HOW TO WIRE RELAYS (To Control Scene/Work Lights)

EXPLORIST life Mobile Marine & Off-Grid Electrical

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This video will show you how to wire relays and teach you how they work to control scene lights (but they can be wired to control nearly anything)
Lightforce ROK9 LED Utility Light: www.lightforce...
Angled Base: www.lightforce...
Relays: amzn.to/3HBhdu7
2 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/3y3BVzB
3 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/3y1lEeC
5 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/39DSdWA
Wire: amzn.to/3O49neQ
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3 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 111

@bobstransitvan3053 2 года назад

The advantage of using a relay is that the switch circuit is lower amperage than the circuit that operates the device. It may only take 1 to 2 amps to turn the relay on, but the device circuit can handle maybe 20 amps. As an example, I'm going to use multi switch panels in my van to control my water pump, dump valves, and gray tank heater. I can run one wire to the multi-switch panel and use a relay for each device. The wire to the switch panel can be smaller since it's only going to be fused for 3 to 5 amps. The wire and fuse (in the 12V fuse block) can then be sized based on the current required to operate the device.

@eksine Год назад

well I hope no switch is using that much power but I see what you're saying. the 2nd advantage is it cuts down on the wire length for the load, which is a very big problem, so you can use a small gauge wire for the trigger switch and larger for the load

@jldickerson3 2 года назад

Honestly, I exclaimed, "Finally!" Not because I was waiting for you to do this tutorial, but that I knew you'd do the tutorial well. There are lots of videos talking about installing light bars, ditch lights, etc that skip over the actual wiring of the relay scuttling implementation for a diy learner. Thanks for the "this to this to this" level breakdown. Now, I'll grab a relay to fiddle around. 👍

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Awesome! Glad it helped. 'just playing around with a relay' on a tabletop is how I learned as well. I'm glad you caught on that you can use relays for all kind of stuff and not just the scene lights I'm showing. Nice!

@OurThrivingLife 2 года назад

Great tutorial! I just wired an undercarriage scene lighting kit and now I understand why it included relays. Thank you!

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Awesome! Glad it helped! 😁

@GirdHerd 2 года назад

Very helpful. I learned a lot about why relays are used and how to wire them.

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

@christosmaninos1570 2 года назад

Great video, I am good at basic wiring but I never understood the function of a relay switch until now. Thank you.

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching!

@robertoduranos5196 5 месяцев назад

Helpful and well explained, thankyou.

@EXPLORISTlife 5 месяцев назад

Glad it was helpful!

@TeymoorGhashghai 2 года назад

/1 - Great video! Thanks! Wiring is always one of those tricky things, especially when starting out.

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

No problem. Happy to help!

@christosmaninos1570 2 года назад

Love the cut, strip, crimp, and heat shrink shirt Steph

@Npowrd 2 года назад

another reason to use a relay (in addition to distance from switch to device), is that many switches are not rated for the amperage the end device uses. i.e. floodlights may use 20 amps of current but the switch itself is only rated for 10 amps, and the switch contacts will fail from repeated over-current. A high amp device should also be separately fused from the relay, since a shorted relay may not pull enough amps to trip the high amp device relay.

@chrisgibbons6527 2 года назад

Hi Nate, mostly well explained, but at 8:45 in the vid (when you cut back to one power wire from the fuse) I noted you still had the second negative wire back to the fuse block in play. My question: If I used multiple relays for many 12v loads wouldn’t I end up with a mountain of single negative wires that require to be terminated at the fuse block? What would be really helpful is a detailed map of the wiring diagram after you made the changes at 8:45 in the vid, thanks in advance.

@hrborders Год назад

I have watched this video 100 times and think I finally get it all. Here are my questions to hopefully tie it all in. 1. I have one of those nilight rocker switch panels. Can I use three of those switches for my scene lights? 2. Did you use the three colored wires (purple, pink, etc.) just to discern the difference between the lights on each switch? 3. Do you have a schematic of your switch-relay-load-fuse block set up? I'd pay good money for that :) Thank you!

@leslyestephen7629 8 месяцев назад

Thank you Nate & Steph! Very helpful ❤

@gvjester 2 года назад

Outstanding video!! Thank you for the explanations! Look forward to more, soon.

