chillfancy
New member
Does anyone have any info about which aftermarket switches looks the most similar to OEM?
I'd love some opinions about the color and build quality.
I'd love some opinions about the color and build quality.
Push switches - CH4X4 vs RAGO vs Air On Board vs Mictuning
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chillfancy
New member
Anyone with experience with these aftermarket switches?
EddieV4runnin
New member
4RunnerINprogress
New member
I have 2 mictuning and 1 aob. They both look and work pretty much the same to me. It’s probably just one manufacturer in China and everyone just putting their own name on it. Mictuning switches were cheapest. I just couldn’t find the switch name I was looking for the 3rd switch.
NoOneBetter
Member
Air On Board is much better quality than CH4x4.
Humble Leader
Senior Member
I had a new AOB and CH4x4 switch on my workbench just sitting there waiting to be used so I decided to do some testing and see which one is better. note I have not put both in the vehicle yet, that's next but here are some observations on quality and appearance of both switches aside from vehicle fitment. I wanted to see how the switches functioned without adding the fitment variable into the equation. Apologies ahead of time but I don't know how to move the pictures in line with the text. hopefully this captures some of the design changes/updates to quality over the last couple of years. I tried to get a mictuning but they weren't available for me at a reasonable cost/ship time
price: winner AOB. excluding shipping $14. CH4x4 $20
appearance: winner CH4x4. the etching, logo and finish of the front of the switch is hands down better than AOB. CH4x4 is the switch on the left in the first picture. Yes proper analysis would have a sample size of many different switch types etc from each vendor but I don't think that will make a big difference. the AOB switch seems to be a tad taller. This may affect fitment
click-feel: winner AOB. I have a 2012 4runner and the AOB click/feel feels exactly the same as my DAC button. one of the only buttons from factory with an audible click which is why I used it for reference. the CH4x4 switch needs considerably more pressure to press and doesn't sound 'like OEM', more on that below. If this is not important to you then consider this a tie but there is a difference
dependability: estimated winner AOB. I set both switches up on my workbench, held them in place with some clamps and pressed each one hundreds and hundreds of times. probably more than anyone would ever press them. I pressed from various angles, speeds, seated positions, pressures, and quadrants on the switch, in rapid succession, you name it, I did it. AOB worked every single time (bravo, I didn't expect this). the CH4x4 switch worked every time if you pressed it in the exact middle of the switch with a good push, a quick light push ON sometimes wouldn't engage it. there seemed to be some dead spots on the left side of the switch. I can see the switch starting to stick if dust/dirt gets in the button path, as noted above there's much more friction to overcome with the CH4x4 switch. I did some forum searching and googling and it seems almost everyone at one point had an issue with CH4x4 and only some people have issues with AOB. Note here I checked to see if the switch would engage / disengage , I didn't check the LED performance of each
wiring harness: winner AOB. both harnesses are interchangible as the wiring diagram/position of the wires are the same. ie left to right the wires go to the same spot (IGN, power, GND, etc.). However, the AOB harness is copper wire and considerably longer (12" vs. 8.5" - ish for both) than the CH4x4 harness. CH4x4 has more insulation. A nice thing about the AOB harness was it came pre stripped. CH4x4 wiring harness on the left in the wire pic
sturdiness: winner AOB. the CH4x4 switch feels solid in the hand the AOB has a little bit of wiggle/plastic sound if you shake it. hmmm. although the CH4x4 switch gave me one concern. I could actually create dead spots in the switch by moving the switch mechanism in and out. it seems the CH4x4 switch mechanism is not seated as securely as the AOB. look at the pic below of the back of the switches where the harness plugs in. the CH4x4 is on the left. you can see with the AOB switch the left side is secured differently than that of CH4x4. in fact in that pic I created a dead spot in the CH4x4 switch by pushing that left side back - the left side of the switch is actually now not sitting flush with the rest of the back. I could not get the same movement from the AOB switch. the exteriors of the switch bodies look almost identical but this important difference will cause the CH switch to get sloppy and eventually stop engaging and non engagement and hard push ON is the biggest issue with these switches that I've seen. Kind of goes along with dependability, not really a separate topic.
overall I think the AOB is a better switch. But really both will have a service life. If you have easier access to CH4x4 then get those.
