Wiring for 648W Lightbar?

[Leclerc.27]

Hello,

I recently bought a Nilight 648W lightbar that I'm going to be throwing onto my WK2. I'm trying to figure out the wiring I need (as well as the other relays/breakers, etc.), but I suck at electronics and feel like I'm calculating in circles. Even the "Customers Frequently Bought with" wiring through NiLight on Amazon under my specific bar only has a capacity of 12oW.

So, if there is someone out there that can point me in the right direction of some gear specifics I need, I would hugely appreciate the help. I think I've calculated that it's 54amps, so maybe 6gauge wire? I don't know if that's excessive or not. Hopefully you all can help the cause. Here's the link to the light itself if you need more info I'm not giving you. Thanks in advance!

 

[SOLVEFUNCTION]

Nilight also sells a heavy duty wiring kit, but it's only rated at 450w at 12 awg. I would ask nilight what they recommend.

 

[Dthemiley]

It looks like you calculated your specs well enough. I'm sceptical that the bar actually uses as much power as they claim. I have two 225w spot lights on my LC and I tested them with 15 amp fuses and they worked. I haven't messed with a multimeter to see what the actual power use is but it's not what amazon claimed.
If you do go with 6 gauge wire i would build my own. Wiring a relay is simple then if it stops working you will know how to troubleshoot it.

 

[Leclerc.27]

Nilight also sells a heavy duty wiring kit, but it's only rated at 450w at 12 awg. I would ask nilight what they recommend.

Thanks, that would seem to make sense if they sell it as their heavy duty that it would cover what is about their heaviest duty output. Appreciate it!

 

[Leclerc.27]

Wow

It looks like you calculated your specs well enough. I'm sceptical that the bar actually uses as much power as they claim. I have two 225w spot lights on my LC and I tested them with 15 amp fuses and they worked. I haven't messed with a multimeter to see what the actual power use is but it's not what amazon claimed.
If you do go with 6 gauge wire i would build my own. Wiring a relay is simple then if it stops working you will know how to troubleshoot it.

Wow, that’s way off my calculations! You’re probably doing it right, obviously. Thank you for the advice. I will most likely end up wiring this one with a kit if I can find it, only because my expertise is somewhere around “hope I don’t get electrocuted installing this” with electrickery.

 

[Dthemiley]

Wow


Wow, that’s way off my calculations! You’re probably doing it right, obviously. Thank you for the advice. I will most likely end up wiring this one with a kit if I can find it, only because my expertise is somewhere around “hope I don’t get electrocuted installing this” with electrickery.

No your calculations are correct. The calculation for Watts is V×A=W. So 648W÷12V= 54A.
For non critical voltage drop 6 gauge wire is more than enough.

I was just saying that Amazon light ratings are a little off.

 

[Leclerc.27]

No your calculations are correct. The calculation for Watts is V×A=W. So 648W÷12V= 54A.
For non critical voltage drop 6 gauge wire is more than enough.

I was just saying that Amazon light ratings are a little off.

Glad to hear you say that - I was thinking that the listed output was a little aggressive; it’d be like looking at the Sun. Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it!

 

[Saints&Sailors]

I'm assuming this is an LED light bar. If so, the advertised watt rating may actually be referring to how powerful the lights are compared to X watt incandescent bulbs and not the actual electrical power of the LED light bar.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I have yet to see a import led bar with correct claimed wattage. You would be fine with a 12ga harness and 40 amp relay. Be sure and do quality connections.

 

[Passe-Partout]

I'm assuming this is an LED light bar. If so, the advertised watt rating may actually be referring to how powerful the lights are compared to X watt incandescent bulbs and not the actual electrical power of the LED light bar.

Agree. LED lights have tremendous light output at very low wattage so I would be astonished that your light would draw that much power. I have a 50” LED lightbar with a 26,000 lumen output (252W) using 10ga wire connected to a 30amp fuse on my sPOD controller. Did all the wiring myself. sPod controller makes it very easy.

