12V switch wiring Q&A

[ATXHEMI]

I ordered new headlights with halo's from JJ. And 2 red led light bars for behind the grille. I also ordered 2 ill switches, fuse links and 2 relays. My question is do yall normally run your lights through a relay? I've heard its better than all the amp draw going through the switch. Any advise is appreciated.

 

[schroederMP]

I always run aftermarket lights threw a relay...i had an old Chevy with 6" lights on it, had then on for 20 minutes...damn switch started smoking and melting. After that I wired **** up right

 

[WhiteExpress]

The use of a relay depends entirely on the load. A couple LED light bars in no way require a relay. Anything about @ 10W (in my book) is good to use a relay for (IE aux driving lights).

Just made quite the relay center for the old man's truck to handle the massively upgraded headlights.

Works like a charm!

 

[Stangshcky12]

Switches are usually only designed for 3 or 5 amps
Occasionally they may have a higher current capacity but are expensive

I always feel better running power through a relay rather then a switch, thats the whole purpose behind a relay
An inline fuse of course in the circuit as well

 

[ATXHEMI]

Thanks for the advice guys. Good thing I ordered relays.