Off Road Lighting Question (1 Viewer)

[Fitzgerald]

Hello Fellers. Well, with even a cheap LED being out of the budget and the fact that I have some Harbor Freight lights sitting around, I had an idea. I figured I'd go ahead and set up the lights I've got for the time being, learn some more about wiring, and hopefully make the LED install go nice and smooth when I can afford one.

Here are the lights I have:

Here is the wiring diagram that came with the lights:

 

[Fitzgerald]

OK... I'm wanting to add more lights (5-6 in a row depending on how they look). So, here are my questions:

1. Would this diagram I modified work?

2. Should I add a relay to this?

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[Springs505]

1. No, because the lights will draw too much current. 2X100W bulbs=200W, 200W/12v=16.7A. For three pairs, you will draw 50A. If you can get your hands on a 50A relay, that would be good. Also you will need to run 8ga wiring to/from the relay. The wiring that came with each light is then sufficient to connect to each light. If you want to ground the lights in one location, you should connect the wiring from each light to 8ga ground wire, as well.

You may find that the 50A relay is hard to find, you may want to wire individually. When I installed mine, I added a relay and used heavier wire than what was included in the kit. Also some people have converted these to HID. Here is 1: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/trail-lights-best-bang-for.480038/#post-6597074

2. See #1.

 

[CO_Hunter]

The advantage to the relay is you do not have to run high current into the cab/dash. You keep the high current in the engine bay and trigger the relay from in the cab with low amperage circuit, the relay carries the high current, not the switch in the cab. This will reduce the cost of heavy gauge wire as well. If you run as above and the wattages are 100 ( I did not see that anywhere) you will need to upgrade your fuse and make sure your switch is rated for the proper wattage. Some time ago I posted a link to a voltage/amperage/wire gauge length chart. Remember to keep your fuse as close to the battery as practical.

If you do want the relay you can get one cheap.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...89&gclid=CJjuv_Kpu70CFUlJKwod7FoAAA&gclsrc=ds

 

[Fitzgerald]

Great info guys. Thanks.

Would it be beneficial (easier?) to divide up the lights (3X3), running two wires to two relays?


Found this too:
http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm (Leon, I think this might have been what you linked earlier?)

 

[Fitzgerald]

So.... how about this for the "One Relay / One Switch" setup. I would like just one switch.

Sorry for the diagrams, but I'm a visual person.

QUESTIONS:

1. What gauge wire for the rest of the setup?

2. What to look for in a capable switch?

Will one of these work? (Obviously, I'd prefer the Toyota Switch)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YVOLH0/?tag=ihco-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GH1PU0/?tag=ihco-20​

Thanks!

 

[Springs505]

You have the idea. A few finer points:

The wiring between the switch and relay can be very small, nearly anything will be fine. It's best to fuse the +12 to the switch with a 1A fuse to protect the small wiring. If I were doing this, I would run this wire from terminal 30 with the small fuse located at the relay (no need to add a small wire and fuse all the way up at the battery).

You can run smaller wiring (included with the lights) from the 8ga wire to each individual light. No need to run 8 ga to each light; it's just needed for the combined load.

As long as you have a fairly heavy and short ground wire from the battery to the chassis (you probably do from the factory), I recommend that you ground the lights to the chassis in a convenient location. The same goes for terminal 85 on the relay. If you combine the grounds from each light into a single wire, the ground wire then needs to be 8ga, also. There is nothing wrong with running a ground back to the battery, but the way I describe requires less wire.

 

[CO_Hunter]

Some guy posted a wiring question almost one year ago. You may find the chart useful in determining gauge and length of wire, specifically post #7.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/question-about-power-running-wire.716042/#post-8400262

 

[Fitzgerald]

Some guy posted a wiring question almost one year ago. You may find the chart useful in determining gauge and length of wire, specifically post #7.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/question-about-power-running-wire.716042/#post-8400262

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah smart guy, I know. I was looking at that earlier myself.

Still don't know enough about this stuff to transfer what I learned installing the HAM to installing the lights.... but I'm getting there. Just trying to keep myself from burning up the 100.

 

[EricG]

You might consider a fuse block to keep the wiring neat. This also gives you a single fuse per light sized to the wire you're using - that big 50A fuse or breaker is to much for the smaller wires going to your lights. You still need it to protect the wire from the battery to the relay though.

Go for a bigger one then you need - makes it easier to add stuff later.
http://www.delcity.net/store/ATC-&-ATO-6-Ganged-Fuse-Block/p_10960

You can get something similar for the ground side
http://www.wiringproducts.com/power-distribution-blocks

 

[black95]

Good tips everyone. I see I'm not the only electrician on the forum.

I like the fuse block idea. More and smaller fuses are better, for safety and troubleshooting. My two biggest fears are that my rig would get stolen or burn, then you're left with nothing salvageable.

I would use 3 relays, two lights per relay, and number 12 wire. Those little relays can get pretty pricey, I used toyota starter relays from the wrecking yard for all my lighting. The junkyard gave me an outstanding deal on them where you gonna put the generator to power all those high amp lights???

 

[beach cruiser]

With the cost of LED's becoming so much cheaper, it seems you could just get a single light bar after you cost in wiring up those 5 separate lights that will eventually drain out your battery. You would be really surprised at the light those LED's throw off and how efficient they are. Just my .02.

