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Walmart Lights

NCCherokee

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Anderson, SC
Ok, i'm getting some walmart fogs and driving lights for christmas, and of course i know the wiring all these lights come with is subpar. What will i need to wire this up correctly so my jeep doesnt burn to the ground. For example, what amperage should the switch and relay be (im thinking 50A relay,30A swith). do i need an inline fuse, or will the relay take care of it? What guage wire, and how much of it will i need? Thanks guys.

Oh yeah, does anyone have a link to the walmart thread at jeepforum? i havent joined that forum yet so i cant search. Thanks again
 
Assuming you use a relay and wire it correctly, the switch doesn't carry any significant load at all. A 5-amp switch would be more than adequate.

A relay is a relay. If you use a 50-amp relay as a fuse, you'll do some serious damage before it "fuses." Use a fuse. The fuse goes between the battery and the relay.

12-gauge wire minimum. That should be plenty for Wal-Mart lights, unless you plan to run higher wattage bulbs in them.
 
goodburbon said:
while wiring remember that

10 gauge wire is good for up to 30 amps
12 gauge wire is good for up to 20 amps

Amps=watts/volts

this depends on the distance your gonna travel. i beleive the wall mart lights are 15A no sense in getting a 50A relay a good switch could even be up to the task. (that's the way i have them run) if you plan on running a few sets of lights off or one switch then deff go with the relay and rember if your going to hook up multiple sets of lights to one switch you will want one larger fuse next to the bat. and then a few smaller (1 fuse for each set of lights) fuses after the relay that way if one light or wire goes bad it will not be able to draw the full 50A that the relay can handle.
 
im getting a set of fog lights from canadian tire for christmas. i beleive they are about $28 cad a pair. would it be cheaper to buy them from walmart? i havent seen any prices
 
this depends on the distance your gonna travel.

that is correct,

Length of run (in feet)
Current 0-4 4-7 7-10 10-13 13-16 16-19 19-22 22-28

0-20A 14 12 12 10 10 8 8 8
20-35A 12 10 8 8 6 6 6 4
35-50A 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 4
50-65A 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 2
65-85A 6 6 4 4 2 2 2 0
85-105A 6 6 4 2 2 2 2 0
105-125A 4 4 4 2 2 0 0 0
125-150A 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 00

hope this helps to clarify that point.
 
now that didnt work very well did it?

:badpc:

you should have seen the results I got while trying to print a 3x5 card with all of my needed chemistry info.
 
Fixed it for ya. ;)

goodburbon said:
that is correct,

Length of run (in feet)

Code:
    Current     0-4  4-7 7-10  10-13  13-16  16-19  19-22  22-28

      0-20A     14   12   12     10     10      8      8      8
     20-35A     12   10    8      8      6      6      6      4
     35-50A     10    8    8      6      6      4      4      4
     50-65A      8    8    6      4      4      4      4      2
     65-85A      6    6    4      4      2      2      2      0
    85-105A      6    6    4      2      2      2      2      0
   105-125A      4    4    4      2      2      0      0      0
   125-150A      2    2    2      2      0      0      0     00

hope this helps to clarify that point.
 
First off, it depends on the wattage of the lights. I believe Wal-Mart sells both 55 watt and 100 watt lights. Lets assume you're getting the 100 watt light, because if you wire for that you'll be just fine with either.

So, two 100 watt lights = 200 watts = 17 amps @ 12 volts. The lights actually operate at about 13 volts, but wire it to handle 20 amps and you'll have a nice safety margin.

You should not wire your fog and driving lights together, because you want to be able to turn on one or the other. In particular, if you are in foggy conditions you do NOT want to turn on your driving lights as they'll just make your visibility WORSE! That means you need two switches, two relays, etc.

Obviously you don't need 50 amp relays. The standard automotive relays, available cheaply at every auto parts store, are usually rated for 30 amps and that is clearly plenty for your situation. Sometimes you can find 50 amp relays for very little more and they will work just as well. In any case, as long as the relay is rated for at least 20 amps, there's no need to pay extra for a higher rating.

As Eagle said, the switch carries very little load--probably less than a single amp. So 20 gauge wire from the switch to the relay would be plenty, though I rarely bother with anything smaller than 16 gauge myself.

From the battery to the relay, and from the relay to the lights, you'll need a circuit that can carry 20 amps. 10 or 12 gauge depends on how long the run is. If you're front-mounting the lights (rather than on the roof) then the run should be short enough that 12 gauge will work fine. In fact, if you get the type of relay that has two normally open terminals (rather than one normally open and one normally closed) then you can run a 14 gauge wire from each terminal to each light, since each individual light will be drawing less than 10 amps.

