| Author |
Message |
    
Greg French
| | Posted on Monday, May 06, 2002 - 02:35 pm: | 
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I am going to be adding hellas to my truck. I am planning on two 3000's for the bumper and four 1000's to the roof rack.
My question is: what is the best way to wire them?
I lit my Toyota very similar to this by tapping into fuses for a power supply and having in-line fuses between the tap and the switch. I had 1 switch for every 2 lights.
I don't know if this was the correct way to do it, but it worked.
I want to do my disco the right way, so I get the most light with the least power drain.
Does anyone have a diagram showing the correct way to wire it and include a relay?
What exactly is a relay? What does it do and why do I need one?
Thanks.
Greg |
ccdm3
| | Posted on Monday, May 06, 2002 - 10:02 pm: |
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Greg,
I ran mine straight from the battery (through an accuvolt)so I could use them whenever I want and in whatever configuration I want (brights/fogs, low/fogs, or fogs only). I also have a switch for every pair. The relay is a must. Each set will come with one. It sends the "turn on" signal to the lights when switched.
Chad |
Greg French
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 07:55 am: |
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Chad...
I didn't use a relay on my last truck and the lights turned on just fine.
What exactly does a relay do?
Greg |
Leslie N. Bright (Leslie)
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 08:45 am: |
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Okay, I'm just now muddling into extra lighting, see if I can explain this right....
On normal factory low-wattage lights, the power to the lights runs through the switch. Switch on, lights on; switch off, lights off.
With a relay, you run the power from the battery to the light through the relay. Then, the switch is tied to the relay. Switch on, relay turns on, lights on; switch off, then relay closes, lights cut off.
That way, you can use heavier wiring between the extra lighting and the battery, and not send all of that power through the switch itself.
The relay is a "heavy-duty switch", that uses the in-cabin switch to control it.
At least if I understand it right, lol.....
-L |
pwp
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 10:22 am: |
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Pretty much on the button Leslie. When dealing with lights and switches for the lights every thing is obviously rated at 12V but the reason for using a relay is because of the amount of amperage (amp) the lights will draw. For people that have wired fog lights without relays, using only a switch and a hot lead, if you have not had problems you basically have only been lucky. The switch that you have used was rated for a higher current than your lights are drawing. There are switches avail. that are rated for lets say 15 to 25 amps or so, but they are usually those butt ugly toggle switches. Most of the spiffy illuminated switches similar to the stock fog light buttons are rated much lower requiring a relay or your lights will only work once, for about 1 sec. Figure out what kind of amperage your lights will be drawing and choose a relay that will satisfy your needs. I usualy stay on the conservative side. If I had something rated at 20amps I would probably utilize a 30amp relay as opposed to a 20 amp relay and don't forget the all mighty fuse for protection !
In a bit of a hurry, hope this helps somewhat
Peter |
Greg French
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 02:50 pm: |
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Thanks everybody. I think I got it.
How hard are relays to wire in? Are they pretty much self-explanitory? |
pwp
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2002 - 09:42 pm: |
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Pretty self-explanitory they usualy always have a diagram associated with them or sometimes printed on them, some may even have more terminals than you need if they work as both normaly open or normaly closed.
Peter |
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