Topic: wiring for kc lights question

[87hillbillyoter]

hey yall- so i got the DIY kit from KC lights because i had two that needed wiring. (obviously). http://www.kchilites.com/accessories/electrical-wiring/harness-diy-2-lights/ anyways, i wired em all up, got the switch in, and.......nothing. weird as it sounds, this didnt suprise me. nothing ever works on the first try haha. anyways, i have a little power checker deal, so i used it to check power to the switch. good. then i checked the power to the lights. good. however, the lights didnt come on. the lights were good, checked em on the battery. im pretty sure the ground is good too, because i grounded my welder to the light mounts, where the lights are currently grounded. im no wiring expert so any help would be awesome. thanks yall!  

[junya92toy]

Did you use a relay, if not use one. And recheck the ground. Thats prob it. Get some spare wire and just run the grounds straight back to the battery as a check.

[87hillbillyoter [OP]]

i didnt use a relay. the kit didnt come with one so i figured it wouldnt be needed. ill check tomorrow after i get some more wire. thanks!

[junya92toy]

Its a lot safer to use a relay, you will run less high amp wires through the truck.

[locked 4x4]

U paid $28.31 for that.  U got ripped off big time.  Ur not getting connection somewhere.  Probably ground.  If your getting power to the lights and u think the ground is good, try taking the lights out and hooking up ur test light in their place.

[87hillbillyoter [OP]]

U paid $28.31 for that.  U got ripped off big time.  Ur not getting connection somewhere.  Probably ground.  If your getting power to the lights and u think the ground is good, try taking the lights out and hooking up ur test light in their place.

yea i know i did, but i figured it was the easiest way to go. ill give that a try as well. thanks!

[junya92toy]

A test light wont help with a grounding issue. It can still come on, but the ground can be bad and might not let 12 volts flow. A test light will still come up under 12 volts.

[Snowtoy]

If you have power to the switch and from the switch to the lights, the issue is the ground situation at the lights.  If the lights are mounted on your new roll bar, that is your problem.  The bed of the truck doesn't provide a strong enough grounding source, you will need to run a good sized ground wire(10 gauge or two 12 gauge wires will work) from the light bar down to the frame.  You could either wrap the ground wire around the bolts that you use to bolt the roll bar to the bed, or from the lights down to a bolt on the frame.  If no oem bolt is in reach, you could use a self tapping bolt or screw, if you don't have access to welder.

As mentioned it is always best to use a relay when running anything with a hi-amp draw.  Even though the switch is rated to 30amps, running a relay will save the switch from burning out, and it allows you to piggy back off the an oem power supply, since you only need a little amount of amps to trigger the relay.  If you aren't aware of how to wire up a relay, here is crude diagram.

The switch was set-up to get is power from the low beams, but any 12vlt source(keyed or constant) would work.  Since you already have the switch wired from the battery, leave that in place, and either run a new line to the relay, or use the leads that went from the switch to the lights.  It isn't shown in the drawing but you need to put an fuse(30amp) between the battery and the relay.

[87hillbillyoter [OP]]

yea im gonna run a ground directly to the battery and see if that is the problem. thanks for the diagram. i just might have to include a relay in there somewhere.

[junya92toy]

You really should use a relay. Its safer. You dont want to run a 30 amp wire through your truck into the dash, even with a fuse, you did use a fuse right? It could be a serious fire issue if you get a short somewhere.  Plus you can run small wires from the relay to the switch.

[87hillbillyoter [OP]]

thats probley a good idea. ill pick one up at the hardware store today. thanks for the advice!

[Stocker]

Relay is definitely a good idea and will ensure full voltage & current to the lamps, making them brighter. Most switches aren't up to the task. And yes, a fuse is also important.

Here's another diagram showing the relay pin designations and what to wire them to: