Need to know where to tap into for 20" led bar

[wishihad1]

Hey everybody

Well Im installing some of the Trail worthy fab lights. Ive got everything pretty much done, just want to know what a good choice is for a wire to tap into. I dont want them to come on with headlights...Ive got an individual switch for when I want them on or off. The lead wires coming off the light are pretty healthy sized...10 gauge im guessing. Are there any pre-existing wires which would be fused large enough for me to tap into?

or will I need to run this straight to the battery and install an inline fuse

thanks

 

[whitexj98]

How much amperage do they pull? If they are 10 gauge wires it probably pulls a good amount. I would run a dedicated line off the battery fused with a relay.

 

[Bbasso]

If you're going to do it right...

 

[the_weirdo]

Run it straight to the battery with a fuse but use a relay just to be safe.

 

[xcm]

LED bar's have a low draw, but not that low. 'Tapping' into an existing circuit is still lazy and undesireable, if for no other reason than troubleshooting future problems. This is at the front of the jeep anyways, might as well run a new wire, and do it right the first time.

Shortcuts in wiring accessories ALLWAYS comes back to bite you in the ass... best case scenario your lights stop working, worst case you have a short that burns your jeep up.

 

[wishihad1]

Sounds good...wasn't trying to do anything lazy about the install. After reading and seeing other light installs, Ive seen a lot of people tap into the headlight harness for their lights. So I was just assuming this was a common practice.

It sounds like I'm going to wire it to the battery, and run an inline fuse. excuse the ignorance but whats the purpose of running the relay with the fuse?

 

[xcm]

IIRC, Hella 500's come with instructions to tap into the headlights so you cant turn the driving lights without the high beams, I think it has something to do with DOT compliance or not being able to accidently switch on the offroad lights without your headlights also being on... Ive allways started from scratch though.

 

[xcm]

Relays are so you can run a thick wire from the battery ->relay->offroad lights, this is the current path and needs thicker gauge wire. Then, the part of the circuit that goes into the cab for the switch can be done with much thinner wire, because it doesnt carry the load.

If you just ran a switch on the hot leg, you would need a beefier switch to carry the load. This IS possible, and trophy trucks are wired this way, but youve got to run thick wire into the cab, and run a more expensive switch.

I run a switched ground on my add-on relays, this diagram is switched hot, but they'll both work.

It helps to wire up a lil experiment on your desk, once you play around with it a lit bit, it will click in your head.

...put it this way, when you have ground on pin 86, AND +12v on pin 85, it connects Pins 30 to 87. 30 and 87 are the load circuit, which is why they need thick wire. You can put the switch between pin 86 and the ground screw, and just daisy chain a wire from pin 30 to 85.... drastically simplifing all the stuff coming off of pin 85...

 

[collkid]

Installed a 56' LED Light Bar on a friends JK. Took almost no power. Said to tap into the fuse box for main power. LED's just don't take any power at all. Just for fun, we ran the bar on a 9v. Wasn't as bright as it should be but it turned on.