Reversing light??

[madcampbell]

Right I have now put two spot on the rear Underslung (to test them out and see if I really want to add them higher up!)

One worked and the other did'nt
swapped the bulbs aroud and found it was bulb
Took the bulb back to halfords and the bloke gave me a replacemnet for free
What I did not spot was instead of being a 50 watt bulb he gave me a 100 watt bulb.

I tried the lights out last night and man the 100 watt one is great
I can seeeee

So now to the question

Having set up the relay can I now replace the other bulb with a 100 watt bulb or will it fry the relay?? or any thing else
The pack of spots came with a wiring kit and two 50 watt bulbs and I think the inline fuse is 10 amps

Thanks for any help
Cheers
Mark

[paulh]

200 w divided by 12v = 16.6 amps
Sorry POP goes the 10a fuse, you will need a 20 amp fuse provided that the wiring used is up to the job.

[madcampbell]

Thanks mate
Here is another non eletrically minded question
How would I work out if the wiring is up to the job
Cheers
Mark

[paulh]

Thanks mate
Here is another non eletrically minded question
How would I work out if the wiring is up to the job
Cheers
Mark

Hi again
Its not really a case of working out if the wiring is up to the job, more a case of what wiring you used.
If you have used the original reverse light wiring to supply the spots then I would disconnect them straight away as the wiring provided on the Surf is only heavy enough for the equipment supplied.
In order to supply the lights you will definately need to provide a feed of minimum 30 amp cable from the battery with a 20 amp fuse near the battery.
You will then require a relay at the rear operated by the reverse light supply and switching the heavy supply to the lights.
One other point I believe that the maximum wattage for a reverse light is 21watts and only two are allowed so I would provide a separate switch so that they are only for use "off road"

[paulh]

200 w divided by 12v = 16.6 amps
Sorry POP goes the 10a fuse, you will need a 20 amp fuse provided that the wiring used is up to the job.

Me again
Having just read this thread from the start I see that you probably already know about the relay and will have fitted one.

[madcampbell]

cheers bud
You are right but the relay I used was for two 50 watt bulbs (does that matter)?????
I know nothing about relays apart from fitting it from instructions.
The wiring was maybe three times as thick as the original wiring for 22 watt bulbs from the reverse light. I am going to increase the fuse to 20 amps and add the switch....
how do I add the switch into the circut??
Cheers
Mark

[paulh]

Most auto relays are rated at about 30amps I believe, it should tell you somewhere on the relay or in the instructions if you bought a kit.
As for the switch this will have to either a switch rated at 20amp minimum connected into the wire from the battery or a lower rated switch can be fitted into the relay supply from the original reverse lights but this will require two more wires going the full length of the car to the front mounted switch.
Sorry I can't suggest an easier way.

[madcampbell]

I had a switch in the pack the lamps had so will now fit it . I read the side of the switch and it is a 20amp one so I will chop it into the live feed from the battery. which is only a short run that way.
Thanks for the help matey
They can now be for "off road use"

[madcampbell]

New question!!!
Having fitted the lamps now when I reverse The spot lights seem to take all the power and the normal reverse lights seem to have halfed in power??
Is that normal or is there somthing amisss??
Thanks
Mark

[paulh]

If You've wired them correctly the new lamps are taking all their power directly from the battery and if that's in good nick you shouldn't get any loss of voltage at the normal reverse lights, may just be that they look dim compared to the 100w spots