Driving lights relay
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Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1
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From: Quesnel,BC Canada
Driving lights relay
just installed pair of 100 watt aircraft landing lights into **** Cepa stainless buckets on 1989 f-150 winch bumper. I am unsure of wiring procedure for the relay. The 2 power to lamps (87 & 87A) wires are both hot. Should I connect 1 of these wires (87)to 1 lamp terminal & the other (87a) wire to the other lamp terminal? If so, what do I do about the black wires (grounds)?
Thank you
Thank you
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 6,200
Likes: 39
From: Easton, Pa.
You have 200 watts +/- of power to deal with. 15 volts x 14 amps = 210 watts.
You need to run at least 12 ga. wire from the battery thru a 20 amp fuse (at the battery) to a relay then to the lights.
Connect one relay winding terminal to this same battery lead that goes to one switched contact and run a lead from the other winding terminal to a seperate switch in the cab and switch to ground; or operate the 'relay' from the orignal driving lite source if there is one.
Do not try to power these lights from original wiring. The orignal wiring is to small for this power level.
I run 2 55 watt backup lights thru a relay triggered by the original backup lite circuit.
These lites dimmed the original backup lites to an unusable level when hooked up direct. Wiring to small.
I also run aux. yellow fogs with the same setup and a selector switch to go from original driving lites to the aux. fogs.
I also have added side front turn signals with their own control relays for flashing.
You need to run at least 12 ga. wire from the battery thru a 20 amp fuse (at the battery) to a relay then to the lights.
Connect one relay winding terminal to this same battery lead that goes to one switched contact and run a lead from the other winding terminal to a seperate switch in the cab and switch to ground; or operate the 'relay' from the orignal driving lite source if there is one.
Do not try to power these lights from original wiring. The orignal wiring is to small for this power level.
I run 2 55 watt backup lights thru a relay triggered by the original backup lite circuit.
These lites dimmed the original backup lites to an unusable level when hooked up direct. Wiring to small.
I also run aux. yellow fogs with the same setup and a selector switch to go from original driving lites to the aux. fogs.
I also have added side front turn signals with their own control relays for flashing.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
It may behoove you to read the technical articles about adding electrical accessories. Good information here regarding wiring and relays.
https://www.f150online.com/tech/electrical1.html
http://www.geocities.com/gdgo/f150a2.htm
https://www.f150online.com/tech/electrical1.html
http://www.geocities.com/gdgo/f150a2.htm
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 3,248
Likes: 2
From: Rochester, NY, USA
Bluegrass hit it right on the head - as usual. I'd offer up a couple of additional tips. Liberally coat all of your connections with Dielectric grease to prevent corrosion. This includes connections inside the light housings. Secure all wiring so it's not dangling or loose. Zip ties, as cheesy as they appear, do wonders here. Do not use undersize wiring. You'll create a nice engine compartment heater with the resistance. Finally, make sure you use a good ground for the two negative leads - with Dielectric grease on the connection.