8 Gang Switch Panel - Auxbeam/Amazon

Quick easy answer, you'll be fine

Don't go off measuring amperage by calculating amps from the advertised wattage from cheap led brands. They are the halogen wattage equivalent. Their actual amperage is a lot lower. Even their listed amp draw on their spec sheet is hilariously optimistic. My supposedly 10 amp light bar has never drawn more than 4. Led pods never more than 1.5 amps.

If you go with good brands like rigid, baja, etc then their spec sheets are a lot more accurate and you can use that to make sure you don't go over. I have found that good brands have higher amp draws too so you'll see a light bar drawing 12 amps, pods drawing 3 amps, etc. But again it will take a lot of items to out you anywhere near the max. Unless you throw on onboard air or something.

Either way, I highly suggest measuring the amp draw of each lighting circuit so that you can use the appropriately sized fuse for it. No point in having a 20 amp fuse for a circuit that only needs a 5 amp fuse or 7.5 at most.

 

Thank you so much for the detailed answer! I would love measuring the circuits, but unfortunately I am not familiar with that.
So it will be okay to install a 52" light bar that claims 783 Watts even though the maximum watts allowed on this switch panel is 600W? How do I find out what the actual wattage on these bars are?
I am thinking mid budget Amazon bars, something with a brand (Auxbeam, Nilight, etc). Rigid and Baja are a little bit too expensive for me at the moment lol.
Again, I am sorry for asking so many questions.

 

Sure does. Auto dim, no matter where you wire it to, you will need a power on/off switch. As so I found out. I thought the install was done. Nope. Light wouldn't shut off while key was shut off. Maybe it will if you wire into the fuse box in the cab?? I wined into the box under the hood.
With all those lights, you should be alright if all are LED's. They don't draw too much power. Try and get lights without all the relays and switch to save some bucks. All you do is run the pos and neg wires to the main circuit board, and your switch chord is run wherever you wish to place your switch box. I placed mine where I did so I wouldn't hit it with my knees all the time. Never mind my relays and other wires in the pic. You won't uses all that with this set-up.
Hollar back if you need any help. Of you already have the 8 switch unit, I'd install it before all the lights come in. Also make you a legend of which lights are which. (Next pic)

 

Again the claimed 783 watts is most likely the halogen equivalent. Kind of like 60w led bulbs don't actually pull 60 watts, but their light output is equivalent to a 60 watt halogen bulb.

The best way to measure how much they draw in real life is to test them in real life because they are all usually hyperinflated specs. Buy the light bar and do a bench test on it. Then measure the amps drawn by using a current clamp ammeter or a multimeter (that can handle 10-15 amps preferably). I can almost promise that the light bar will be at most 300watts in real life.

Here's a quick video on how you can bench test and the common theme with Amazon/ebay led lights and their wattage advertised vs real life
https://youtu.be/CwSiF0HuBAQ

 

The above is my lil legend and second is my on/off switch.. Hope this helps..

 

I picked up an Auxbeam kit I hope to get it installed if it will stop raining

 

What is this zombie mode you talk about?

 

Thank you for this information and the pictures, they help a lot! I actually already installed the switch panel and it was done by an accessory installer, all because my body guy would not cut the OEM bumper and install the hidden winch and light bar (backstory is that I purchased this car at a salvage auction and it was a front/fender hit). Truth is, I am not sure if the switch panel stays on. I will check that tomorrow, as the car is back to the body shop. If it is the case, that will drain battery and will be an issue. I will have to take it back to the installer and have him either figure it out or relocate it. Thank you also for the legend tip, I will most definitely do that. I did not install the winch on the switch panel though, installer said it draws too much power.
May I ask you what is the fan button on your switch?
Thanks again!

 

Thank you so much for this information and this wonderful video! They helped a lot!
I have a friend who is an electrician, but he said he doesn't know about this. I explained to him and he said that made sense. He has this equipment, so I will do what you suggested. I really liked the 783W bar, it has a nice design. According to the guy in the video, the bar that claimed 180W rated 130W. The idea was to use all of the lights at the same time, and that's a lot of power lol. I just hope it doesn't fry my switch panel. I will let you know on the hopefully positive outcome.
Thanks again!

 

Zombie mode is where you turn all the lights on at the same time, turning nighttime into daytime lol. The idea came from the movie I am Legend where he was attacked by zombies and he was in his car, turned all the lights on, so that zombies will run away. I am personally in love with this idea lol.

 

Hey we won't know for sure till we try it out! If and when you do test out the lights you want and their real life usage be sure to let us know, it can help others decide if this setup will work for them. I really hope this works out for you and can't wait to see your build come along

 

I agree with you!! Absolutely, I will let you know for sure! I am very excited about this journey and can't wait to take it for the first adventure. One bummer is that it is a Limited and doesn't have the crawling feature and the locking differential (I didn't know that when I purchased it) and it also has crappy hitachi shocks that I am looking to upgrade. I ordered a complete 3.5" Bolt on lift kit from RC in December, but still didn't receive it. I contacted Eibach today, and they are also on backorder. I am open to suggestions on that too lol.
Thanks!

 

Here ya go bro.....

 

Aftermarket radiator cooler for them hot wheeling days. Don't want the tyranny getting too hot turning 4 wheels instead of 2.... the fan, for being that size pushes a ton of air to assist in cooling..

 

Gotcha Bro!! That's actually a great idea! I might install one before summer. I live in Michigan and I don't think I'm going to need one at the moment lol!

 

It's good insurance. It comes on handy during stop and go traffic..
G/L with everything man..

 

For us guys with amber dash I found this .
But it looks like a bulk buy
https://m.alibaba.com/product/60804034759/New-Orange-LED-LIGHT-BAR-SWITCH.html

 

Im in
Damn link is not working