PDA

View Full Version : What is the general rule of thumb for switches



rabies
10-02-2014, 11:25 AM
is there a general rule on what to wire to a switch?
for instance.
an led light bar.
do i ground it and run the power wire to switch and switch to battery?

basicaly put switch on the power wire.(of course a fuse used inline)
or switch on the ground wire?
( i dont ever use relays)

4.3LXJ
10-02-2014, 11:43 AM
You ground the appliance, lights of whatever. From battery to fuse, I prefer breakers, to switch then to appliance. Also, do not exceed 75% of the switches capacity

NW99XJ
10-02-2014, 11:52 AM
relays are an integral part of any circuit wiring, especially when we're talking about auxiliary lights.
Even though many of the LED light bars dont draw much current, its still a draw thru the switch... and that load SHOULD be offset to the relay.
Relays are cheap and relatively easy to wire.... with a little guidance.
CARLIN makes switches that are capable of handling 30amps... but even those, I would still use a relay.
www.the12volt.com has TONS of useful information regarding how to wire up a relay for whatever uses you'd like.
Here's the basic diagram for what i'm talking about:
http://images.the12volt.com/12voltimages/addremacc.gif

Using this, you can easily create a relay bank, like what I did here recently for a fellow Jeeper buddy of mine.

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h328/jbchill1/20140908_201409.jpg (http://s1104.photobucket.com/user/jbchill1/media/20140908_201409.jpg.html)

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h328/jbchill1/20140908_201342.jpg (http://s1104.photobucket.com/user/jbchill1/media/20140908_201342.jpg.html)

if you'd like some help, lemme know .... i can walk you thru the process pretty easy.
'Hope this helps!