XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 23, 2014 Fella's im in need of some help here, I mounted up spot lights on the rollbar i bought for my BnS basher and theres no power getting to the lights, theres power to the relay and it clicks, i've tried 2 other relays as well. I tested the lights before and they work. Any ideas why theres no power to the spot lights? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve mcqueen 1,796 Posted October 23, 2014 Im thinking and earth mark, do the lights have good contact for an earth point? Im guessing the roll bar has a few layers of paint and might not be making a good earth? They have power but no earth? 1 XTREME KARTS XF reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,921 Posted October 23, 2014 Steves prolly on the money. Best thing to do is grab a multimeter and check earth continuity on the earth lead an check if you have 12 volts on the lead. Did you wire them up from scratch? Have they been wired correctly? 2 XTREME KARTS XF and steve mcqueen reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banno 479 Posted October 23, 2014 Don.t mean to put a damper on your progress Mark. But check the height of them spotties from the ground up cause I am pretty sure if they are above 1200mm from the ground they are illegal in Victoria. Cops love putting defect notices on BNS utes 1 XTREME KARTS XF reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 23, 2014 Im thinking and earth mark, do the lights have good contact for an earth point? Im guessing the roll bar has a few layers of paint and might not be making a good earth? They have power but no earth? Well i fucked around with it and its a shitty earth, i used a jumper lead and it was lite up dull then went out (blew the 10 amp inline fuse while trying to get an earth) I'll break out the grinder and take some paint off the rollbar and the sqaure tubing Steves prolly on the money. Best thing to do is grab a multimeter and check earth continuity on the earth lead an check if you have 12 volts on the lead. Did you wire them up from scratch? Have they been wired correctly? Yes, they are wired up the same way as the ones on the bullbar Don.t mean to put a damper on your progress Mark. But check the height of them spotties from the ground up cause I am pretty sure if they are above 1200mm from the ground they are illegal in Victoria. Cops love putting defect notices on BNS utes Cheers mate! I have a couple of mates that have spotties on the rollbar and they never had an issue with the rozzers. 1 steve mcqueen reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outback Jack 6,352 Posted October 23, 2014 I never earth to the rollbar even if it is steel, better off running all the earths into one lead and mounting it to the body of the ute. Too many points where the earth can be broken otherwise. Make sure you use a nice large earth wire, otherwise they get too hot and melt. Jack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ando81 2,950 Posted October 24, 2014 The old dodgy earth hey? Dunno how many times that has had me scratching my head. Often overlooked on jobs but without earth the circuit is open and won't work. Pretty sure the boys are on the money here. 1 XTREME KARTS XF reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XFChris 126 Posted October 25, 2014 You could earth it to where the rollbar mounts to on the body? Probably the closest earth point I can think of. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 30, 2014 I took the paint off the rollbar and the sqaure tubing and it blew the fuse again, dodgy earth or too much current for the fuse? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 30, 2014 Ok i pulled the relay out for the spotties on the bullbar and they lite up for a brief second then went out again, think its got too much current draw for the fuse to handle.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,921 Posted October 30, 2014 What rating fuse do you have? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 30, 2014 10 amp James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,921 Posted October 30, 2014 Thats way to low. I assume they are 100w spotties. In which case circuit power would be round 200w with 17a current draw. You would want to run round a 30 a fuse i would suggest. 2 Outback Jack and XTREME KARTS XF reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 30, 2014 I have a feeling that they are 100w lights, i'll grab some 30 amp fuses tomorrow 1 hendrixhc reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 30, 2014 Yep, they are 100w spotties, i'll double check what fuse the spotties on the bullbar take. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outback Jack 6,352 Posted October 30, 2014 Check the relay if your running two sets of spotties through the same one as well, but should already be about 30A. But yeah fuse as said above, start there. Power(100watts) divided by Voltage(12V) equals Amperage(8.3333333) thats per set, so as Hendrix said bigger fuse. Correct that formula if its wrong..... been years since I used them learnin bookss........me just watches the radio...... Jack. 2 XTREME KARTS XF and Ando81 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,921 Posted October 30, 2014 Formula is correct Jack! Just need to double the power value if the are 100w globes to give you 200w hence 16.7amp. 2 Outback Jack and XTREME KARTS XF reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 30, 2014 The spotties on the rollbar have there own relay but very much wired up the same as the ones on the bullbar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outback Jack 6,352 Posted October 30, 2014 Usually if ya keep blowing fuses, and it doesn't get better with a bigger fuse there will be a short in the wiring, look for an active wire going to ground somewhere it shouldn't be. I pulled that ooops a few weeks ago....... hehe. Jack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gerg 10,871 Posted October 30, 2014 Better check too that the wire is rated above the fuse. A meltdown wouldn't be a good look. Fuse as close to the source as possible, preferably at the battery before the relay. If you fuse it further down and get a short before it, big time FUBAR. You can get Hella relays with fuses built in. I hope you're using a blade type fuse, and not those evil glass ones from the 1920s. They have given me so much grief over the years. 2 XTREME KARTS XF and Outback Jack reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 31, 2014 I bought a pack of 35 and 50 amp fuses, i've used 4mm wire but i may need to rewire them again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hendrixhc 10,921 Posted October 31, 2014 4mm should be more than adequate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ando81 2,950 Posted October 31, 2014 I wonder if the relay might have shorted out and keeps blowing your fuse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted October 31, 2014 Well i fitted a 35 amp fuse and they work!! Fuck me they are great, just need to aim them along with the ones on the bullbar. 1 Outback Jack reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XTREME KARTS XF 1,212 Posted November 1, 2014 1 Outback Jack reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites