Light bar Installation

[PCT]

I have looked around and cant find much about wiring a light bar into high beams. So im going to post what i got, how im thinking of wiring it. Im not an electriction so any suggestion will be AWESOME.

I am going to mount my light bar underneath the center bar on the grill guard.

For wiring, Im going to use some of my 16 gauge wire and splice into the high beam wire, and run it to a water proof Hella relay. From the relay i was going to run a water proof inline fuse from from the battery to the power on the relay, then run the ground and power to the light bars wiring. I want my light bar to be switched on from the high beams. I have never used a relay so im hoping i got the general idea for it, is this roughly how it is wired?

1)High beam wire
2)Power from battery to relay
3)power and ground from relay to light bar

This is my shopping list:
Light bar
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W9OQW7U?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
Inline fuse
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007ZZHZKG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
Relay
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003TEO9GU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
Relay Leads
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VU5ITM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00



Once i am done, i will do a write up on how i wired it for anyone wanting to do the same

 

[RedFalcon]

Everything seems good to me. Except make sure that you actually ground out the relay and the negative from the bar.
Don't just connect ground from the relay to the ground on the bar. Actually ground them both and you should be fine

 

[PCT]

Okay thanks, Which sized fuse should i use for the inline. Also what color wire is the high beam wire that i need to use?

So i would run high beam wire to relay
wire from batter to the power on relay
Ground on relay to a ground
power wire from relay to light bar
and ground the light bar

My biggest worry, how do i know what wire to put on the lead?

Also i heard of people putting a seperate switch to allow high beams to work with our toggling light bar... should i do that, how difficult?

 

[RedFalcon]

I believe the general consensus is a 40 amp fuse for the light bars. I'm not sure which wire is high beam offhand. I'm sure its on here somewhere.

Yup, you have it right.
I would do wire from battery to pin 30 on the relay
pin 85 on the relay is grounded out
power wire from pin 87 on relay to light bar
trigger wire from high beam to pin 86 on relay.

You could add a separate switch. It would just depend if you wanted to turn on the light bar independent of your high beams.

 

[TRXHemi]

That waterproof relay and harness is on point. I have used regular relays though, and never had issues. I always mount them high enough where it is not an issue. I purchased a heavy duty fuse holder and heavy duty 40amp relay from Autozone for less than $10 for both. With the wiring for these high power LED bars, you do not want to skimp on the wiring!

On my 2010, I believe the high beam wire was yellow/white maybe?? Not 100% sure on that. I have not looked at that on my 2014. I tapped into mine to keep the foglights on when I hit the high beams. Easy mod....

 

[PCT]

****, ok i only have a 30 amp, ill go buy one at auto zone.

What gauge wire will i need to run most of this, i have a huge 16 gauge spool i was going to use, i feel like i need thinker wire

 

[brandonjansen]

You'll be fine with your 30A relay and fuse. With the size of that light bar I'm assuming it's only 180W. At 12V that only draws 15A of current so at 30A you're already double that. If anything I'd be going to a 20A fuse, not 40A.

You'll be fine with 16ga or 18ga wire from your switching to your relay however I'd run 14ga from the relay to the lightbar and for the lightbar ground.

 

[PCT]

perfect thanks for your help.

The last thing I need is which wire do I splice into... haha don't want to be the wrong one that would suck

 

[sbarron]

I did that exact thing in my mod: http://www.ramforum.com/f41/led_light_bar_pods_install_behind_grill_bumper-63186/

There's a ton of info in the thread about wiring, also pics and a wiring diagram that I made up.

Good advice from brandonjansen. Slightly too big wire will never hurt anything, while slightly undersized wire could be catastrophic. Also, size your fuse as close to the load of the lights and as far UNDER the amperage of the switches, wire, etc, as you can get. You WANT the fuse to be the weak spot.

Those are the exact relays and relay leads I used and I've had no issues with them. I've been carrying around a spare relay since I installed te lights but haven't had to use it yet.

Good luck. Post some good pics of your install when you get it done.

 

[SitKneelBend]

But this instead...

Rigid Industries 40190 Wiring Harness for 40" to 50" Light Bar https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D619OGQ/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_NKfMwb00Q5H85

Everything you need, the perfect length. I have mine wired using this kit. Mine is wired to be on/off/auto where auto is on with highs. I did have to purchase a separate switch to give me the 3 positions...

Rigid Industries 40181 3-Position Cherry Rocker Switch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O3HDA26/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_1NfMwb4Q22HWM

If you decide to use the switch with the kit, you can still do on with highs, but it will be only an off/auto switch (or on/off depends on how you want it wired).





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[PCT]

The stuff comes in tomorrow from amazon, so ill either do it tomorrow night or saturday morning, ill be looking at your amazing detail stuff sbarron, but also annoy you guys if you dont mind, i am a man of many questions =( Ill take picks and post them here!

 

[PCT]

Sbarron, those posi clips are BAD ASS, i want to use the horse shoe one tomorrow for tapping the high beams. Can you get those are your local homedept or lowers?

The only thing im worried about with my light bar, is the mounting equiptment is located on the outer side, so im either going to have to some how Fab my own mount to use the preexisting holes in my Grill Guard, or just drill new holes in the guard and put little plugs on the nuts.

