Adding 2nd pair of lights - questions

Hey all,
I've got a pair of 55w Hella 500's wired into my truck already, using the stock wiring and relay that come with it.

I'm thinking of adding a second pair of lights. If I do, is it possible to use the existing equipment, replacing only the wire from the battery to the lights (ie, replacing that wire to a 10gauge so that all 4 lights come off 1 wire)? Will I need to change to a different relay? Is it possible to run all 4 off the stock Hella switch, or will I need to replace the wiring on the switch (which is wired to the fuse box under the change drawer, like the method shown in the "how to" sticky)
Thanks!

 

When I bought my hella's i just wired 'em straight to the battery with my own electric cable.

 

That's what I did with my first set. But for my second set, can I just connect them to the same power-cable, or do I need to run an entirely new set up with the relay, ground and new switch?

 

With 4 lights, I think the minimum wire gauge I'd be comfortable with is 12ga, so your 10ga would work great. Make sure the fuse to the battery has wires of the correct gauge as well, as if you hook 10ga wires to a 18ga inline fuse, you still have the equivalent of 18ga wire, although at least you'll know almost exactly where the failure point will be.

As for the relay and fuse, it really depends what its rated for.
(55Watts * 4lights)/12Volts = 18 Amps. The Hella 500s ship with a 15A fuse, so I'd upgrade that to at least a 20-25Amp. The relay should be ok, as I believe thats rated up to 40Amp.

As for the switch end of the relay (wire to headlight fuse and/or switch and ground), relays use very little power (just enough to power a magnet), so you'll be fine with your existing wire for that. All the wire on the power side (battery and lights) should be the heavier gauge stuff though.

Oh, and dont forget to check your state laws concerning this, as for some reason my state says I can only have 2-4 headlights total. Being switch powered, you'll probably be ok though since they aren't always enabled and should be counted as auxiliary lights.

 

Thanks.

From what I read on VA law, I can run 4 headlights. But more the most part, I don't plan on running these lights on road unless really back in the stick somewhere.

 

Not to reserect a post, but how did it work out? Was your ehicle stock electrical output up to the task or did you upgrade the battery and the alternator?

Thinking of installing (2) LightForce 240 Blitz (100w) and (2) LightForce 140's (75w), but I like to run the stereo sometimes as well.

 

Worked out well. I have a pair of Piaa 540 (85W each) and lightforce 140 HID (35W each) I ended up running a 10 G wire w/ an inline fuse off the battery, split to 2 relays. Each relay controls one set of lights, and has a seperate on/off switch on my console. Running all 4 at once ,the fuse gets pretty warm but the wiring is cool to touch. I have each "side" grounded together to try and decrease the wiring.

I was thinking of adding a third set of LED's (the Rigid Industry dually light) but have to think through the wiring and clean up the mess that it would make.

 

Thanks for the update and glad it worked out. Can't figure where I would use the Rigid, but I have been looking at them still.

By "pretty warm" are you saying that extra 110W/9.5A I will be pulling would be better to have the 8ga and inline 40A fuse?

Was the alternator and battery up to the task or did you upgrade those? I have the stock tow package w/ 130A alternator.

Cheers,
MW

 

I think the 10g is fine - I don't recall the stats on the inline fuse, but I'd certainly do at least 20A.

I have the stock tow pack too - no upgrades to anything.

 

Thanks for all the updates. I have 3 hella 500's and hate the though running more wires and more relays. I just bought the Blue Sea Fuse block to help with all the spiderweb of wires.