch of each other.- Durable. These have been on my truck for a year and 15k miles, and I haven't had any issues with them at all.Cons:- Really anything I could list would be nit-picking. These switches are wonderful.Some notes about other reviews saying these melted/started on fire:Some of the reviews here (and some with photos) mention fires and melting switches. Its almost certain that the people that wired these wired them incorrectly. Something like a polarity problem, or too much amperage. If you wire these correctly they will work completely fine. Just remember to use a fuse, and if you are wanting to control a higher amperage device use a relay. Super simple stuff, but people have gotten it wrong and left bad reviews which are no fault of this product.Overall, these switches are awesome. I'd definitely buy them again.

This magnetic switch controls my truck bed lights that are mounted underneath my bed cover. Open the tailgate, the lights turn on. Close the tailgate, the lights go off. I kept the lights' power switch in case I wanted to NOT have the lights on when the tailgate is down. Now, I must admit, I didn't wire the switch into my truck's wiring harness. That was done by one of my electronic engineer friends. He had it finished in 5 minutes.

I'm totally jumping the gun on this review but, I just wanted to say so far so good. I'm just in the fitting and wiring stages at this point. Haven't gotten it glued or mounted in place yet. Yea, I know it's to soon to know how this is going to work out. But, I wanna share what I'm trying to do here. Which is, I wired this to a small bulk head type led light in my G3 fishing boat livewell. The idea is every time I open the livewells deck lid the light comes on. With a small 12v battery connected to this setup I should get a full season out of this without having to charge a battery or hunt a switch in the dark ever again or having to explain "which switch is it again" lol I'll share a pic maybe someone else may wanna give it a try, there is almost nothing online to help or explain what to use, or how to go about it. My livewell is 10" inches wide X 30" inches long X 15" inches deep. U can see how well the little bulk head led light puts up maybe it's enough for you. Was plenty enough for me to see the fish or the bait. When the well has water in it I hope it well glows even more.

I purchased one of these in summer of 2024 and within four months it burned out. I purchased a new one and it lasted only two weeks. Possibly a bad batch of switches.

Attempted to use these as the ground for bed lights in my truck when the tailgate is open. Continuity worked when tested with a meter so I installed one. I used a heat gun on low temp solder heat shrink. I went inside for a few minutes and when I came outside the switch was literally on fire. I blew it out and thought maybe I had over done it with the heat gun. I installed another one with the same method. I put the magnets on to see if it worked. I was surprised how quickly it got hot. I kept the magnets on and quickly learned that it was going to continue to get hotter and hotter. Soon it was a melted strip of plastic.

On one hand, does exactly as it says and works well. Has a long (unfortunately thin gauge) lead that allows plenty of flexibility for installation.On the other hand, I needed to supplement the internal magnet with a couple neodymium round magnets that I super glued to the unit and then electric tape sprayed to protect and hide (see photo on the tailgate left side).I also did supplement the sticky tape with double sided very high bonding (VHB) tape to make sure it doesn't come off. Maybe not necessary, but not a bad idea for the couple bucks.Used in conjunction with bed lights and a switch; using this, you can wire the switch so the light is "always on", but is only on when the tailgate is open. When closed, the circuit is broken and the lights turn off without draining the battery. Works like a charm. Bunch of youtube tutorials to help tailor to your needs.

I installed this switch inline with a small battery and led lights to light up under bed storage when the bed platform is raised in my truck cap. Works perfectly. I like that there is an inch or so of play between the two parts before it activates and they don't need to be tight together.