Good luck!
 
I used 16 guage wire for both pairs of 55 watt lights I put on my heep.(the same size wire that came with them)

usually it isn't until you get into the real powerful lights, like hella and KC lights, that you really need the bigger wires. Even then, thats just in order to make the lights brighter.

the bigger the wire, the faster electricity can travel through it. (and the brighter your light will be.)

If you use too big of a wire, you're more likely to blow out the bulbs when you turn them on.

With that said - take a look at how the aux lights compare to my silverstars. they made the digital camera act all funny.

LightUP.jpg
 
XplodJeepster said:
the bigger the wire, the faster electricity can travel through it. (and the brighter your light will be.)


Bigger wire will have a lower voltage drop than a smaller wire because the resistance is lower. The electricity doesn't travel faster, it's already going at the speed of light.
 
only advise i have is use a fuse ill take some pics of the aftermath when i get home i had some 15$ walmart lights and the shorted out burnt the insolation off the wire from the light to the switch all while it was on a trailor...
 
XplodJeepster said:
the bigger the wire, the faster electricity can travel through it. (and the brighter your light will be.)

If you use too big of a wire, you're more likely to blow out the bulbs when you turn them on.

FYI electricity wont flow faster, what will happen is you will be able to pull more current through the conductor. And one other note is that Lights ( or any other electrical device for that matter, CB, Winch, radar detector, what have you) DRAWS current, it pulls as much as it needs, its not forced upon it by the battery. little equation for ya

P=IxE P-power expressed in watts I-Current expressed in amps E-Voltage expressed in....volts(also seen elsewhere as P=IxV.Same thing)
so if they are 50 watt bulbs.50=Ix13VDC
switch this around using algebraic laws and we have I=50/13
that actually gave me 3.846..... so they would, in theory draw an average of 3.846, or to round up for safety, 4 amps. If its 12 volts, itll drop due to the direct proportional nature of V and I in this scenario. just google Ohms law if you ever want that resource, im sure its all over the place
 
FYI electricity wont flow faster, what will happen is you will be able to pull more current through the conductor. And one other note is that Lights ( or any other electrical device for that matter, CB, Winch, radar detector, what have you) DRAWS current, it pulls as much as it needs, its not forced upon it by the battery.

EXACTLY! It pulls as much as it needs.

When you run wire that is smaller than the reccomended size you are limiting the ammount of current that can get to the lights, so they are dimmer than they should be......but the lights want more, so as many electrons as possible try to squeeze through the smaller wire(simplification of the actual process). As the ammount of current wanted by the device increases(higher wattage bulbs etc.) the line "pressure" increases as pressure increases temperature increases.

Bottom line, we use larger wires so our jeeps won't burn.
 
goodburbon said:
that is correct,

Length of run (in feet)
Current 0-4 4-7 7-10 10-13 13-16 16-19 19-22 22-28

0-20A 14 12 12 10 10 8 8 8
20-35A 12 10 8 8 6 6 6 4
35-50A 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 4
50-65A 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 2
65-85A 6 6 4 4 2 2 2 0
85-105A 6 6 4 2 2 2 2 0
105-125A 4 4 4 2 2 0 0 0
125-150A 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 00

hope this helps to clarify that point.
Interesting chart. I like it.

I don't think I've ever seen quite that version. Got a source for it? (No, I'm not making jokes about the messed up format, I'm curious where the information comes from. Among other reasons, although I like the fact that your chart increases size with length of run to account for voltage drop, I've never before heard anyone recommend less than 12 gauge wire for 20 amps. Rule of thump is 14 gauge for 15 amps (unless you need larger for voltage drop), and 12 gage for 20 amps.
 
yeah, I contradicted myself a bit there didn't I.



10 gauge wire is good for up to 30 amps
12 gauge wire is good for up to 20 amps

Good catch, I honestly don't remember where I found that chart, and upon review, I don't like it very much, 50 amps might be a bit much for a 10 gauge wire..I'll find a better one, or make one.
 
I made a chart that I could keep in the garage and in the Jeep. Same info, different presentation:

Auto-Wiring-Gauge-Talbe-Sm.gif


Here's the link to the high-resolution (300 dpi) version that I printed on a piece of 4x6 photo paper and taped to the inside lid of my electrical tool box in the Jeep:

http://arrowheadmfg.com/tempItems/WireTables/Auto-Wiring-Gauge-Table.gif

Feel free to download and edit/use as you see fit.
 
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