Simple button wiring question

[DJMattB241]

So I bought LED buttons like the ones in the picture below. Now, I'm still relatively green to the whole wiring thing, so bear with me while I ask dumb questions like:

The LED part only has two connectors, I assume it doesn't matter which one is which?

The switch has three connectors. What's this all about? I thought it was one to the control board and one to ground. What's the third one? And which one is which?

Thanks guys/gals!

[Nephasth]

The three terminals on the microswitches are COM (common, which should be connected to ground), NC (normally closed, which typically isn't used in arcade machine applications), and NO (normally open, which is the terminal you want to connect to your controller input).

[shponglefan]

So I bought LED buttons like the ones in the picture below. Now, I'm still relatively green to the whole wiring thing, so bear with me while I ask dumb questions like:

The LED part only has two connectors, I assume it doesn't matter which one is which?

Yes, it matters.  LEDs have a positive and negative connections.  You must wire them accordingly otherwise they won't work.

[Nephasth]

So I bought LED buttons like the ones in the picture below. Now, I'm still relatively green to the whole wiring thing, so bear with me while I ask dumb questions like:

The LED part only has two connectors, I assume it doesn't matter which one is which?

Yes, it matters.  LEDs have a positive and negative connections.  You must wire them accordingly otherwise they won't work.

Paradise does sell non-polarity sensitive LEDs, but I don't know about the ones included with those particular buttons. Easy way to tell, if you have a multimeter with a diode function, put the red lead of the meter on one terminal of the LED and the black lead on the other. If it doesn't light the LED, swap leads. When it's lit, whatever terminal has the red lead on it is your positive terminal, the other is ground.

[shponglefan]

So I bought LED buttons like the ones in the picture below. Now, I'm still relatively green to the whole wiring thing, so bear with me while I ask dumb questions like:

The LED part only has two connectors, I assume it doesn't matter which one is which?

Yes, it matters.  LEDs have a positive and negative connections.  You must wire them accordingly otherwise they won't work.

Paradise does sell non-polarity sensitive LEDs, but I don't know about the ones included with those particular buttons.

If that is the case, then I stand corrected.

[Mysterioii]

So I bought LED buttons like the ones in the picture below. Now, I'm still relatively green to the whole wiring thing, so bear with me while I ask dumb questions like:

The LED part only has two connectors, I assume it doesn't matter which one is which?

Yes, it matters.  LEDs have a positive and negative connections.  You must wire them accordingly otherwise they won't work.

Paradise does sell non-polarity sensitive LEDs, but I don't know about the ones included with those particular buttons.

If that is the case, then stand corrected.

Nah, what you said is still correct for actual individual LEDs...  The paradise LED assemblies might be designed to be reversible, but that's not quite the same thing.    

I am of course just being picky.   

[DJMattB241]

Oh man you guys, that's totally perfect!
I'll hold off on other questions until I can be reasonably sure they haven't already been answered elsewhere. But this is fantastic! Thank you!

[Tiberian Fiend]

The "D" in LED stands for diode, which only allows current to pass through in one direction.  If you're using alternating current, it doesn't matter how you connect an (meaning one) LED, but if you're using direct current, it will only work one way.  If you're using alternating current, and are using multiple LED's, also keep in mind that you have to have the LED's all connected in the same direction if they're in a series circuit (but not if they're in parallel).

[Mental]

Those buttons look like Ultimarcs. They have a + sign on side to indicate the positive connection of the LED. On the switches, the one closer to the common (ground) is usually the NC which is the one you probabally want.

[Nephasth]

On the switches, the one closer to the common (ground) is usually the NC which is the one you probabally want.

No, you want to connect to NO. That terminal does not make contact with COM until the switch is pressed. The NC terminal is in contact with the COM terminal until the switch is pressed, if you wired to that terminal you would be seeing symptoms of a stuck switch.