What do yall think?

My plan to fab the mount would be get a 32 inch piece of metal, sturdy but malleable, and attach the light bar to the piece of metal, then drill the metal where the pre existing holes are and mount it like that

 

[PCT]

I believe the general consensus is a 40 amp fuse for the light bars. I'm not sure which wire is high beam offhand. I'm sure its on here somewhere.

Yup, you have it right.
I would do wire from battery to pin 30 on the relay
pin 85 on the relay is grounded out
power wire from pin 87 on relay to light bar
trigger wire from high beam to pin 86 on relay.

You could add a separate switch. It would just depend if you wanted to turn on the light bar independent of your high beams.

On my relay pig tail i have a black and a blue with no numbering on it, im assuming black is ground. Not sure what blue was i was thinking it was the switch wire???
Then their is 30, 87 and 87a

what do each of these do?

 

[sbarron]

you MIGHT find them local. NAPA, etc might also carry them. I got them from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Posi-tap-Conn...=UTF8&qid=1452842153&sr=8-3&keywords=posi-tap

As for mounting. You're gonna want to make sure its rock solid. ANY vibration will be VERY noticeable with the lights on. I actually had to redo my mounts from my first attempt to alleviate the vibration.

 

[PCT]

you MIGHT find them local. NAPA, etc might also carry them. I got them from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Posi-tap-Conn...=UTF8&qid=1452842153&sr=8-3&keywords=posi-tap

As for mounting. You're gonna want to make sure its rock solid. ANY vibration will be VERY noticeable with the lights on. I actually had to redo my mounts from my first attempt to alleviate the vibration.

How are those compaired to the vampire taps, i like using those but everyone says their a pile of ****..

Ya little nervous on how to mount it, i want to use my pre existing holes, so ill see if i can make something happen, if not its metal ill just drill it and use those holes for something else like KC lights or something...

If you dont mind, could you assist me with what wires to use on the pig tail? refer to my post above

 

[sbarron]

On my relay pig tail i have a black and a blue with no numbering on it, im assuming black is ground. Not sure what blue was i was thinking it was the switch wire???
Then their is 30, 87 and 87a

what do each of these do?

If memory serves:

Black is ground
Blue is the trigger (or switch) - needs a small power source
30 (red or maybe yellow???) should be fused (size your fuse correctly and place it as close to the power source as possible) power into the relay which will exit the relay through either:
87 - switched power from relay - you your light bars or
87a, unswitched power from the relay - you'll want to cap this wire

a simpler explanation would be that power will flow through the relay at all times through 30/87a circuit UNTIL you trigger the relay, then power will only flow through 30/87 circuit, (think of a high beam/low beam or a high speed/low speed fan application)

 

[PCT]

If memory serves:

Black is ground
Blue is the trigger (or switch) - needs a small power source
30 (red or maybe yellow???) should be fused (size your fuse correctly and place it as close to the power source as possible) power into the relay which will exit the relay through either:
87 - switched power from relay - you your light bars or
87a, unswitched power from the relay - you'll want to cap this wire

a simpler explanation would be that power will flow through the relay at all times through 30/87a circuit UNTIL you trigger the relay, then power will only flow through 30/87 circuit, (think of a high beam/low beam or a high speed/low speed fan application)

Thats what i figured just like a head unit, it is Black, Blue, and the rest red.
I was going to ground black of course, run the highbeam wire with a wiretap to the blue. So battery and fused wire goes to 30, and wire from relay to light bar is 87? and just cap off the 87a

 

[sbarron]

Thats what i figured just like a head unit, it is Black, Blue, and the rest red.
I was going to ground black of course, run the highbeam wire with a wiretap to the blue. So battery and fused wire goes to 30, and wire from relay to light bar is 87? and just cap off the 87a

that is correct. remember those wire taps are not waterproof. I used one inside the cab, everything else was soldered and heat-shrunk. Behind the headlight where you'll tap, you might not have an issue, it seems to stay pretty dry, but if you ever have a problem, look there first.

 

[PCT]

that is correct. remember those wire taps are not waterproof. I used one inside the cab, everything else was soldered and heat-shrunk. Behind the headlight where you'll tap, you might not have an issue, it seems to stay pretty dry, but if you ever have a problem, look there first.

Yeah I figured they wouldn't be, I was going to either heat shrink, or use plasti dip for what it's ment for... Lol I'll water proof it, I clean the engine compartment a lot,

I was told the high beam wire is blue with white? I think? It's on another forum post! Are the lights wires located under the PDC or out side the PDC on the harness next to it?

Last but not least, before I crash and burn... My relay does not have a mount like they do in your post, how should I mount that?

 

[SitKneelBend]

Yeah I figured they wouldn't be, I was going to either heat shrink, or use plasti dip for what it's ment for... Lol I'll water proof it, I clean the engine compartment a lot,

I was told the high beam wire is blue with white? I think? It's on another forum post! Are the lights wires located under the PDC or out side the PDC on the harness next to it?

Last but not least, before I crash and burn... My relay does not have a mount like they do in your post, how should I mount that?

Tap the high beam at the light just outside the housing. It is really tight under the PDC.

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