Electrical - Switch Question

A few basic questions that some of you electrical experts could please answer for me...

1. I have two LED lights that i just mounted on my bumper they are 3AMP each. Do I need a relay to operate these or can I just use a switch with 14 gauge wire?

2. If just a switch is ok, does it matter where I get the 12V power from?

3. Will getting power directly from the battery fry the switch (or is it the amp draw that fries the switch)?

Thanks a lot.

#1 a. - LED light that draw 3 A. each???? ..... DANG!!!! :wow:
# 1 b. - A relay would not really be nessary if you do use 14 ga. and a switch rated for at least 12 -15 A. (I like to keep all relays and switches switching no more than 1/2 their rated amperage). This is just cheap insurance as far as I'm concerned.

# 2 - Well ......... yes it does matter because it would do no good to use 14 ga. wire and a nice heavy rated switch if you tap all of that into a 20 ga. wire as a supply. Your supply source should be able to supply at least twice your needs.

# 3 - It's the amp load (or rather overload) that causes anything electrical to fry, not the highest capacity of the supply. (i.e. - a dome ligh bulb draws about 1/2 A., but it does not "fry" even though it is being powered by the car battery that can provide some 900 A. during a quick surge).

Are these the the PIAA LED's that you,ve got???

:lecture:

gpthrlz said:

A few basic questions that some of you electrical experts could please answer for me...

1. I have two LED lights that i just mounted on my bumper they are 3AMP each. Do I need a relay to operate these or can I just use a switch with 14 gauge wire?

2. If just a switch is ok, does it matter where I get the 12V power from?

3. Will getting power directly from the battery fry the switch (or is it the amp draw that fries the switch)?

Thanks a lot.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.
The LED's are acutally Whelen TIR3's that they use on police cars. I will be using them as emergency strobelights. I hooked them up (without a relay) and they are super bright for this purpose.

I got the power from an aftermarket fuseblock that the previous owner put in. The fuseblock has a real thick wire feeding it. I plugged my 14 guage into one of the outlets. I just did not know if 14 guage hooked up to that thick wire (via the fuse block) would fry the switch. But your answer #3 indicates that I am ok the way i have it hooked up. Is this correct?

Thanks again!!!!
Steve

You are correct.

I've got a set of strobe LED's in amber on the way myself that I will be hooking up on the aftermarket fuse block that I hooked up to my battery via a very short run of 10 ga. wire.

My amber LED strobes will be mounted at each side of the top of the rear hatch window and will be coupled together to do a "wig-wag" flash pattern to will serve as extra hazard flashers.

The similarities here are weird!!!! :confused1

gpthrlz said:

Thanks for the reply.
The LED's are acutally Whelen TIR3's that they use on police cars. I will be using them as emergency strobelights. I hooked them up (without a relay) and they are super bright for this purpose.

I got the power from an aftermarket fuseblock that the previous owner put in. The fuseblock has a real thick wire feeding it. I plugged my 14 guage into one of the outlets. I just did not know if 14 guage hooked up to that thick wire (via the fuse block) would fry the switch. But your answer #3 indicates that I am ok the way i have it hooked up. Is this correct?

Thanks again!!!!
Steve

Click to expand...

That is weird! I got two ambers for the rear and two whites for the front (the white ones were the ones i installed yesterday under the winch on my ARB bumper. Turned them on after getting your message that my wiring was ok, and man are they bright. This is what police cars out here have. Just hope I do not get a ticket. Then again, they could ticket me for the cracked windshield, 35's sticking out, or the airhorn. ;-)

Even thought of wiring the airhorn with the stobes, but that would be too much. I will take a picture next week and post it.

For the rears i am going to use the Whelen bracket and probalby hook it up to the custom taillight assembly i have. Putting on the hatch sounds good too!
STeve

crystalship1 said:

You are correct.

I've got a set of strobe LED's in amber on the way myself that I will be hooking up on the aftermarket fuse block that I hooked up to my battery via a very short run of 10 ga. wire.

My amber LED strobes will be mounted at each side of the top of the rear hatch window and will be coupled together to do a "wig-wag" flash pattern to will serve as extra hazard flashers.

The similarities here are weird!!!! :confused1

Click to expand...

post some pics of your rigs with these new lights installed!

ive helped a bunch of my friends rig up strobes etc on their caqrs/trucks for the F.D.

interested in seeing your rigs.....


CaptTrev

Will do.... but it might take a week or so (for me) as I got the wrong lights in today (my fault, not the eBay seller's!!!)

:doh:

CaptTrev said:

post some pics of your rigs with these new lights installed!

ive helped a bunch of my friends rig up strobes etc on their caqrs/trucks for the F.D.

interested in seeing your rigs.....


CaptTrev

Click to expand...