My question is at the bottom of the picture so you don't have to read everything.
Hey everybody I have two Hella Rallye 2000 and two others, not quite sure what they are they came with the truck. They are not working and I don't want to be working on them all the time so I am trying to rewire the whole system. This is all new to me so I have some questions. I picked up 7 feet of 10 gauge, 8 feet of 12 gauge, 6 feet of 18 gauge, and a LED switch.

This is the switch

My question is what gauge load and supply wires do I need if I am running a 40 amp relay? And to power the LED

 

you'll be fine with 14 gauge but the amount you bought in other gauges wont be enough.

 

Awesome thanks . What do you think I am going to be short on?

 

Wire for everything pretty much but it depends how you want to keep it. I go through a lot of primary wire when wiring up lights/switches so there is absolutely 0 wiring visible inside the truck.

if you don't care about seeing wires then you won't go through as much as I do but i still think you'll need more than 8 feet of wire.

 

Sorry this is so crood, I just worked it up on paint hahaha however this is how I was thinking about it working.

 

honestly you could just use 12 gauge for everything imo. no need for 10.

i never use thicker than 12 for this kinda stuff. just my opinion. little overkill, but thats better than underkill i guess

 

I really appreciate your opinion. The only reason I want to use 10 is because I have 4 100w lights pulling from it. Also do you guys think I need the fuse on the supply wire to the switch?

 

I would throw one on the fuse yep.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the info guys, this really helps me out.

 

just to add some info for you


it would be better for you to use a automotive circuit breaker instead of a fuse ( above link )

circuit breakers do not drop voltage or amps over time like fuses do

and you would be better off using this style of relay

12V Heavy Duty Split Charge 100A on Off Relay Car Van Boat 100 Amp 4 Pin | eBay

way better on managing high current and amp loads than the bosch style relays, especially powering 2 100 watt high draw off-road lights

12 gauge wires for each 100 watt light is better in the long run , less heat generated than 14 gauge wire

and finally , yes you need a 10 gauge wire to feed power to each relay, for proper power transfer

 

Outstanding wiring diagram and thank you for it !!

 

kshaw
How did you make out on this ?

You are right on the 10 ga wire, 400 watts will draw 33 amps, 10 ga wire is rated for 30 amps so you might want to reconsider your plan.

 

10 gauge power feed wire will work as long as he only uses 2 lights per relay

always use the 20% rule in regards to relay amperage draw

always leave 20% of the relay`s capacity free , this will allow the relay to handle voltage/amperage surges from the alternator

 

IF you haven't done the wiring yet, here is a How-To I did a while back. a lot of info but read through it and see how it applies to your set up.

https://www.ranger-forums.com/interi...-light-105901/

Remember the basic rule, two light, one relay, one switch.
Four lights, two relays and either one or two switches.
Always size your components for the total amperage + for the circuit , safety first.

 

Hey guys sorry I haven't been back to this thread. I got the lights all wired up and they have been working great! David Fowler I had everything wired up by the time you posted but if I ever need to do anything with the setup I will definitely incorporate circuit breaker and heavy duty relay. Thanks for all the advice!. I kept this wiring

 

Funny story, I put the switch down to the left of the steering wheel and it's low enough that I hit it with my knee when getting out one day and when I got out of class and tried to head home my battery was dead. This happened 4 or 5 times befor I got another switch. Needles to say I wont be having any more dead batteries because of the lights lol

 

Kshaw . It's too bad that you did the wiring without a relay or circuit breaker. I hope your reason for going back in and doing it right isn't because you've burnt up your stuff.

 

That would suck! Unfortunately being a college student I am strapped for cash right now, so the fuses and relay I have will have to do for now.

 

Hey,

How's this working out .

Have you been running all four lights for any length of time ?

Are they bright enough or do you think they should be brighter ?

When all four lights have been running for some time, check the main feed to the lights, see if it is hot or not.

What wattage are the lights .

Just curious.

 

you are half right

10 gauge automotive wire is rated for 30 amps DC

10 gauge AC electrical wire is rated for 40 amps DC

i just buy 100 feet of RV extension cord and cut the connectors off , and use the wire for automotive use

just look for this type of extension cord on sale


i used that cord to wire up offroad lights mounted on my cap

 

All 10-ga wire is rated at 30 amps, fine stranded wire qis better but still rated the same.

The question is how much draw from the four lights ?

55 watts each is 220 watts equals an 18 amp draw, 10-ga wire will work and 12-ga on each light after the junction is ok too but for 400 watts equals a 30+ amps is just enough with only the built in safety factor of the wire. The 12-ga after the junction is still ok.
If we are talking 150 watt lights then 600 watts equals around the 50 amp mark so the 10-ga wire is no where near large enough. Maybe,two 10-ga wires, two sets,of two lights.
Then you need to replace the 40 amp relay and fuses.

Always good to plan it out with proper sized components.

As always do I t right the first time.

 

Hi everyone. If your planning to fix your switch in your own. don't forget to use Electrical Enclosure for your protection. I think this will help you better! :)

 

Hey guys, sorry I haven't been around for a while. I work at a summer camp that takes up all my extra time.
They have been working very well for me.
The longest I ran them for was 3 hours and everything held up good the wire was a little warm under the hood but so is everything else. Where the wire plugged into the light they were a little warm but not warm enough to cause any concern
They are bright but personally I think there are better options out there now, so as soon as I can I will be upgrading to LED's.
They are 100w each, two floods and two spot lights

 

If the lights are 100 watts each, two spots and two long range then believe it or not it is hard to beat them... the LEDs are not perfected yet and IMHO the long range light aren't are long range as they would like you to believe.
The main problem with standard bulb lighting is the amperage draw, big alternators, big batteries or two batteries and larger wiring.
If you are going for some light but for the look then LEDs are hard to beat and will cost you...

The only thing you need to do is run two circuits built with 10 gauge power wiring and the lights should brighten up a little too.

Good Luck watch the warm wire, no sense in burning up your truck.