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Spod-painless-switchpro??

9K views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  Deacon 
#1 ·
Choices X3. Who runs em and what are the pros and cons.
I see Painless is running a rebate now for 50 bucks off.

Anyone have issues with water with any of these? I have a 13 J/K and looking for all input on these.

Not buying on price alone. I am looking for durability. I don't have a smart phone so the bells and whistles (Bluetooth) don't do anything but waste money right now.

Give me some real world experiences please. Thanks folks!
 
#2 ·
I have the switch-pros and considered all 3 when buying.

The first of the 3 I discarded was the Painless. *To me*, it seemed like a very similar product to the sPOD so I wanted to knock one of those 2 out of contention. The sPOD has more history behind it and that was the tie-breaker for me. For all I know, the Painless is a perfectly good product.

I haven't had any water issues with the switch-pros. The installation was easy & clean. It does have Bluetooth and thus works well w/ a smartphone, but I know you don't care about that part.

Ultimately, location of installation helped me decide. I didn't want to have the sPOD switches mounted overhead near the footman's loop. I read from others that it is still viable to use that footman's loop, but some said they had access issues. What I really liked about the sPOD was customizable switch covers. That's just cool.

I installed the switch-pros on a daystar lower dash replacement panel (replaces the netted panel near the shifter) and it's a nice clean look. Installation under the hood was secure and straightforward. No regrets at all.
 
#3 ·
Really happy with my sPod 6 switch duel LED's. Super easy to install and adding accessories is a breeze. I watched a TV show where they installed the painless and it had too much cutting wires to length and splicing involved. With the sPod you just run all your wires to "The Source" and connect them to whatever switch you want. You can also add some OTRATTW switches to personalize you Jeep. The sPod is the best switch system out there.
 
#4 ·
I vote sPOD!!! As unstuck said, super easy / clean install. All accessories hook to the "Source Box" under the hood. The custom switch covers are a neat addition too.
 
#5 ·
I can't speak high enough for the sPod 8-circuit Special Edition (aka sPod SE).

Pros:
1. No fuses. Automatically senses and shuts down the circuit when overloaded.

2. Has a self-healing fuse when do you "blow" one. Just cycle the ignition. No digging into a fuse box and replacing one with a spare you've hopefully remembered to keep in the glove compartment.

3. You can do physical switches (OTRATTW switches look really nice), and you'll have 8 switches.
Or
You can get the touch screen. RAM ball mount. Same idea many use to mount phones and other gadgets in our jeeps. Sturdy. Built of metal. Can self calibrate the screen if you feel it needs adjusting.

4. You can "link" switches, I.e. Switch1 goes to bumper and switch2 to lightbar, but switch3 can be set to trigger on/off both 1&2. Or, #3 can be 1, 2, 5, 7 & 8. Want to change? No rewiring needed, just tell the module you want to unlink and relink.

5. You get a momentary (light on only as long as you press the button), flash (light blinks slowly, about speed of your hazards) and strobe (light pulses quickly).

6. On the touch screen the screen itself is dimmable for night driving, or can be turned off/on by just pressing the screen.

7. The touch screen lets you adjust the dimness of your lights. So, want to run your Rigid D2 Driving pattern cubes on the road? (Your risk...). Just turn on light, slide dimmer between 0 - 100% and you're done. You can dim lights at each switch, so some run full brightness and others dimmer.

8. The touchscreen also has the spod temp in the engine bay and battery voltage displayed realtime. The touchscreen is pressure sensitive so can use when working with gloves on. It also has a low voltage cutoff so won't drain battery, and yes it does work with the engine off and not keyed.

9. There's also an additional Bluetooth module you can plugin under the hood, lets you remotely control the lights from an app on your phone.

TL;DR
It's a really, really well thought out product, made in the USA, family run operation, and the parts all JUST WORK. I had the same reaction to spod as when I bought my first Mac. Beautiful, simple, easy to use. Total install time was maybe 30 mins, and adding lights now is a 10minute exercise at most (with 90% of the effort being the light mount, not the wiring.)

I'm not paid or endorsed or whatever...those that have seen my prior posts know this...and that said, I really can't say enough good things about how well the whole system just works. First time. Every time. Perfectly.
 
#7 ·
Does anyone know if you get the dim-able features on the 6-switch version if you use the bluetooth phone application? (what I mean is do you get access to the advanced features of the 8-switch version through the phone application?)

looks like it does:
http://www.4x4spod.com/product_p/8-700-bt.htm
 
#9 ·
Does anyone know if you get the dim-able features on the 6-switch version if you use the bluetooth phone application? (what I mean is do you get access to the advanced features of the 8-switch version through the phone application?)

looks like it does:
sPOD SE System Bluetooth Module
You don't get the dim-able feature with the RCPM (Remote Control Power Module) via Bluetooth only momentary with the 6 switch. Here is what my iPhone 6+ screen looks like, the momentary is on the bottom below the switch.
 
