led light's wiring help

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squigmang

New member
Hey fellas,
I just got the ACE Engineering pro stubby and rear. In stock, they only had the front with the 20" light provision and the rear with the double 6" light provision.
I purchased the 20" lifetime LED bar, and two 6" bars for the rear bumper.
They suggest wiring them to the factory fog light, and reverse lights, but I want to switch them independently.
The 20" draws 7.2 amps and the 6" draw 2.2amps each.
My question is what inline fuse I should go with? I was thinking 10amp for the 20" and a 7.5" for the two 6" (they will be fused before the relay, and a 5 post relay will turn them both on at once).
Am I thinking correctly?
 
pvanweelden

pvanweelden

New member
^ yes, technically you could get a 5 amp for the 2 rears, but being a little over is fine. Staying close to the actual usage rating is good. If you are under, it will blow after having the lights on for a while.
 
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squigmang

New member
pvanweelden said:
^ yes, technically you could get a 5 amp for the 2 rears, but being a little over is fine. Staying close to the actual usage rating is good. If you are under, it will blow after having the lights on for a while.
Click to expand...

Thanks,
I've found generally 1.5x the draw is recommended, but wanted to double check.
 
gtony12

gtony12

Caught the Bug
pvanweelden said:
^ yes, technically you could get a 5 amp for the 2 rears, but being a little over is fine. Staying close to the actual usage rating is good. If you are under, it will blow after having the lights on for a while.
Click to expand...

x2 What pvanweelden said . :standing wave:
 
olram30

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
pvanweelden said:
^ yes, technically you could get a 5 amp for the 2 rears, but being a little over is fine. Staying close to the actual usage rating is good. If you are under, it will blow after having the lights on for a while.
Click to expand...

Just curious, what's the most amps on the factory front fog lights if one was to put a light bar?
 
pvanweelden

pvanweelden

New member
I can't find any info on what the rated fuse for the factory fog lights- sounds like the stocks were 45 watt each and then switched to 24 watt? So I would stay below 90 watt total. If you overload it, it will shut it down until you turn them off.- 90 watts= 7.5 Amps. I would guess the circuit is 10 amps.
 
olram30

olram30

Not That Kind of Engineer
squigmang said:
I'd bet the 20 led bar would draw less than the factory fogs, but don'y know for sure.
Click to expand...

Just re read the op and they suggested wiring to the factory fogs. Guess when I get one and blows a fuse, then put a relay and use the wire from the fog to trigger it.
 
Rebel JK

Rebel JK

New member
olram30 said:
Just curious, what's the most amps on the factory front fog lights if one was to put a light bar?
Click to expand...

You can verify by removing a fog lamp and checking the wattage on the lamp. Multiply total watts x 12v and will give you amps. As important as the fuse is, the wire needs to be sized accordingly as well.
 
pvanweelden

pvanweelden

New member
Rebel JK said:
You can verify by removing a fog lamp and checking the wattage on the lamp. Multiply total watts x 12v and will give you amps. As important as the fuse is, the wire needs to be sized accordingly as well.
Click to expand...

I minor but major edit- total wattage divided by 12V = amps :D

Sent from my SM-N900V using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
jnabird333

jnabird333

-
Rebel JK said:
As important as the fuse is, the wire needs to be sized accordingly as well.
Click to expand...

This^^^

Many believe fusing is to protect the accessory, but it isn't. A fuse is put into a circuit to protect the remainder of the circuit should the accessory fail. Proper fusing should be used to protect the least capable current carrying component. (In most cases this is the wire.)

While the list below is pretty general it could be used for most installations.

Wire+Gauge+Amps+Ratings+for+12+volt+Automotive+Systems+-+Google+Chrome_2014-04-17_09-38-05.png
 
S

squigmang

New member
jnabird333 said:
This^^^

Many believe fusing is to protect the accessory, but it isn't. A fuse is put into a circuit to protect the remainder of the circuit should the accessory fail. Proper fusing should be used to protect the least capable current carrying component. (In most cases this is the wire.)

While the list below is pretty general it could be used for most installations.

Wire+Gauge+Amps+Ratings+for+12+volt+Automotive+Systems+-+Google+Chrome_2014-04-17_09-38-05.png
Click to expand...

judging by that chart i should run 18 AWG, I was planning on 16 AWG. any harm in going with 16 AWG?
 
pvanweelden

pvanweelden

New member
No, the lower the number gauge, the thicker the wire. Never a bad idea to run thicker wire than required, as long as you have the proper sized terminals for the wire gauge.
 
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