I got my kc lights ran and working on thursday,went deer hunting all weekend worked all weekend but sunday.I've checked all the wiring,fuse,switch,lights and light bulbs and nothing is wrong. So can yall tell me what yall think could be the problem?
My Lights
- Thread starter mag03kj
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
guitarzan
Full Access Member
If the wire, fuse, bulbs, and sockets are all good, what about how their grounded.
yupp checked that to and how i know that the ground is fine is bc the switch has a light and if they aint grounded the light wont light up on the switch.
kb0nly
Full Access Member
But the ground wire from the switch doesnt go all the way out to the lights does it?? Normally each light has a wire for ground, the switch has its own wire for ground also.
Where is the ground wire from the lights going to, if it goes up to the switch then there has to be a wire from the switch yet to a ground, the switch could light up but there is still a bad connection somewhere else on the lights. I would take a short piece of wire or test leads if you got any and try connecting the lights ground wire to the negative battery terminal just to rule it out.
In my case, Hella lights, the positive from the lights goes to a relay, the grounds get combined to one wire, i have a weatherpack connector at the grille that the lights plug into, and the ground on the vehicle side of the harness i made goes to the body ground bolt near the battery. The switch inside has a ground that goes down behind the drivers side kick panel, the panel with the hood release in it, there is a body ground bolt there with a few factory grounds on it, thats also where my relay coil ground goes.
Must be a bad connection somewhere.
Where is the ground wire from the lights going to, if it goes up to the switch then there has to be a wire from the switch yet to a ground, the switch could light up but there is still a bad connection somewhere else on the lights. I would take a short piece of wire or test leads if you got any and try connecting the lights ground wire to the negative battery terminal just to rule it out.
In my case, Hella lights, the positive from the lights goes to a relay, the grounds get combined to one wire, i have a weatherpack connector at the grille that the lights plug into, and the ground on the vehicle side of the harness i made goes to the body ground bolt near the battery. The switch inside has a ground that goes down behind the drivers side kick panel, the panel with the hood release in it, there is a body ground bolt there with a few factory grounds on it, thats also where my relay coil ground goes.
Must be a bad connection somewhere.
thanks, i've tried or thought about that yet so ill try tomorrow if it aint storming.
speedracerbubba
Full Access Member
a digital multimeter is a great friend when doing electrical work. It will tell you if your connections are good, help you find out of your alternator is putting out to the battery like a good alternator should, test fuses without taking them out, use the prongs as toothpicks when you run out... the possibilities are limited to your imagination.
If I had to bet, I would agree and say the ground or a connection from the switch to the lights.
Let us know how it goes.
If I had to bet, I would agree and say the ground or a connection from the switch to the lights.
Let us know how it goes.
Bashgod
Full Access Member
not to hi-jack this thread but i have 2 hella's on the fron of my jeep. the wires get really hot and sometimes the lights dont come on, ive checked for loose wire but i cant find any. would a bad ground cause this?
kb0nly
Full Access Member
Your drawing too much current for the wiring if they got hot, go to larger wire and redo it all first of all, you probably cooked a connection somewhere. Read that as possible electrical fire if left as is...
ya i went with 14ga which was problem over kill.outtahere.gif
speedracerbubba
Full Access Member
better to go thicker than you need and leave a cushion than be pushing the wire limits or exceeding them.
Bash: what size wire are you running and how many watts are the bulbs? Like kb said, you are running too much current for the wire size you have and is a great way to start a fire if it gets hot enough. If you want to be pimpin go to frys or radio shack, get a soldering gun or soldering iron, some solder, and some heat shrink tubing along with the proper size wire. After you run the wire and get to connections, slip on a piece of heat shrink tubing and slide it at least 4 inches from the connection, then twist the bare wires together, heat them up with the gun/iron, apply solder to the wires (when the wire gets hot enough the solder will melt and fill the tiny gaps between the wire strands), let it cool for 30 seconds, slide the heat shrink tubing over your fresh joint and use a match or something to heat up the tubing which will shrink it to conform to your new connection and make a great barrier to the elements.
kb0nly
Full Access Member
Good to hear you got it fixed... Electrical gremlins can be a pain, and a bad ground is always the first thing to check!
14awg isn't overkill, its better to go too heavy then too light...
Bashgod
Full Access Member
the 2 lights are 55w im using the same size that they come with (16 i think) i wqas going to replace everything with thicker wiring. i have 4 55w wired with the same wiring but they dont over heat.
kb0nly
Full Access Member
For 2 lights i just used the stock wire that came with the lights, its more like 18 awg, i didn't have anything else on hand so i wired them up with the factory wiring included. Two 55w lights is only pulling about 8 amps, well within the range of 18 awg wire over a short run with minimal voltage drop. For my lights i used the stock wiring from the lights to the relay, both fairly short runs, the supply to the relay however is 12awg.
Just some quick math for anyone dealing with this stuff, watts divided by volts gives you amps...
Example:
110w (two 55w lights) / 13.8v (just an average for automotive use) = 7.97 amps
I verified this with my meter as well and its showing 8.01 amps with the lights on, so the math is pretty close as its only off by 40 milliamps, and of course the meter has a degree of accuracy as well.
So the stock wiring that comes with these lights is actually plenty good for the job but of course it doesn't hurt to upgrade. Eventually i plan on making a few more wiring changes and possibly replace the 18 awg from the relay to the lights with heavier wire but its still 18awg at the light and inside to the bulb anyway, so all i benefit from that is possibly a bit more voltage at the lights (wouldnt be much at all).
speedracerbubba
Full Access Member
Good thinking to post the formula to figure that out. Most things electrical baffle people until you find a way to explain it easily (I was taught using the water in a hose analogy when I was about 12 and it stuck well).
Assuming ideal conditions (lights not shorted out, everything wired correctly, wires not near heat source, etc..) why are his wires getting hot? My guesses are poor connection, broken wire somewhere, or science fiction.
