Wiring help please

I just installed a SSO Slimline bumper in my 2018 Tacoma. I’ve got my Smittybilt X20 winch installed and working. Just need to wire up the LED light bar I put in the bumper.

I’ve got an OEM-style button (like this that has 4 wires : https://caliraisedled.com/products/...MI5d6PoMTd5AIVg4CfCh1AKA_NEAQYASABEgK7bvD_BwE).

My light bar only has a red (+) and black (-) wire coming from it.

I’m more mechanical than electrical so I’m needing some guidance on exactly how to wire the red/black wires from the light to the 4 wires from the switch. Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

 

Does this help?

 

Yes that clears up a bit.

One more question. Does the black negative wire from the light go to the battery negative or to a chassis ground (or are those essentially the same)? I’m presuming the black on the switch goes to chassis ground as well.

Thanks for the schematic!

 

Did you light kit come with a relay? You can cali and they’ll tell you how to wire.

 

No relay. I’m probably not going to use the light so I got an Amazon one. It’s just to fill the hole for the light. I’ll upgrade in the future if I see a use for it. So for now it’s just this one with red/black light.

 

Ground to frame or black on the battery would essentially be the same I believe

 

You can ground the switch to anywhere that has good bare metal contact. There should be some locations near where you want to put the switch already bolted to the chassis.

Just to clarify, and everyone else correct me if I'm wrong.
Wiring goes like this:
Green comes from battery through a fuse.
Red1 goes to relay (pin 85).
Red2 is to have backlight light up when you turn on your headlights (not necessary if you don't care).
Black is ground to whatever ground point you have.

As for your lightbar with only the red and black, the connections should be as follows:
Red from light bar goes to Relay output (depends on what relay you have, but should be pin 30)
Black goes to whatever ground there is available, can go to battery if desired, not necessary.

As for the relay, it should have four pins, (85,86,87,30)
pin 30 goes to the light bar red wire
pin 87 goes to the battery with a fuse in between (make sure this fuse is and relay can handle the juice needed to power the light bar).
pin 86 goes to ground anywhere , can be battery or body.
pin 85 comes from the switch red1 wire.

Hope this helps.

 

Can this be done without a relay (since light does not have one)?

Light wires:
Black to ground
Red to switch

Switch wiring:
Green: from battery positive with in line fuse
Black: ground
Red 1: red wire from light
Red 2: optional; tap to dash light

??

 

I wouldn't wire a light bar up without a relay. That's more juice than I'd be comfortable having flow through just the switch plus odds are its not rated for that much current.

 

Short answer, no.

If the light bar takes more juice than the switch can handle then you will either blow the fuse every time you turn it on, or melt the wires and cause a fire, whichever has the smaller tolerance.

Exactly my concern as well.

 

Thanks folks! I’ll source a relay.

 

On the bright side, sourcing a relay is easy and cheap. I am NOT the wiring expert here BUT I will tell you that you have multiple options on Amazon in the less than $10 range.

 

Here is a link to a youtube video on building a fuse block that I am basing my set up on. He has links to some cheap relays. (I am going to be adding a second battery, hence my interest in this)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvFHA1xY10w&list=PL8KGqP_jHlNlr8oneL9DWtlmmNyBnmYLq&index=45&t=0s

 

I picked up a wiring ‘kit’ from my local Tractor Supply when I went in to get some fencing supplies. Came with relay (with the 30, 85, 86 & 87 terminals mentioned above), precut wires with terminal ends and with in-line fuses on positive battery wires and switch (which I didn’t need).

Made for a clean install and works great.

Thanks for all the input and possibly saving me from a big mess!

 

Yeah, a fire would be unpleasant, to say the least. A few weeks ago, I didn't realize that was a major risk if you don't do this stuff right.

 

When in doubt, use an inline fuse as a safety, doesn't hurt to add one in.

 

Question to those on this thread who know their stuff. If I was building one of the fuse blocks like the video I link above. Will EVERYTHING get the 40 amp relay or would the winch (or something else, please identify) go direct to the battery power?

 

The winch will NOT be put to a relay. Winches typically draw large amounts of current rendering the relays and fuses useless.
For example the Warn VR12-S installation manual does not show any fuses or relays:

 

Thank you, that is very helpful. I appreciate it. I have not purchased my winch yet.

 

I would wager that there is current protection device(s) in the WARN control box.