Help with light bar wiring needed

[GQtdauto]

Just wired in a 42"? Light bar , I have wired it into the relay terminal that supplies power to the two front spotlights .
Turned on high beams and lights worked for about two seconds and blew the fuse ( glass 15 amp) , checked wiring , all ok found another 15 amp fuse and same again after about two secs the fuse blew .
Polarity is correct but I now think maybe I need a bigger fuse to power both the light bar and spotties at the same time .
Does anyone know if this is correct or have I got a problem using both sets of lights , main power wire to relay is fairly thick and is yellow , which I've seen lots of the same kit around .
Will see what happens if I disconnect one or both spotties I suppose that could confirm my theory .

[garett]

i think you need to find out how much your spotlights draw, and the light bar. ( V=IR should help)

[GQtdauto]

So tried with both spots disconnected just lightbar , no problem , one spotty also ok but run all three the fuse pops .
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Wires to the spots are very thin , I am removing the spots from the bulbar to try and improve cooling performance , if they won't fit up top I won't be using them at all again , I also have two eight inch ? LED spots and if I need more light it's either them or aircraft landing lights because of their power and size .
Thanks for your advice Garett.

[Turtle_au]

I would put a new seperate supply, relay and fuse for the light bar. Existing supply and relay may be sized just to handle spots. Don't just put a bigger fuse in because you may then burn out the relay or worse the wiring.
Btw. what are the exisring spots?

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[Turtle_au]

Looking at pics I would say the LED spots will use a lot less than your existing spots. Should be able to run LEDS and light bar without blowing fuse.

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[GQtdauto]

I'm not sure what brand the spots are , were in it when I bought the car , has been done by a sparky .
Just waiting till dark to try them out , we have lots of Roos where we live , usually one or two on road dead most mornings .

[megatexture]

Don't be lazy just put in a new relay fuse and seperate switch it's not worth the risk and you may wish to turn off the light bar when approaching big signs as it gets blinding.

[GQtdauto]

Yep that's me lazy as , checked out the light just before and wow not sure I need the spots anymore .
Never knew the light bars were that good .
If I do move the spots up top I will run a new relay and wires just in case although that .22 magnum cartridge sure makes a good fuse .

[Turtle_au]

Yep that's me lazy as , checked out the light just before and wow not sure I need the spots anymore .
Never knew the light bars were that good .
If I do move the spots up top I will run a new relay and wires just in case although that .22 magnum cartridge sure makes a good fuse .
Good choice for fuse. Gives audible warning when it blows.

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[GQtdauto]

Great minds think alike , they also come in packs of 50 .
If needed I can convert my maxi fuse to 30.06 as well .

[threedogs]

Do the old watts divided by 12 volts equals Amps and see what you come up with.
A 42" light bar could be 240watts and up.. so a 15 amp fuse aint going to cut the mustard

Why not run the bar off its own relay from the Aux battery with its own internal switch

[GQtdauto]

What and waste that special fuse I made up ?
Have removed the Hella spotties and replaced with two six inch Leds I had laying around , no idea if this system will blow the fuse yet but I don't think so , there is no markings on old spotties apart from "Hella" they weigh about 5 kg's each .
Will try and get the specs for each to work out what there drawing so I don't run the risk of melting something .
Thanks threedogs.
710027100371004

[GQtdauto]

Fuse does not blow with new setup , will take it for a spin when it gets dark and test it all out .
Love the idea of running the light bars of the aux batteries because I have two gel cell 110 amp batteries for auxiliary loads and would be able to run the lights while setting up etc without having to run the motor and not worry about getting a flat crank battery .
How many lights are you running up front threedogs ? I thought you are only allowed six in Victoriastan.

[threedogs]

I have a heap of 9watt bulls eye for daylight running, 100watt HID hi/low beam
plus 100 watt HID spot lights and a 40" 240 watt light bar double row. I also have a 40"
single row I'm going to fit on the side of roof rack as a set up light as you said.
I also have a spare 600mm and 2 x 300mm bars no idea where Ill put them yet ha ha ha

[GQtdauto]

Nice setup threedogs , have a similar light on the back of the roof rack , it's attached to an adjustable tent pole and I have it as a plug and play unit . Throws out ok light , will think about putting up the spare work light on the awning side for a bit extra , you can't have too much light when out bush .

