Electrical question

Hey guys,

I'm putting in some rock lights and I'm just about finished. My question is - How do I effectively consolidate 8 positive and 8 negative leads into one wire to hook up to my SwitchPro? If my math is right, all together they will draw less than 3 amps so Im not concerned on that front. 8 lights @ 4W each and 12V = 2.6 amps.

So my first idea is a block of some sort, but that would leave all the connections exposed and Im not a fan of that. Or I could combine them in sort of a tournament bracket style. 8 leads, going 2 to 1 leaves me with 4 connectors. Then those 4 going 2 to 1 gets me to 2 connectors, then those 2 down to one for the switchpro. Same on the negative side, leaving me with 14 butt- to butt- connectors which I'm sure will be a mess. I suppose I could try 3 to 1 or maybe 4 to 1 but Im not sure my butt connectors are big enough for 4.

I do have lots of heat shrink which will be used liberally so that should clean it up a bit. Do you have a better idea?

I do have a soldering iron and passable skills. Maybe that is a better approach and not the connectors.

I think a terminal block or buss bar would be the cleanest option. If you're worried about weathering on the terminals, just silicone or epoxy the block.

Ohm's law is used to calculate electrical draw. This is an easy calculator.

http://www.ohmslawcalculator.com/ohms-law-calculator

I would a terminal like this one on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Position-Covered-Barrier-Screw-Terminal/dp/B005DJJGSK

You don't have to run ground wires all of the way to the battery, just ground at the frame or body near the light.

Bustedback said:

You don't have to run ground wires all of the way to the battery, just ground at the frame or body near the light.

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All good suggestions, thank you. I'm using the Lux Lighting set which has a fairly beefy wire and insulation. I wouldnt want to cut that up and leave the positive exposed just to ground it near the light. I am running the wires in some plastic loom though.

boardsurfer said:

All good suggestions, thank you. I'm using the Lux Lighting set which has a fairly beefy wire and insulation. I wouldnt want to cut that up and leave the positive exposed just to ground it near the light. I am running the wires in some plastic loom though.

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Both I and Overlander just ran them all together and butted the leads together on each side of the jeep into a larger wire from there.

Thanks. I think I'm heading that direction.