Wiring color, sizing, and questions about lightbar/harness

Hey all,
Trying to install a light bar with wiring harness on a 2008 taco and having some problems understanding things since no instructions are included.

The light bar I purchased is this: https://runnin4tacos.com/products/40-single-row-dual-led-light-bar?_pos=11&_sid=f085187b3&_ss=r
with a harness from the same place.

I notice the colors on the end of the light bar are black, green, and white. (no idea what they pertain to)

..and they are quite a bit thicker than the harness wires - which are black, red, and white.

I assume like colors with go with like colors and the green to red(?)
but not sure if that is the case, since I've seen yters that do red with white and so on.
No idea which colors go with which, and the ends of the harness have this pink crimp wire connector on each end:
the problem is the sizing.
The wires on the light bar are so much thicker and I can't get them all into the metal middle section of the pink sleeve (do I even need to?)
so I'm curious how I should go about it with the sizing difference between the lightbar wires and the harness wires.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

I'm just learning terminology
so basically what I mean is the gauge of the light bar is much bigger than that of the harness.
I hope that make more sense what I'm trying to say

 

Send a link and pictures for the wiring harness you are using - there are a few different ones on the site you got the light bar from. Hopefully there is a relay with the harness. There are a few options you have for joining wire of different gauges. I'd like to see the harness you are using before getting into those options.

I suspect the three wires on the light bar are 1x positive for the white LEDs, 1x positive for the amber LEDs, and 1x negative (common to both the white and amber LEDs). That is a guess. Before you wire everything up, you need to know what the wires do. If it were me, I'd have the light bar on a bench and running power to it from a 12v battery source (battery, battery charger, other...) and see what wire does what.

What you are saying about wire gauge and internal diameter of the wire connectors is clear. Personally, I wouldn't be running the current (measured in amps) indicated in picture you posted through the 14 AWG and 12 AWG wires. The current is 5 amps too high for the 12 & 14 gauge....there are going to be some very limited exceptions when running too much current through a wire could be done (length of wire run, number of conductors, duration of current draw, etc) but as a general rule, don't exceed 15 amps with 14 AWG and don't exceed 20 amps with 12 AWG. AWG = American Wire Gauge

 

I found this, but personally I try to use heavier gage wire than needed. I would use the same gage that is on the lights…JMO. ALWAYS put a fuse near the battery on the + side!

 

Thank you for 12v battery suggestion! I was able to test and find out that the black wire is ground and the white wire is amber light and the green is white light.

Still unclear if I should match like colors with like colors and the green and red wires:

not sure if you can see the thickness difference in the photo but the copper really won't go into the metal inside the pink heat shrink sleeve. A few might but not all.


The harness is not on there site for some reason. It is there "R4T" brand that I got for $15
here are some pix that hopefully help:



two switches and relay by the looks

 

unfortunately, I have no idea what gauge it is! I just know the copper bits won't fit into the pink sleeve

 

Gauge should be shown on the insulation as well as some specs, such as temp rating.

 

unfortunately it is not. they kept it all one color for mounting purposes

 

https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/wire-gauge-chart.html
maybe this will help if you have calipers or micrometer.
Or, call r4t and ask them.

 

Red is 18-22, blue is 14-16, yellow is 10-12.

Cut, strip and use blue or yellow or a butt splice and heat shrink.

those switches are just terrible. I’d throw the whole harness in the trash myself, maybe keep the relays, use a dual small or tall switch from ch4x4 and a switch illumination harness from guild outfitters.

still, you want the gauge to be consistent from battery through relay to light bar.

no specs on current at all for the light bar on the page, did it come with any paperwork? Size your fuse properly to protect the bar and harness.

I’d guess 15-20 amps max for a single row bar. Possibly lower. I’d feel reasonably comfortable with 12 gauge wire. Going to 10 or higher just gets complicated and bulky.

 

Zero paperwork and no info on the light not even the brand so it's been tough trying to figure things out. I do intend to replace the switches with ch4x4 when they have a sale. It's not an immediate emergency for me. I don't think I have blue or yellow wires.

 

Oh I thought you meant the wires. the three have the pink but the metal doesn't seem to accommodate the wires on the light bar

 

The insulation color on the wires doesn't really matter....just makes it a lot easier to troubleshoot/trace if the wire color is consistent. But I wouldn't use that harness if the wire gauge is smaller than the wires coming from the light bar.

I did an image search and found a light bar that looks similar to yours. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Hantu-HT-23-series-12V-180W_1600077321440.html
Says the power draw is 180 watts. 180 watts / 12 volts = 15 amps. May not be the same as yours, so you'll need to confirm the current draw of the light you have.

I doubt the manufacture of the light bar used heavier gauge wiring than required, in order to keep costs low. So if the wires coming from the light bar are "x" gauge, then the harness should be made of at least wire that is "x" gauge or larger. As long as you use wire gauge at least as large as coming out of the the light and you should be good, even if you don't really know the current draw of the light.

You could reuse those relays and switches, and just build your own harness. It isn't that difficult, especially if you have one right in front of you to copy. For joining the light bar to the harness, I would use some sort of connector that could be disconnected. Makes is easier get the light bar in and out and run wires etc. Insulated 1/4" spade connectors would be fine. Build the harness and then test everything out on a bench to make sure it works before installing it in your truck.