[PeeBee]

I have a heap of 9watt bulls eye for daylight running, 100watt HID hi/low beam
plus 100 watt HID spot lights and a 40" 240 watt light bar double row. I also have a 40"
single row I'm going to fit on the side of roof rack as a set up light as you said.
I also have a spare 600mm and 2 x 300mm bars no idea where Ill put them yet ha ha ha

Re HID Hi/Lo, I just got pinged for my HID Hi/Lo's - not legal in Vic - maybe you are already aware? Heaps better than any halogens I have found, but that is irrelevant in the eyes of the law - just a heads up. Now have to swap them back to the old lights.

[GQtdauto]

Just went for a spin around the block to try the lights out and wow , it's like day out to about 60 mtrs and the sides of the road especially the left side has more light than I'm used to , lane up the back is like a bush track , windy narrow and Roos everywhere , had no trouble spotting them at all .
Only real downside is they don't throw as far as the spotties I had on but at the speed I go and the vision left and right and 60 in front I think will do .

[Clunk]

Re HID Hi/Lo, I just got pinged for my HID Hi/Lo's - not legal in Vic - maybe you are already aware? Heaps better than any halogens I have found, but that is irrelevant in the eyes of the law - just a heads up. Now have to swap them back to the old lights.
Yep, Illegal on all cars that did not originally come out with them..... used to have them in my Q also, but had to have them pointing down a bt so I didn't dazzle anyone, ended up being pointless having them because I could no longer see that well witht them on... just changed them back to halogens, can see better and less likely to get pulled over by the rozzers

[PeeBee]

Just went for a spin around the block to try the lights out and wow , it's like day out to about 60 mtrs and the sides of the road especially the left side has more light than I'm used to , lane up the back is like a bush track , windy narrow and Roos everywhere , had no trouble spotting them at all .
Only real downside is they don't throw as far as the spotties I had on but at the speed I go and the vision left and right and 60 in front I think will do .

Exactly what I found when I swapped over from LED Spotties to the lightbars. I found there was more than enough light throw in the twisty road stuff anywy, and very few times did i get the opportunity or have the need to see 1 klm down the road!

[GQtdauto]

You're right PB , most of the bush driving you're going slower anyway , I don't go into town these days when it's dark but the lights will help more than the spotties , it's what's on the side of the road hidden in the long grass you need to be careful of and now I can see what's there .

[threedogs]

Re HID Hi/Lo, I just got pinged for my HID Hi/Lo's - not legal in Vic - maybe you are already aware? Heaps better than any halogens I have found, but that is irrelevant in the eyes of the law - just a heads up. Now have to swap them back to the old lights.

been meaning to change them as they have burnt the reflectors from being too hot
Dont drive much at night. Ill probably change them very soon to a OE set up

anyone running LED headlights and are they legal ??

[juzzs8]

Hey fellas, just bought a 42' and 2 x 6's. Just wondering how you blokes mounted them. Looking at mounting to underside of roof rack also. 42' at front and the 6's at the back for setup lights ( also trying to work out how I could mount the 6's to spin 90* to side of car for setup also if have any ideas?

Cheers!


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[GQtdauto]

Go back one page and look at photos I posted , under roof rack at front is what I have done the two smaller ones replaced the big spotties that were restricting air flow to radiator but I also got rid of the oversize "Nissan" badge as well and notice the difference.

[juzzs8]

Sorry. Meant like mounting brackets etc. did you use pre existing holes in rack or make your own? I've seen some ppl just cable tie there bars on. Others got extended bits of flat steel to reach out to the mounting brackets on the bar


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[juzzs8]

Was just wondering what you fellas did.


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[GQtdauto]

I actually used the spare brackets that came with the cargo barrier I bought , just a bit of heavy flat with a right angle bend , it's bolted on using two bolts with nyloc nuts and one metal screw per bracket , that is it will be when I replace two screws with bolts .
Vibration from corrugations is a killer on roof racks and accessories if not fixed down right .