#8 ·
I went with the Switch-Pros. I installed the switch pad in a Rugged Ridge A-pillar cover. I like that it mounted to the firewall in an out of the way location. It also leaves the area on the left side open for something else if I ever want to mount something there. Also was able to keep all of the electrical on the right side near the battery.
 
#10 ·
Cut the sPod price in half and quadruple the market. That's the thing holding me back from buying one.
 
#11 ·
I'm at the same decision point. The painless product is not an option for my Jeep with a manual transmission.

Leaning towards the 6-switch sPod with the dual LEDs. My thinking is:
- SE is new and unproven by customers. Sure the company tested it but still, new things take time to get right.
- not sure I'll ever need 8 switches
- I do like that some of the SE switches are able to be tied to the ignition. Too bad they didn't allow *all* switches to do that. Still don't like the idea of having this live all the time. Goes for both old and new.
- cost delta. sPods are already expensive (and worse when you bring them into Canada).
- no interest in touchscreen
- no need for remote control (in either device)
- don't see any need for the expandability the SE offers
- switch cover upgrades are a bonus

Looking to pull the trigger soon as I'll need some switches to control my eLockers that'll be going in in the fall.

/a
 
#12 ·
I'm at the same decision point. The painless product is not an option for my Jeep with a manual transmission.

Still don't like the idea of having this live all the time. Goes for both old and new.
Why? Seems like a feature to me, that you don't need to start Jeep first. I guess if you have no interest in remote capabilities.
 
#13 ·
I have the Switch-Pros unit and it is a solid product. Very clean install and I also use the Daystar panel in the cab. I thought the cost vs Spod was the deal maker for me. I love how I can link two switches together that are controlled by a third. I intend to use this feature to enable my lockers independent of the factory switches. Having the third switch to "lock out" the other two switches gives me peace of mind.
 
#14 ·
I went with Switch Pros and love it. No fuses, full MOSFET and simple install. Bluetooth works great even though you don't care about that, it is nice to not have to upgrade to get this feature. Not having to run wires up above the windshield made it an even easier install and as other have said, the mounting to the firewall makes for a neater install under the hood in my opinion.

Mine is installed in a Daystar panel in front of the shifter and looks factory.
 

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#15 ·
I have the painless one. It was sooo easy to install. I was ready for that after having just dealt with worthless exhaust spacers, a lift with brand new instructions I didn't have, and an axle assembly. Even wiring the trail rocker to be ignition controlled was nice and easy. Doesn't have some of the complicated features, but I can't say I'd ever need them. I love how it comes with the plug and play harnesses and switch panel. Prelabeled wires are great too. No complaints. And it accepts custom OTRATTW switches.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
#17 ·
+1 for switch-pros. love it and the versatility of it. I have certain switches that come on with the Key (halo's and camera) and other that allow constant or a strobe effect. I also did the A-pillar mount. Not savvy enough to post pictures but PM your email and I can forward them.
 
#20 ·
+ 1 for the Switch - Pros , I have both , the SPOD in the JK and the Switch Pros in the RAM truck , the programming functions on the switch pros is real nice, Strobe , Flash , Momentary for Air Horns , Memory function , Low voltage shut down , Dimable , and the bluetooth is nice cause I can turn on my perimeter lighting with my phone and LED light in the Bed. with the ignition off !! I know you did not need that but its nice for sure, . not to mention a solid state design machined in a Aluminum block. and the 8 switches are in a small aluminum block
 
#23 ·
I also have the switch-pro. Great company to deal with and the install was easy and looks like it came that way from Detroit. I run a full size 10-meter radio above my mirror so sPod would not work for me. I also liked that all of the features you had to add to the sPod were standard on the switch-pro.

I think they are both solid products so you really can't make a bad decision.
 
#24 ·
#25 ·
I wrote this a long time ago and just to be fair I did buy the Switch Pro and love it. Great product and great company. It fits my operation perfectly.
 
#26 ·
I currently have the spod , looks good and functions as expected but I've run out of switches - have pillar lights, front light , rear lights, cb switch and aux lights. Only have one more switch available.
So I was looking at adding the switch pros to the left A pillar and either keeping both or selling the Spod.

By chance does anyone have both installed?
Was wanting to put the front and rear air lockers and all the lights on the switch pro and put the arb compressor on the spod as a safety feature. Air lockers will be in my new axles and the arb dual compressor will be installed in 2 weeks so I've never used either.
I assume that you have to engage the compressor before the lockers work...yes?

Anyone provide some insight?
 
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