lukeincolorado

Alright well i picked up a grill guard for my Xj and it had 2 kc daylighters. I replaced the bulbs and i ran a 10 g wire from the lights to a toggle switch and than to the battery. And vice versa for the ground except to a clean part of the engine bay. My lights come on as soon as i hook the battery terminal back up. So where did i go wrong??? Im an idiot when it comes to electrical. Any ideas?

caged

you need to wire to a relay, otherwise you risk overloading the switch and can cause a fire.

http://www.kchilites.com/wp-content/...3/6315-web.pdf

xj^REMY

Not necessarily... I had 2x 55W fogs wired on a 10A circuit with 12 gauge stranded wire (commonly used in commercial/residential electrical), to a toggle switch, grounded the lights to the fender, & all worked out fine for ~3 years... As long as the wire & fuse protection is sized appropriately for the load, & the load isnt excessive, things will work fine

ALTHOUGH, yes, a relay is to be used to protect the switch, use thinner wire from relay to switch, & in essence, less expensive material (both switch & wire)

luke, how many terminals does the switch have? Does it illuminate? Which wires did you connect to it??

xj^REMY

^^^ POST #400





..... 401!!!

caged

sure it worked for you. but are you gonna take the liability on the op's jeep/life if he takes your suggestion over mine/all reputable offroad light suppliers?
there is a reason why all off road light manufacturers include relays in their light kits.

and using household wiring in a vehicle is just ludicrous.

Gee oh Dee

I agree 100%.

Just because 'it worked for you' doesn't mean its the safe or correct way to do it.

I could push my Jeep to work every day. Sure, it would work, and I would save on gas money, but there are better ways to do it.

xj^REMY

Did you miss this..

I agree with you that using a relay in a electronics circuit is THE SAFEST, & like I added, the best cost efficient way of wiring... What I'm trying to point out is that IT IS possible to have a relay-less circuit... Not just saying, "You're going to burn & kill yourself, the whole family & the dog without a relay... Here's a link for an installation PDF"

Now, what if he wired a 20A toggle switch?? 2x 100W fogs can be switched on/off just fine, the switch can handle the current... Problem then becomes that high current switches are stupid expensive & get obstructively large

Like already stated, relays protect the switch... & when wiring with relays, USE LESS EXPENSIVE MATERIALS... Thats why "off road light manufacturers" supply & recommend using appropriately sized relays

as for "using household wiring"... Do you know the difference between GPT & THWN stranded copper??

xj^REMY

You could cut a hole at your feet & Flinstone your way round town... That's the best way




... tho you would have to do away with ABS, & thats not safe...

caged

yeah, i read it. i was just giving you a hard time.

xj^REMY

xjsnake

OP: It sounds like your switch could be bad (stuck closed). I'm going to assume you tried flipping the switch.

cranesrule

Do you want that high current running behind your dash? Or do you want it in the engine compartment? Which is safer? Thus... RELAY.