price: winner AOB. excluding shipping $14. CH4x4 $20
appearance: winner CH4x4. the etching, logo and finish of the front of the switch is hands down better than AOB. CH4x4 is the switch on the left in the first picture. Yes proper analysis would have a sample size of many different switch types etc from each vendor but I don't think that will make a big difference. the AOB switch seems to be a tad taller. This may affect fitment
click-feel: winner AOB. I have a 2012 4runner and the AOB click/feel feels exactly the same as my DAC button. one of the only buttons from factory with an audible click which is why I used it for reference. the CH4x4 switch needs considerably more pressure to press and doesn't sound 'like OEM', more on that below. If this is not important to you then consider this a tie but there is a difference
dependability: estimated winner AOB. I set both switches up on my workbench, held them in place with some clamps and pressed each one hundreds and hundreds of times. probably more than anyone would ever press them. I pressed from various angles, speeds, seated positions, pressures, and quadrants on the switch, in rapid succession, you name it, I did it. AOB worked every single time (bravo, I didn't expect this). the CH4x4 switch worked every time if you pressed it in the exact middle of the switch with a good push, a quick light push ON sometimes wouldn't engage it. there seemed to be some dead spots on the left side of the switch. I can see the switch starting to stick if dust/dirt gets in the button path, as noted above there's much more friction to overcome with the CH4x4 switch. I did some forum searching and googling and it seems almost everyone at one point had an issue with CH4x4 and only some people have issues with AOB. Note here I checked to see if the switch would engage / disengage , I didn't check the LED performance of each
wiring harness: winner AOB. both harnesses are interchangible as the wiring diagram/position of the wires are the same. ie left to right the wires go to the same spot (IGN, power, GND, etc.). However, the AOB harness is copper wire and considerably longer (12" vs. 8.5" - ish for both) than the CH4x4 harness. CH4x4 has more insulation. A nice thing about the AOB harness was it came pre stripped. CH4x4 wiring harness on the left in the wire pic
sturdiness: winner AOB. the CH4x4 switch feels solid in the hand the AOB has a little bit of wiggle/plastic sound if you shake it. hmmm. although the CH4x4 switch gave me one concern. I could actually create dead spots in the switch by moving the switch mechanism in and out. it seems the CH4x4 switch mechanism is not seated as securely as the AOB. look at the pic below of the back of the switches where the harness plugs in. the CH4x4 is on the left. you can see with the AOB switch the left side is secured differently than that of CH4x4. in fact in that pic I created a dead spot in the CH4x4 switch by pushing that left side back - the left side of the switch is actually now not sitting flush with the rest of the back. I could not get the same movement from the AOB switch. the exteriors of the switch bodies look almost identical but this important difference will cause the CH switch to get sloppy and eventually stop engaging and non engagement and hard push ON is the biggest issue with these switches that I've seen. Kind of goes along with dependability, not really a separate topic.
overall I think the AOB is a better switch. But really both will have a service life. If you have easier access to CH4x4 then get those.
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NautyBruiser19
New member
One of the main reasons I decided to use AOB switches, is they have the matching light blue illumination LED lights. They are essentially identical to the OEM light blue. Unless something has changed recently, the CH4x4 switches have a typical dark blue LED. I'm very happy with the feel and sound of the latching on the buttons as well.
Here's a picture of my power panel in the back with AOB switches illuminated, and a USB outlet with a blue digital voltage meter at the top. It's not the greatest picture, but the CH4x4 would have a similar LED color as the voltage reading at the top:
Here's a picture of my power panel in the back with AOB switches illuminated, and a USB outlet with a blue digital voltage meter at the top. It's not the greatest picture, but the CH4x4 would have a similar LED color as the voltage reading at the top:
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Humble Leader
Senior Member
Ok as an update. I actually had 2 more unopened Ch4x4 switches lol. I opened them and they did not have the issue that the one I posted above had about the push mechanism moving around. It looked properly seated. The stability commentary is now less relevant. I was able to fix the first one with a couple dabs of super glue and it works perfect. So if your switch doesn’t want to engage check the mechanism it’s an easy fix. The click and push felt much better when fixed but still not as good as aob. I must have had one from a bad batch that I used for testing in my original post. The new ones had no dead spots as well out of the box - and yes I did test them good. Aob still feels the best. I test fitted the Ch4x4 into the spot near the hood release and it fit perfectly. No interference and no modifications needed so good job Ch4x4. I have not tested the aob yet. I wired everything in the cab for my compressor and decided I was done for the day
I’d say they are now equally dependable and sturdiness slight edge to Ch4x4. Basically both switches I think are on par with each other. Even though they are more expensive I can source Ch4x4 faster and easier being in Canada (less relevant for you USA folks)
Hopefully this info helps anyone else out there. I found it hard to determine which switch to go with and what the quality differences are. My advice is to buy a couple when doing a mod just in case you get a bad one or one craps out before it should
I’d say they are now equally dependable and sturdiness slight edge to Ch4x4. Basically both switches I think are on par with each other. Even though they are more expensive I can source Ch4x4 faster and easier being in Canada (less relevant for you USA folks)
Hopefully this info helps anyone else out there. I found it hard to determine which switch to go with and what the quality differences are. My advice is to buy a couple when doing a mod just in case you get a bad one or one craps out before it should
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