Hmm..which Guage wire to use??

I bought a light bar from a forum member and the wiring bundle came with only about 8 inches of wires thar were snipped.

Which Guage wire and fuse do I need to get to the battery, fuse panel, and back to the toggle switch?

I'm sure it's been asked alot but I can find the answer. There's probably explanatory diagrams out there but I'm weary to just search anywhere.

 

I'm guessing you should use the same gauge as the existing.

 

I would assume this too yet I'm not an electrical guy and aM inquiring on what Guage that is and what size fuse as well

 

Are you installing the 37" upper hood bulge led now?

 

Yes. The weather is starting to shape up and I'm going to start on the mods I'm not 100% confident in my skills

 

What's your recommendation on layout of the wiring, a relay, and switch install?

I've installed some lighting already but had a harness provided that was self explanatory.

What was your wiring setup with that bar?

 

Are you gonna answer the question or ignore the request? Not trying to be a jerk, just inquiring about something you sold me. I've asked 3 times now with no response.

IM sure you've just missed the questions but still need some sort of response. I guess I'll have to figure it out on my own, which I certainly can do

 

How much power does the light bar pull? Cali Raised LED sells wiring harness with switch and relay for $15.

 

Honestly, I don't know. It was a purchase from a forum member that hasn't answered any of the questions Ive asked.

 

It's tough to offer advise without understanding what is being lit. I have some tiny LEDs at my house that pull a pretty intense current, so I'm guessing, not all lightbars are created equal.

As for automotive electronics - although people think it's easy as 12V isn't as hazardous as 110 or 220v... the chances of screwing up are higher... and when you screw up, granted, you don't get electrocuted and thrown across the parking lot... but your car/truck tends to catch fire. Most of the burnt out cars you see (that aren't intentionally set on fire) are caused by electrical issues.. people running too small wire gauge for the load it's carrying or length it's running.

Without knowing what the load is of the light bar, no-one can tell you what gauge wire to run. Can you get specs from the manufacturer?

 

Not sure what the manufacturer is, but your reasoning for gathering that info is the exact reason I'm asking questions. I'm not trying to burn up my truck. I need the guy that I bought it from to answer my questions

 

so i've no idea who you bought it off or what your deal was but in his defense, there are some things that i've bought and then sold that i wouldn't have remembered the specs for...

As an alternative, take a look at some expensive versions of the light bar you have... in general, the more expensive, the more powerful & therefore more current it will pull. Some of them may even state a minimum wire thickness to use, like you find on amplifier specs. If you copy those, you should be good even if yours isn't as powerful as those. (better to be safe than sorry)

As for wiring it in... I don't think you'd want to run full thickness through the firewall to a switch so you need to use a relay, I'd power that off 12v switched so that it will only light when the ignition's on. Place the relay close to the lightbar/battery so that you minimize your lengths of heavy gauge wire. Make sure the relay is rated to power the load of the lightbar.

I'm sure someone else will chime in with more experience than me in terms of lightbars... I've never installed one and probably never will... I have added a few electrical devices to a few cars though.


P.S. Make sure you fuse the 12v sw supply and the 12v constant from the battery. Inline fuses are probably the easiest.. on the relay supply, you need a super small load rating and on the lightbar supply, use one that is slightly higher than the estimated bar rating... If you fuse things correctly - no (much less) chance of fire.

 

Sorry I just saw your post. I was with family for church. Dang bro

 

Please do, Ron. That's a great quick description though. It gives me something to work with

 

Thank you sir. That's exactly what I needed

 

That helps. Like I said before, I can do the work as long as I know what to use.

Thanks Ron!!!!

 

You can bring me some beer.....I'll share em with you.

 

Nope.
I'm sitting on the porch waiting. If you're not here by dark our friendship is going to deteriorate

 

SELLER MADE GOOD!!! He didn't see my questions so my frustration was just in my head, not due to his actions.

Thanks bro!!

 

I love happy endings...

 

Matt,
Agreed. Now we just need @RowdyRon to keep his promise and get here with beer! It's not gonna be quite the happy ending if I stay thirsty too long

 

Here's a quick diagram I drafted up for you. The fuse sizes are notional.

For the Switch line, a 1 or 2 Amp Fuse is plenty. I normally use 16ga wire for Switch lines.

For the Light Bar power line to the Relay, pick your Fuse and wire size per the chart. A 20Amp fuse and 10Ga wiring to the Battery is pretty common. Check your light bar for a manufacturer sticker or stamp with info on power requirements.

 

Also it doesn't hurt to use a bigger gauge then needed. So in reality you could have used a 12 gauge to be safe.

 

Thanks man!! Super helpful

 

This. @RowdyRon knows ohms law.

 

Actually, when it comes to wire gauge sizes, the larger the gauge, the smaller the wire. So the next size larger than 10ga is 8 ga. 180 watts/12Volts = 15 Amps. Fuses are labeled at their nominal continuous rating, and should be sized for a 25% surge margin. So I would use 10 ga wire with a 20 Amp fuse.

 

Damn...I know it's surprising to all but it would seem there are a ton of people on here that are smarter than me.

Yeah, I know. I'm surprised too