General Technical & Electrical General technical and electrical discussion for the Ford Ranger that does not fit in any other sub-forum.

Hooking up Offroad lights, am I doing it right?

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Old Jun 24, 2011
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PickupMan92's Avatar
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From: Orange City, FL
Hooking up Offroad lights, am I doing it right?

Ok, so I have never used a relay before but I got a ford one with the 85-86-87-30.

I have an LED switch... I made a diagram based upon Matt's one diagram. am I doing it right?

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Old Jun 24, 2011
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that is right and would work but for the switch power most people take power from somewhere inside the cab such as the cig lighter that way you only have to run one wire through the firewall
 
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Old Jun 24, 2011
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good idea marcus. I appreciate the info. Just gotta make some light tabs now and I'll be all set to hook them up.
 
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Old Jun 27, 2011
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Great.... Do as Marcus said it it will work. Thanks for help Marcus.
 
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Old Jun 27, 2011
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Pickupman92,
How did you make out on this ?
Schematic looks good, what wattage are the lights ?
What wire gauge and fuse/relay size are you planning on using ?

All is important and works together for the brightest and longest lasting lights.
Make sure to size all of the above based on the amperage draw of the total lighting circuit.
wattage / voltage = amperage.
Always size the wire for the largest component or total amperage and the fuse for the smallest component.

Always use a fused power line to pin 30 on the relay and keep the relay and main fuse under the hood close to the battery.
 
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Old Jul 7, 2011
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From: Orange City, FL
I haven't hooked em up yet... had some family stuff I've needed to attend to recently.

Here is the link to the lights I bought... they are all the rage on some jeep forums, so I figured WTF ya know?
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...4774_200104774

I bought some 14g wire and was planning on using that throughout the entire setup.. what do y'all think? I plan on putting fuses exactly where the diagram says.
 
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Old Jul 7, 2011
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HOLY HELL
 
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Old Jul 8, 2011
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Originally Posted by PickupMan92
I haven't hooked em up yet... had some family stuff I've needed to attend to recently.

Here is the link to the lights I bought…

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...4774_200104774

I bought some 14g wire and was planning on using that throughout the entire setup.. what do y'all think? I plan on putting fuses exactly where the diagram says.
$20/ea for a knock-off KC Light, not bad.

IF the lights are 100 watt each (16+ amp draw) then each two lights can use the 14-ga wire but no smaller. 12-ga is better if available.
Fusing by the schematics is a good idea; the fuse for the switch can be smaller but 3 amp will work.
The wiring for the switch/relay activation can be 16 or even 18 gauge, no problem and smaller gauge wire is easier to run to the relay.
14-ga wire throughout the circuit will work ok but if it was me I would get some 12-ga for power and 16 or 18 for switches.

ltr/luck
 
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