Soldering off-center switch LEDs?

[ojrask]

I received some MX Lock switches a while back. Otherwise installing would be straight-forward, but I can't seem to figure out how to solder a LED into it.

Most switches I've seen have four LED pinholes along the side, but 99% of the time the LEDs just use the two middle ones (that are right in the center of the switch):

Code: [Select]

      |  |
      v  v
+--------------+
|  o (o  o) o  |
|    ------    |
|    |    |    |
|    ------    |
+--------------+

But now with the lock switch the LED is positioned off-center and it would use two pinholes from the edge:

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   |  |
   v  v
+--------------+
| (o  o) o  o  |
|    ------    |
|    |    |    |
|    ------    |
+--------------+

Most if not all common PCBs only support the pinholes that are in the center of the switch.

I took a peek at a Gateron switch I had handy and it has a small cavity between the switch top and base where you could bend the LED pins to take a curve into the center or edge pinholes. The problem with the lock switches I received is that there is no cavity there to make this happen, you're forced to use the pinholes in the edge.

If I were to try bending the pins under the switch (between the switch and the PCB) the pins would make contact and short the circuit.

How could I go around this and solder a LED into the off-center position on the switch, on a PCB that only has holes that align to the center of the switch? Or am I out of luck with this without a very custom PCB?

I can try and take some photos of the switches when I get home if that helps explain the situation more.

[0100010]

Photos are always helpful.

Could you add a couple holes to the PCB (without damaging any traces, or if damaging them, re-route those as well), and route wires for the LED underneath?

[_haru]

You can (in theory) cut the bottom of the switch to allow for bending the legs to make it fit. I'd suggest using an SMD-compatible bottom to make this easier.