off road lights wiring diagram
 

ok so i am gonna buy me a set of these http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-100...8376QQtcZphoto only think is they dont come wire a wiring harness. i am good with wiring as i install alarms and remote starts, but i was wondering if someone had a diagram of how to wire them up the way that a wiring kit would do it using the relay.

heres a crap job of a drawing but you get the point
Attachment 205760

^^negative........

for starters:
- no matter what, the switch needs a power supply. low amps (roughly 10A); ignition switched would be good.....espically if you use a relay, the switch has to send power to the relay to activate it...
-you should get a light relay that has 2 - 87 pins on it (most auto parts stores have these on the shelves with the lights).....and then run 2 seperate wires to the lights so they get the proper voltage and amps.....
- if they are 100w lights, then you will want to run 2 relays to power the lights that way you don't overheat the relays.....

you will also want to size the wire accordingly to the size of the lights.....
Relays:
10gauge wire to the relays from the battery
12 gauge wire for the relay ground
12 gauge wire to the lights

Switch
14 gauge wire from the switch to the relays
14 gauge wire from the switch power source to the switch
14 gauge switch ground

weird that is the same setup i had for my lights except i had two relays for two lights.

will you draw me a proper diagram then?

If your just gonna have 2 100W you do NOT need a relay

Heres how I wired mine:
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...210/lights.jpg

If you have a switch with a LED in it youll need a ground comming from the switch (as pictured), If not you do NOT need the ground

EDIT: youll also need a 20A fuse between the battery and the switch, You can get them at wal mart by the fuses for like 75 cents.

NEGATIVE! Unless the switch is capable of handling the load of the lights, you will fry it and most likely the truck too.

Straight from KC:

Attachment 205759

awsome that is alot easier to read. and now i can also just tap onto the green wire and use that as an output on my alarm so i can be fancy and spot light people at parties. thanks for the help. i am gonna go to lowes and buy some stock and bend up some brackets after class and order the lights.

exactly.....that would work great.....

so what is different from that diagram and mine?

you need to have a different power source for the switch than the relays....that is the main thing...

why?

on a vehicle, all power is from the battery and alt...

so in a sense, you are using the same power supply?

keeps you from turning the lights on when the truck is shut off.....no one will always remember to shut them off.....and 100w lights will drain the battery pretty quick.....

thread mark

i will probly end up wiring them to the same point at the battery because with my remote start i have enough wires up at my ignition.

Could take power for the switch from the radio IGN wire, at the radio.

yeah thats what i will probly end up doing because i hate doing these the lazy way, plus i have to hard wire in a my sirius back there too. gotta love the T-Taps.

oh, well. Guess i found it hard to leave Four 130w lights on.

I wired mine exactly like Brice's diagram. I guess if you're smart enough to wire the lights, then you arn't dumb enough to leave them on.

NEGATIVE! I have had mine on for 2 hours straight, only turning them off for traffic, which wasnt much. And my truck has yet to fry, I never have had a problem with them and the wiring diagram I got with them did not say to use a Relay.

I used these switches. http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search


ME 1, YOU 0

Your switch is rated at 25 amps. It can handle the load.


ME 2, YOU 0.

Touche


I believe the score would be tied at 1-1.

you also have to think that if the 12v supply for the switch is coming from something that the key has to be turned on, its kind of useless if you want to light up something you want to work on something.

Brice, there’s nothing wrong with your diagram with the exception of running the power feed to the switch from the battery and using the same fuse. The reason I say this is because the idea in laying out an electrical circuit is to minimize the amount of wiring and also not to depend on a higher rated fuse to control a lower rated branch circuit, i.e., the switch in this case. In your diagram you'll also have to run two sections of wire thru the firewall, one coming from the battery to the switch and one going back to the control relay in the engine compartment. Other than that it is functional.

As for Matthews diagram, its functional, but again your having to run two sections of wire, one to feed the switch and a return line to the lights. Also, your running the full current for the lights thru a much longer section of wiring that could cause resistance and heat depending on the gauge of the wiring and any connections especially at the switch if there simply push on spades. One other thought is if you ever need to replace that switch and forgot about its amp rating and put a lower rated switch in you could wind up with a smoldering dash or even fire before the fuse would blow.

As for a power source to feed the switch any tap to 12 volts with sufficient current rating from inside the cab is fine since this is a low current feed. The coil in the relay only draws 14.5V @ .16 amps. Fusing this circuit with a 3 amp fuse is more than sufficient. The only question here is do you want the lights to work with or without the ignition on. If you notice in the KC diagram the feed shows high/low Ign. The reason is because some States require Aux lights to be wired so they can only be turned on when the high beams are on. As far as off road lights go some States say you must keep them covered while driving on road. As far as forgetting to turn them off well I’m not saying it cant happen because it does, but you should only be using them at night so it would be a little hard to forget especially if the switch is lighted. Bottom line is it’s your choice with this one. I personally wired mine to the cigarette lighter power feed for the light switch since its mounted right next to it. Again keep it simple and short. With this setup I only had to run one wire to the engine compartment.

As far as running two relays, one for each light, I see nothing wrong with this setup either, other than there’s one more thing that could go wrong...Murphy’s law. Even running two 130 watt lamps the current is only going to be 17.95 amps @ 14.5V. Well within the rating of the relay at 30-40 amps.

For the power feed to the lights you can either take it from the battery or the Battery junction box depending on where you mount the relay. Just make sure you put an inline fuse as close to the tap as possible.

Remember, the idea is to keep it simple, run as little wire as needed (especially thru the firewall), and match the wiring, relay, and fuses to the current load.

Just my two cents...


http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...80_68_full.jpg

so if i run a 20amp fuse from the battery to the relay or should i go up to a 30amp?