Roof lights

[Broncobeginner123]

I got 5 lights and a roof rack from a buddy of mine, it didnt come with the wiring harness though. I want to run a 3 and 2 light set up, with 2 toggle switches. now i have wired the lights up and have ran the wire into the truck, but my question is how do i set up the power, do i run straight from the battery to a relay, then to the switches? I picked up a 2 relays and i have no clue how it works.. its a box, with 5 prongs sticking out. im lost.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[92broncobeast]

I got 5 lights and a roof rack from a buddy of mine, it didnt come with the wiring harness though. I want to run a 3 and 2 light set up, with 2 toggle switches. now i have wired the lights up and have ran the wire into the truck, but my question is how do i set up the power, do i run straight from the battery to a relay, then to the switches? I picked up a 2 relays and i have no clue how it works.. its a box, with 5 prongs sticking out. im lost.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

dont take my word for it but i would use a heavy gage wire and run it strait from the batt.

 

[Bully Bob]

The relay is to prevent smoke/fire hazard in the cockpit.

Heavy gage fr. bat. to the relay(s) (mounted under the hood) ....heavy gage fr. relay to lights.

Smaller gage can now be used to run thru firewall to operate switches.

Strategic placement of fuzes is a good thing.

Some sort of conduit for heavy gage is a good thing.

Note;

Possible drain & strain on bat. & alternator with these lights.

Your relays are basically a remote mounted on/off switch for the big amps. One would think they're marked (the prongs) ....no instructions with them..?

 

[BLADE262US]

The relay should have numbers by the prongs if its a normal one there will be like an 87 and an 87a that go to the lights post a pic so we can be sure . How I did mine is I used an amphenol connector it has many pins in it and fit in about a 1 1/4 hole so I took out the dome light so I could see the outer skin of the roof and poked the hole there , Then I used 12 guage wire and ran a power and ground for each light to this connector I took my 5 reds and 5 blacks and fished them down the right and left sides of the truck ( interior panels were removed ) So my wires are going between the inner and outter body metal .. Now with the panels removed there is quite a bit of room under them so the one side I bolted the black wires to the body for my ground , The other side I mounted a continuos duty starter relay and ran the wires to one side of that . Next I ran 4 guage batter cable from the battery under the sill plates on the doors to the other side of the relay . It must be fused accordingly at the battery , The I ran the small wire from the solenoid to my touch switch on the dash . This setup is capable of handling alot of current which 5 150 sealed beam KC,s will draw . The light bar then has the same wires run to the lights and to the other end of the amphenol connector so that if I want to take the lights off I can and then just put a cap on the plug . I have run this setup for many years with absolutely no problems . I can tell you right now that if you dont upgrade the alternator you wont be able to run them very long mine with the stock alternator would **** the battery dry and **** the motor if I didnt turn them off . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> never hurts for the wire to be too big to small on the other hand has the potential to start glowing then catch stuff on fire .

 

[Broncobeginner123]

Thanks all for the advise. Looks like i need to rewire the lights i used 18 gauge wire, i thought it was to small but now i realize it truelly is, so i have to undo it all. I now have an understanding of how to wire this thing to start running these lights.

Thanks for the help..

 

[Seabronc]

That is way too much light for a stock alternator. If you have 5 150 watt lights, the current draw is 62.5 amps. You definately need a relay with atleast 85 amp or greater continuous operation rated contacts keyed from a switch. The main feed wire to such an installation should be #6 to prevent over heating and starting a fire and the leads for each light should be atleast #14 to prevent large voltage drops to the lights. Fusing is definately in order for to prevent a short or overheating the wires from starting a fire. In this case I'd run two relays so the feed wire size and fuse can be reduced. You could split the lights between them 2 and 3, or 25 amps on one and 37.5 amps on the other. That would allow you to reduce the feed wire size to #10 and #8 respectively with fuses of 30 and 40 amps to make a safe installation.

A alternator upgrade to atleast a 130 amp 3G. will be needed inorder to operate the lights and truck at the same time. You might even consider a 200 Amp alternator. Be aware that at idle no alternator may be able to supply your entire trucks requirement with those lights on, which means that you will start draining from the battery.

the relay should have numbers by the contacts;

30 = is the fused supply from the battery to the lights

87 = is the normally open contact (used to turn something on when the relay is operted)

87a = is the normally closed contact ( used to turn something off when the relay is operated)

86 = is the contact for switched 12V to the relay coil

85 = is the contact for grounding the relay coil

Personally I'd recommend reducing the lamp size to atlest 100 Watts and I'm sure you are aware that it is illegal to run them on the road.

Good luck on whatever you do with it.

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