Have you ever been driving out at night, though your car lights should be brighter to prevent you from straining? If you answered yes, you should consider getting an LED light bar for your car. Most importantly, to install it, you’ll need to tap into your car LED light wire harness. Read on to learn how to perform the installation.
Table of Contents
- Reasons Why You Need a Light Bar
- Why Should You Come to Buy LED Light Bars for Your Car?
- LED Light Bars Wiring Diagram
- LED Light Bars Installation Guide With a Wiring Harness
- Conclusion
Reasons Why You Need a Light Bar
Below are some of the reasons your car needs a light bar.
Improved Vision
Compared to any other form of automotive lighting, light bars provide the best bright lights.
Standard headlights are okay for normal lighting on public streets.
However, if you often venture into beat-up, deserted roads or in case you have an emergency, your car needs to be noticeable from a distance.
Also, if you often take long late-night drives on uneven terrain, then you know the importance of having bright lights.
Caption: Car With LED Light Bar in the Dark
It Just Looks Cool
If you drive a modified vehicle, then you know the importance of style in every little detail.
A large light bar shining bright bulbs over your windshield just completes the look of your car. Most Jeep owners agree that light bars help improve the car’s aesthetics.
Why Should You Come to Buy LED Light Bars for Your Car?
Below are some reasons you should get LED light bars for your car.
They’re Extremely Efficient
LED light bars are available in various types, such as floodlights and spots. Also, some combinations help increase efficiency.
Although incandescent lights are popular, they can’t compete with LED lights that are very bright. Plus, with LED lights, you won’t need multiple bulbs to get your desired result.
They Don’t Consume a Lot of Energy
A common misconception is that bright lights consume a lot of power, which makes most drivers opt for incandescent lights because they think they are saving power.
However, the fact is that LED lights produce bright lights without consuming a lot of power. Compared to incandescent lights, LED lights guarantee your car battery will last longer.
LEDs Provide Better Lighting Quality
In terms of visibility, drivers with LED lights have nothing to worry about because LED lights produce bright light to ensure your safety even as you’re driving at night.
Especially during rainy seasons, when everything appears dim, you want lights that won’t disappoint.
Relay wiring harness
LED Light Bars Wiring Diagram
Today, it has never been easier to install LED light bars. Several components accompany the purchase of your LED light bar, such as mounting brackets, nuts, bolts, an instruction manual, and a wiring kit.
Among them, the LED light bar wiring harness is the most important for its function.
Use a Relay Over a Simple Switch
With LED light bars, it is best to use a relay with the assistance of a simple switch.
Relays can handle higher power loads, so you don’t have to worry about overheating and failing.
Plus, with a relay, the voltage drop is lower. Also, the relay offers better control, allowing you to control multiple switches with a single switch.
Choose a Fuse
It’s important to take the necessary steps to avoid unexpected damage to your car’s electrical system.
Therefore, it’s advisable to keep a fuse between your relay and battery.
A fuse helps protect your car’s wiring system in case there’s a power surge. The right fuse should have the correct amperage rating.
Decide on an Auxiliary Switch or Factory One
Another important factor to consider before installation is choosing the right switch.
Wiring an aftermarket switch could trigger your relay, so it’s best to target the headlights of your car by tapping into your wiring harness.
This will also help prevent your battery from draining.
Choosing Wire
Never use solid (household type) copper wire; instead, use stranded when handling automotive applications.
Standard copper wires normally use PVC insulation, which usually isn’t enough.
Therefore, it’s best to use higher-grade insulation such as TXL or GXL that offers better resistance to aggressive components such as repeated flexing, heat, and oil.
Marine-grade tinned wire also offers increased resistance against corrosion and is available in various colors.
To successfully upgrade your circuit, the wire gauge you choose is vital.
A gauge too small causes voltage, and a gauge too large will make it difficult to attain a durable and proper connection.
Furthermore, a gauge too large will result in mechanical difficulties due to stiffness, especially in hidden lamp systems.
A 14 AWG wire is normally enough, a 12 AWG wire is usually more than enough, and a 10 AWG wire is often too big, leaning toward overkill territory.
Failure to use the right gauge of wire on the ground legs and feed of the circuit will result in a voltage drop due to inadequate grounding.
You’ll only ruin efforts if you run good, large wires to the side of the feed and ignore the poor factory wires in place.
Remember that numerous factory circuits run unspecified ground to a point on your car’s body conveniently.
Although acceptable, this is barely a good enough ground for a new vehicle.
As the vehicle ages, dirt and corrosion build-up, greatly increasing the resistance between the car’s electrical system ground side and the vehicle body.
It takes a bit more effort to run your new, bigger ground wires straight to either end of the battery’s negative cable or the alternator’s metal housing.
However, doing so ensures a proper ground.
Terminals
When connecting your wires to your terminals, ensure you use the right size.
A size too big, the terminal won’t properly fit and a size too small, the connection might come loose.
However, if you’re a pro, you could plan to sell the connections. However, soldering could give you a durable and good harness.
It’s best to consider other options. Besides using properly done crimps, there’s another technique for connecting and tapping wires you can use, known as the Posi system.
LED Light Bars Installation Guide With a Wiring Harness
- Before you begin on your car’s electrical system, ensure you first disconnect the battery.
- Position the relay wire harness and approximate the direction you want your wiring to face.
- Use some tape to mount your light bar to confirm it looks good. Plus, you want to ensure the light bar is at a center position before you drill it in.
- After you drill, use some bolts to properly mount the light bar.
- Connect the positive and negative wires to your light bar and pass it through the firewall.
- Thanks to the switch button’s adhesive nature, you can position it anywhere. If you position the button inside the car, watch for the firewall cover on the driver’s side.
- Connect the positive and negative wires to your switch.
- A relay harness with the proper configuration will have the fuses in the power supply side of your power circuit. This could be within inches of your battery or close to your alternator B+ terminal.
- Next, find a good ground for your negative wire. You want to make an LED light relay power connection with your battery. Therefore, your battery’s negative terminal isn’t an ideal ground. It would be best if you had a clear connection between the circuit and bare metals. A good idea is to ground your wire on the car’s chassis. You can use a multimeter to test if the ground area is ideal.
- Once you’re done, connect your battery and confirm the light bar works.
- To tie down any untidy electrical wires, use clamps to prevent them from getting melted by any engine components.
Conclusion
There you have it. Pre-made cables have 2 or 3 wire colors with custom terminals and lengths, which provide well-insulated, tidy, and simple installations.
However, if you’re looking for more customized solutions, contact Cloom Tech.
