BUILT IN AUX SWITCHES

[nickyp1020]

Hey All,
I've finally (after 1.5 years) decided to start building out my bronco the way I want it. ultimately it will be my dream car, but for now, I'm starting with lights.

I'm trying to plan all the lights I need and figure out exactly what to buy. I'm not by any means a mechanic. I sell bananas for a living so this is very much outside my realm of expertise.

i have a few questions for yall;
1. does it matter what acsessory goes on what switch? for example does it matter if a 50 inch light bar goes on switch 6 vs switch 1. Im not sure what watts/amps even mean.
2. is there such thing as "overloading" a switch if I only use 1 accessory on 1 switch?
3. im getting ahead of myself but is it possiple to lift the bronco enough for 40 inch tires on a badlands with a sasquatch package?

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[userdude]

I'm not by any means a mechanic. I sell bananas for a living so this is very much outside my realm of expertise.

By far one of my favorite sentences read on these forums...

There are wiring diagrams floating around showing where/what is wired. Basically, certain switches are wired to specific things like above the windshield or the rear. Also, there are amps to keep in mind. I think only a couple can power a big light bar. You also want to pop your hood and find the wiring right in front of the driver side, in the corner.

And you can put 40's on a Bronco with enough lift, but keep in mind that's a big project and you'll increase wear and breakage over time.

 

[Charlotte Kev]

Hey All,
I've finally (after 1.5 years) decided to start building out my bronco the way I want it. ultimately it will be my dream car, but for now, I'm starting with lights.

I'm trying to plan all the lights I need and figure out exactly what to buy. I'm not by any means a mechanic. I sell bananas for a living so this is very much outside my realm of expertise.

i have a few questions for yall;
1. does it matter what acsessory goes on what switch? for example does it matter if a 50 inch light bar goes on switch 6 vs switch 1. Im not sure what watts/amps even mean.
2. is there such thing as "overloading" a switch if I only use 1 accessory on 1 switch?
3. im getting ahead of myself but is it possiple to lift the bronco enough for 40 inch tires on a badlands with a sasquatch package?

Please don’t do 40’s…and yes wiring too much to one switch will cause failure. The first switch has the most amps and can support multiple lights…others are lower amp. You get google to get full specs. Also I buy bananas for a living so maybe we should talk.

 

[PWillette]

Here are the amperage ratings for the aux switches.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...t-kit-with-harness.61315/page-20#post-1773022

With deep pockets 40s are possible.

 

[Brian_B]

Here are the amperage ratings for the aux switches.

This is the big thing when dealing with switches (and wiring and most everything electrical)

You can stack as many things as you want on a single switch so long as you don’t exceed the amp limit.

Almost everything you buy that needs an electric hookup will tell you how many amps it needs. That’s important.

Make sure you don’t exceed the amp limit on anything, and use fuses! You would rather pop a fuse than arc weld a harness somewhere and catch something on fire (it absolutely can happen)

Past that - the switches do have different amp ratings, so save the big ones for big loads (winches, big light bars, compressors)

 

[userdude]

This is the big thing when dealing with switches (and wiring and most everything electrical)

You can stack as many things as you want on a single switch so long as you don’t exceed the amp limit.

Almost everything you buy that needs an electric hookup will tell you how many amps it needs. That’s important.

Make sure you don’t exceed the amp limit on anything, and use fuses! You would rather pop a fuse than arc weld a harness somewhere and catch something on fire (it absolutely can happen)

Past that - the switches do have different amp ratings, so save the big ones for big loads (winches, big light bars, compressors)

YOU JUST NEED MORE EXTENSION CORDS jk don't do this

 

[Squatch]

Visuals:

40s could cost $40K if you want to do it they way I, eventually, want to do it. If it's for the street or static display, then a lot less.

 

[Copperhorse73]

If you buy a light, light bar etc it will likely tell you a rating in Watts. Divide that number by 12 and that will tell you the amp draw. As others have mentioned, and provided the wiring diagram for, the total of all lights on a given switch should not exceed the rating for that switch. My windshield light bar draws around 25 amps so it can only be used with switch 1, which is rated at 30 amps

 

[cr117]

The only thing that I want to add here is please don’t make electrical modifications if you aren’t confident in what you’re doing. That’s one of the easiest ways to see your Bronco burn to the ground.

 

[MyBHinds]

You can also wire in a relay to draw the necessary amperage off the battery while using any switch you want to enable the light. If you know nothing about relays, I would not recommend attempting. It is a very common way to get around the limitations of the overhead switches.

 

[Mlarv]

The only thing that I want to add here is please don’t make electrical modifications if you aren’t confident in what you’re doing. That’s one of the easiest ways to see your Bronco burn to the ground.

This. If you are not sure what you are doing with electrical find a friend that is. Is there a FB group near your area that you can meet up with.

 

[TomH]

I would also recommend that even though a switch says 30amps, rule of thumb is never go over 80% of the amperage rating. so a 30amp switch should power up to a 24 amp draw. if you put a 30 amp draw on a 30amp switch/fuse, it'll work, but....i wouldn't.

 

[orion]

The only thing that I want to add here is please don’t make electrical modifications if you aren’t confident in what you’re doing. That’s one of the easiest ways to see your Bronco burn to the ground.

This. If you are not sure what you are doing with electrical find a friend that is. Is there a FB group near your area that you can meet up with.

Or learn it, teach yourself by watching YouTube videos and such. Just take these warnings seriously! You definitely don't want a fire, and you definitely want what you wired up to work when you flip the switch, always, not just that first test after wiring. Some of my first ever accessories that I wired up would quit working. I didn’t use heat shrink to keep water out of splices and water would eventually corrode and connection would be lost. Heat shrink is your friend, especially the marine type with the goo that ooses out for ultimate water protection. If you have specific questions when you get your stuff, come back to this thread and ask away. We all start somewhere and no, we don't need professionals to do it for us. We do need to understand the risks, proper techniques, what watts/amps mean and how they correlate, resistance, etc; to do things right but you can do it. I've self taught myself many things and it has saved me loads of money over the past 28 years! Plus I did it...

 

[nickyp1020]

If you buy a light, light bar etc it will likely tell you a rating in Watts. Divide that number by 12 and that will tell you the amp draw. As others have mentioned, and provided the wiring diagram for, the total of all lights on a given switch should not exceed the rating for that switch. My windshield light bar draws around 25 amps so it can only be used with switch 1, which is rated at 30 amps

i needed this thank you. ford uses "amps" and rought country uses "wats" so im super confused.

 

[nickyp1020]

@everyone

This is where im at, i would rather not HAVE to give anything up but i cant figure out how to rearange this so that i can have everything i want. I dont want a compressor or a winch the only MASSIVE amps ill draw are on the 40 inch bar. any advise?

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