24 Volt auxiliary lighting

[CARMAN]

Now that my ride is ready for action the list of add on's has started. I see that there are 12/24V LED lights available out there but wanted recommendations on brands or sources. Want to add some lights to front and back maybe top. Want it clean and neat. Round or square? Can't decide as like the round to match head lights but square may blend in better. I am also under the assumption that with their draw that you do not have to run a relay? Guess that depends on the amp rating on the switch? Any pics. would be cool too.

 

[TwistedOaks]

Most LED based lights are actually multi-voltage and will run on either 12 or 24. There's a wide and varied selection on all these trucks. Swamp Donkey is probably the authority, since he's got even more than I do. I run the cheaper ones from Amazon for rock lights, and bumper lights (since they're more likely to get damaged) and I run them on 12v using the Pyle voltage converter. They're actually a great value for what they are, metal housing, and bright as well. I'm running 8 as rock lights above the tires, 2 in the engine cavity, 4 along the driveline. Then I run the Mictuning lights (2 of the 60" and 2 of the 8") on 24v using the spare line under the dash.

 

[CARMAN]

Maybe S.D. will chime in. Thanks for the info. Do you need relays on yours?

 

[Swamp Donkey]

So....I have 26 auxiliary lights. Yeah, I know. So anyways...moving on.

All the lights are LED and range from a few no name Ebay lights to Grote Trilliants. The need for relays depends on how many lights you want to run per switch. I'm using 6 switches and no relays. The wiring on the truck is simple and I don't intend to complicate it with relays. If you were to run many lights from one switch then depending on the total draw and the switch rating, a relay might be reauired.

For example...I'm using waterproof 20A rated switches. I keep the maximum draw per switch at 15A to give me some leeway. If you stay within the rating of the switch then relays aren't needed.

One common misconception is that LEDs don't draw many amps. This used to be fairly true say 5 years ago, but with brighter LEDs these days, the draw is going up. I don't know the exact number but the draw for my 26 lights is between 40A and 50A. This corresponds to the total I figured after adding up the draw for all the lights. I blew a 40A maxi fuse for my power feed with all the lights on. A 50A is what I have been running for a while now.

All my lights are running on 24V. Some are 10-30V lights and the Trilliants are 24v only. My main power feed is by a fused 6ga cable from the battery to fuse block mounted on the doghouse. Each switch then feeds off a fused circuit from the panel. All switches have a hot coming in and a hot going out to the light. Each light is grounded where it's mounted.

 

[74M35A2]

Nearly all LED light have an on-board DC-DC converter, and step the voltage down anyway. By having an on-board power regulator inside of them, it automatically balances the volts vs amps to maintain a constant watt value. So, if it is a 56W light, it will draw 2 amps at 28v, or 4 amps at 14v. This can be easily seen by using an adjustable bench top power supply which displays volts and amps and varying between the two, and the light output stays constant.

So, the takeaway here is, if the LED can handle the higher voltage of 24v (28v when running), it will pull half the current it would if operating at the 12v (14v when running) voltage level.

 

[TwistedOaks]

Maybe S.D. will chime in. Thanks for the info. Do you need relays on yours?

I don't but I did put one on the 250w 60" bar, just because it was showing close to 20amp draw at 12. Then I switched it to the 24v side, and just left the relay in.

 

[CARMAN]

Ok. Um yeah 26 lights. Not going there. Just a few. Will keep you posted. thanks for the tech 74M.

 

[Andyrv6av8r]

Here's a picture of everyone watching Swamp Donkey at the Georgia Rally with his lights on.

 

[CARMAN]

That's so funny. Was thinking the same thing. Kind of weird.

 

[Buffalobwana]

I built a nice relay panel so I’m going to use it! I have push button reset breakers beside the switches that control the light.



I use trailer wiring. I bought a long run of 7/12 - 7 wires 6 are 12 ga and 1 is 10 ga. They are the same color as 7/14 or 7/16 ga trailer wiring so I can stay color coordinated from switch through relay panel to the light. Blue wire at the switch controls blue wire at the light. Like SD, mine too are grounded at the light.

 

[CARMAN]

That’s nice. Looks like you are ready to signal Mars.