LED Wiring Help

brizon85

brizon85

Member
Hey all ,

I have purchased 6 led strips that I want to mount inside the Jeep in various places. I'm not too confident with wiring and was wondering if anyone might be able to help me out. Essentially the LED strips have a positive and negative wire and I would like to use a dash mounted switch for all 6 strips wired to the battery . My concerns are this:

1. can I somehow wire all strips to one connection?
2. Do I need to use a fuse with each LED?
3. Does the gauge of wire I use for extending them matter?
 
pvanweelden

pvanweelden

New member
1. Yes, but please answer how much wattage are the Led's? each. then total all 6 wattages, divide by 12 volts and you will have your current draw. example- 6 lights at 9 watts each = 54/12= 4.5 amps
2. One fuse- rated at the above current draw- placed near the battery.
3. how long of wire runs will you need? the longer the runs, the thicker gauge wire you will need to carry the current safely.
 
brizon85

brizon85

Member
I am putting the lights under the dash, under the seats and 3 in the cargo area. I have some 18 gauge now. Also what would be the best method of connecting the lights together?

Thank you for your response :)
 
pvanweelden

pvanweelden

New member
What is the wattage of each led?

You will hook each led up in parallel, keeping the shortest wire runs as possible, join the different lights all together.
Without knowing the current draw of the circuit, can't safely tell you what size wire to use, but I doubt the 18 gauge will be heavy enough.
You can solder the connections and cover them with heat shrink tubing or use insulated crimp connectors with a proper crimp tool.
 
brizon85

brizon85

Member
I'm not sure what the wattage is, the packages does not specify. they are 12 volt rated and comes with a 24 gauge wire that is 3 feet long if that helps
 
pvanweelden

pvanweelden

New member
I don't see the wattage either. Which then makes it tough to recommend wire or fuse or whether you really need a relay in the circuit.
Anything more than 10 amps should always have a relay. If you are going to be adding other lights to your jeep in the future- now is the time to start planning ahead.
I will guess that each light would safely be under 18 watts each = 108 watts/12= 9 amps. Use minimum of 16 gauge wire, 10 amp fuse, and switch rated for at least 15amp.

Sent from my SM-N900V using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
pvanweelden

pvanweelden

New member
Op never said he wanted to hook them up to the factory dome light switch :D
Thanks tho ^ :D
If someone did want to do that- the wire to tie into for the positive is the yellow wire with white tracer at the passenger kick panel. I would not recommend adding more than 60 watts total of led lights to the factory circuit (5 amp).

Sent from my SM-N900V using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
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