 

[Leclerc.27]

Agree. LED lights have tremendous light output at very low wattage so I would be astonished that your light would draw that much power. I have a 50” LED lightbar with a 26,000 lumen output (252W) using 10ga wire connected to a 30amp fuse on my sPOD controller. Did all the wiring myself. sPod controller makes it very easy.

Awesome, I will scope that out - thank you for the reply!

 

[MazeVX]

There is a android app available at the play store called "ElectroDroid"
I'm an electronic technician but I use it often to make simple calculations like this quick and easy, there are some other helpful functions in this app.

You can guess the maximum wattage by the number of leds. A led will have, most likely, not more than 10 W.
It depends a lot on the electronics that power the led and so on ... One can write a book without answering all the questions.

 

[Leclerc.27]

Thanks very much! I actually switched to a smaller light bar (width and wattage), just to make life a bit easier. Now the question is - where can I set the ground in a 2015WK2? Since the battery is under the car's passenger seat, I'm not sure where there is a good/safe spot near, or if I have to pull that ground wire to somewhere else. Online doesn't seem to give a bunch of help here, which I'm surprised about, but I thought you guys might know. Thanks!

 

[SOLVEFUNCTION]

Thanks very much! I actually switched to a smaller light bar (width and wattage), just to make life a bit easier. Now the question is - where can I set the ground in a 2015WK2? Since the battery is under the car's passenger seat, I'm not sure where there is a good/safe spot near, or if I have to pull that ground wire to somewhere else. Online doesn't seem to give a bunch of help here, which I'm surprised about, but I thought you guys might know. Thanks!

You should be able to ground to the body, find or make a paint free spot.

 

[MazeVX]

There should be plenty of ground studs welded to the body, something about M8, I don't know the exact inch measurements but they should be something about 1/3 of an inch...

 

[Leclerc.27]

There should be plenty of ground studs welded to the body, something about M8, I don't know the exact inch measurements but they should be something about 1/3 of an inch...

Yeah, you are correct. The issue is, I can't find any in the battery compartment, I would imagine because of it's odd placement under the passenger's seat instead of in the engine bay where ground studs are more available. It's just a weird setup, I feel like I'm working on my old Saab! I think i could probably put it to a seat bracket, since that goes into the frame.

 

[MazeVX]

You can use more or less everything that is connected to the main body, the screws of the seat bracket should work just try to put it on the bare metal.

 

[slomatt]

I know you mentioned that you switched to a smaller bar, but I was interested in the specs of the original bar. Is this the one you were considering?
As you noted 648w is 54A @ 12v. I'm really surprised by this number given that a high quality Rigid 50" dual row lightbar draws about 1/2 as much power. 54A is no joke and would require large gauge wires and a serious relay.

Here is a wire gauge chart
https://www.bluesea.com/support/articles/Circuit_Protection/1437/Part_1:_Choosing_the_Correct_Wire_Size_for_a_DC_Circuit

I'm curious what the actual current draw of this light would be.

 

[Leclerc.27]

I know you mentioned that you switched to a smaller bar, but I was interested in the specs of the original bar. Is this the one you were considering?
As you noted 648w is 54A @ 12v. I'm really surprised by this number given that a high quality Rigid 50" dual row lightbar draws about 1/2 as much power. 54A is no joke and would require large gauge wires and a serious relay.

Here is a wire gauge chart
https://www.bluesea.com/support/articles/Circuit_Protection/1437/Part_1:_Choosing_the_Correct_Wire_Size_for_a_DC_Circuit

I'm curious what the actual current draw of this light would be.

Exactly my thinking, I was looking at a Black Oak product and comparing it to some of the NiLight products and thought, "Something doesn't seem right". Granted, my knowledge of electrickery is low, but still, pretty easy math. That is indeed the one I was looking at, but I switched to this one