 

[beach cruiser]

BTW, I did notice you mentioned LED's in the original post. But since you started adding lights, (5-6 in a row) I figured your budget went up slightly.

 

[Fitzgerald]

You might consider a fuse block to keep the wiring neat. This also gives you a single fuse per light sized to the wire you're using - that big 50A fuse or breaker is to much for the smaller wires going to your lights. You still need it to protect the wire from the battery to the relay though.

I like the fuse block idea, but wouldn't that belong in the engine bay? I sort of wanted to have just one heavy gauge wire running from the engine bay to the lights, where I guess I would splice the 8ga to each light?.... ????

I would use 3 relays, two lights per relay, and number 12 wire. Those little relays can get pretty pricey, I used toyota starter relays from the wrecking yard for all my lighting. The junkyard gave me an outstanding deal on them where you gonna put the generator to power all those high amp lights???

I looked at my yak rack today and it looks like only five will fit without looking too crowded. The basket is pretty wide, so four looks a little too sparse in my opinion.

So, the 5 100W lights gonna put too much of a strain on my electical huh?......???

With the cost of LED's becoming so much cheaper, it seems you could just get a single light bar after you cost in wiring up those 5 separate lights that will eventually drain out your battery. You would be really surprised at the light those LED's throw off and how efficient they are. Just my .02.

Yeah, LED is my ultimate goal for my poser basket, but I had these light laying around (bought them a while back) and thought I might as well do something with them. I'm currently a "stay-at-home dad" (
a.k.a my job ended & I'm still looking for work) and my sugar mama doesn't think a new LED bar would be the best use of our funds (rightly so I guess).

But.... with all the issues coming up with what I was thinking was going to be a simple lighting project, I might just put the HF 100W lamps back on the shelf and wait for a while, get an LED that comes with a nice and easy wiring harness.???

A 40 inch looks pretty good in a megawarrior...

... but mine won't be a Rigid.

 

[beach cruiser]

You could probably score a 40 inch light bar from ebay for less than $300. I have an ARB rack so I'm only searching for a 20 inch bar myself. I have found a few of these for around $150. I'd say don't rush it and save a few bucks. I was in the job hunt not long ago so I feel your pain. Off all day and all you want to do is work on the rig. It's painful. Good luck!

 

[EricG]

I like the fuse block idea, but wouldn't that belong in the engine bay? I sort of wanted to have just one heavy gauge wire running from the engine bay to the lights, where I guess I would splice the 8ga to each light?.... ????

Yea, it would definitely be nicer to only have to pass one (or 2 with ground) wires out to the rack. I bet you could find a fuse block with a cover & gasket. And realistically, you're only worried about corrosion, not shorting - probably not that big a deal in this climate.

 

[black95]

I would tell you to not let the wiring hold you up, but thinking about the cost of buying the fuse holders, wire, relays, and whatever connectors you might need, heck, you might be better off buying an LED bar that comes with a harness. The 12" light I bought for Heather's Jeep bumper was plug and play, ready to go.

 

[black95]

This new forum software is terrible. Someone really sold Woody a bill of goods. And now they're saying there are no smartphone or tablet apps, and won't be any because the software is "intuitive" and user friendly from these devices??? Boy, are they wrong about that... Obviously they never downloaded Tapatalk and saw how user friendly it was, nobody who has used this forum from a smartphone would agree that this is better... We just effectively went backwards in time. Haven't seen my computer this much in ages. Stupid.

 

[Fitzgerald]

I would tell you to not let the wiring hold you up, but thinking about the cost of buying the fuse holders, wire, relays, and whatever connectors you might need, heck, you might be better off buying an LED bar that comes with a harness. The 12" light I bought for Heather's Jeep bumper was plug and play, ready to go.

Yeah..........probably just wait until I have a little extra $$$ for the LED (which is what I want anyway. And I still need to put my new shocks/coil spacers in, so I guess I should be doing that instead of lighting. Oh, and I'm redoing the kids bathroom, and then there's the................

This new forum software is terrible. Someone really sold Woody a bill of goods. And now they're saying there are no smartphone or tablet apps, and won't be any because the software is "intuitive" and user friendly from these devices??? Boy, are they wrong about that... Obviously they never downloaded Tapatalk and saw how user friendly it was, nobody who has used this forum from a smartphone would agree that this is better... We just effectively went backwards in time. Haven't seen my computer this much in ages. Stupid.

I have a dumb phone, so I wouldn't know. But, even though I'm starting to get used to it, I really do prefer the old software. The new software just seems to me less easy to navigate. ???

 

[black95]

Yeah..........probably just wait until I have a little extra $$$ for the LED (which is what I want anyway. And I still need to put my new shocks/coil spacers in, so I guess I should be doing that instead of lighting. Oh, and I'm redoing the kids bathroom, and then there's the................



I have a dumb phone, so I wouldn't know. But, even though I'm starting to get used to it, I really do prefer the old software. The new software just seems to me less easy to navigate. ???

Took me a lot of reading to figure out that clicking on the blue dot next to the avatar of the OP takes you to the newest post. You have to manually go and mark all posts read after the change over, or you'll never know what's new, and you click on the last post date to go to the end of the forum. Less tabs for less clutter, but not as intuitive.

I though about selling my light bar and getting a dual row 30" instead of single row, sounds like you want something that completely fills the space in your rack though.