Wired up LEDs tonight and worried about...

just wired up a 50", 30" and 2 ditch pods tonight with all separate relays and harnesses. i noticed after about 15 minutes of them all being on the relays started to get warm... not hot like melting or fire could occur but definitely warmer than when the lights are off... i checked to maybe see if it was maybe the engine heating up around the area where the relays are mounted and the entire area was cool to the touch... is it normal for the relays to get warm? any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

what wattage/amperage are your lights? What guage wire are you using? Are they fused? Is your relay rated for the wattage your consuming? The relays will get slightly warm because of the coils inside but shouldn't be "hot"

 

I don't have a clue, subd for answers

 

Pretty sure mine get pretty warm too iirc. And if I can remember I'll check them tonight when I get home because I use mine every night for a good while. I think it's a normal thing for them to get a little warm. But if they're hot, then you might have issues. Either a low quality relay or maybe wire gauge that is playing a part.

 

And yeah this pretty much sums it all up. Guess I overlooked this post. Ha. All these things Will play a part in the efficiency of the circuit and should be checked into. Also, if you are using cheap premade China harnesses, I'd check the wires to see if they're getting hot as well. They often have low quality components. I always make my own with proper gauge wire. Still on the lookout myself for some high quality relays. I used some from AutoZone and they work, but aren't waterproof. As well as some from theretrofitsource. Which those seem to be better quality, but again are not waterproof. I've seen some nice ones somewhere that were waterproof but can't seem to find them again for the death of me. As well as some better quality wire.. Not too concerned with my rats nest of wiring and relays under the hood right now. But I will eventually be redoing it all with the best stuff I can find.

 

great info guys... i got the wire harneses with my light bars from caliraised... from what i can tell the wire gauge varied on two of the harnesses but seemed like quality harnesses and relays. i could have very well over thought it and paranoid myself enough to justify asking this question but i figured better ask some of the forum guys before i melt down my engine bay.

 

Probably fine... IIRC, take the wattage and divide by 12....make sure your amps are not too high for each relay.

Also there are tables out there which state what gauge wire it should be based on load and length of the runs...double check that too if you have long runs.

 

I hard a hard time finding a waterproof relay that was rated for 40 amps so I just took some anti corrosI've grease and coated the pins. Haven't had any problems