@Electronzap Год назад

Good info.

@deancarlyle7431 5 месяцев назад

Amazing thank you

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

*Check out the full electrical installation tutorial for this build:* ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E5q7_4FH4LQ.html Parts List: Lightforce ROK9 LED Utility Light: www.lightforce.com/en_us/rok9-work-light Angled Base: www.lightforce.com/en_us/rok9-30-degree-angled-base Relays: amzn.to/3HBhdu7 2 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/3y3BVzB 3 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/3y1lEeC 5 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/39DSdWA Wire: amzn.to/3O49neQ

@raymondgodon9543 2 года назад

Nice job and great way to show people how they can do it

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Hey Raymond Godon, Thanks so much! Cheers!

@Fritsvrolijk 2 года назад

Thanks Pro regards from Holland

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

You're welcome!

@billyk7831 Год назад

Hey Nate, how do you determine the size of fuses you need in the relays and the size of fuse you need at the DC fuse block in this type of setup?

@AnselTroy 2 года назад

Hey Nate! Love your content. I'm curious.. I know you were a firefighter before. Did you ever study electrical engineering? You're super knowledgeable!

@richardcurrie6043 2 года назад

Thanks! right lever nut...got it!

@wideawaketotruth5301 2 года назад

Wow, you too are rocking!

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!

@alebar08 2 года назад

Great video as always!! Was just wondering how you would wire those lights with the relays and a SPDT switch? I'm planning on something similar but would like that like circuit on a 3 way switch.

@freekvanootegem7462 2 года назад

Amazing informative video as always thank you! I was wondering how you will mount or install the Relays in the van so they stay mounted and don't flex?

@Allegiance_Outdoors 5 месяцев назад

Love your videos! How many circuits are you using on the fuse block in this example? I see a red wire bridging 2 wire nuts. Thought each relay would be its own circuit on the panel/switch.

@debbies6192 2 года назад

Thank you.

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Hey Debbie S, No problem! Glad it helped! :)

@rizallionc 10 месяцев назад

Great video.... too bad you don't mention the relay #'s for each wre (ie. 85, 86, 30, 87)

@simonlambert2246 Год назад

Great video! If you wanted to use upfitter aux switches instead of rocker switch, would you just remove the "switch" section of your diagram and replace "battery" by "aux switch"? That simple? (probably not...). Thanks!

@CraigMullins1 2 года назад

Thoughts on just chassis grounding most of this stuff and limiting some extra wire runs?

@crpth1 2 года назад

Chassis ground work perfectly. When in good condition and properly done! With this said I personally find most of the DIY chassis grounds I come up with. Usually on older projects (cars, bikes...) a continuous source of headaches. Until they're properly sorted and repaired! If one goes for this option, please do it properly. Rust, dirt and other corrosion issues will surely meddle on your success rate! Cheers

@garthhart6642 7 месяцев назад

Wireless switches/relays enhance all that

@madcow3417 2 года назад

I keep running into voltage limits with lighting. These have a very wider range, 10V - 30V DC. They have no problem with the standard 14.4VDC LiFePO4 charge voltage.

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Yeah, they are pretty sweet little lights!

@samhartfieldlewis5247 2 года назад

Brilliant thank you Got a question the fuse at the (fuse board) is that amp rated for the light attached and the relay amp rating 30 amp relay & say 5 amp light- is that 35amp in the fuse block. Sorry if not making sense 👍🏼

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Great question. The fuse in the fuse block is sized to protect the wire going from the fuse block to the relay to the light. So the fuse would be {Amps of the Lighting Circuit} x 1.25 = recommended fuse size (rounding is fine here as needed)

@PatrickInBendOR 2 года назад

Thanks so much for these videos. I just downloaded the 12v-accessory-wiring-guide and notice you have duplex wire in those diagrams. Why did you switch for this project?

@patkarp1965 2 года назад

Common reasons for a relay is either to switch more amperage then that which the switch can handle or to use a different control voltage to switch the circuit. You can also use them to isolate the controlling circuit from the load. In this example I really don't see the need for the relays. The load is small. The distance from the switch to the battery would only cause a .41% drop in voltage. That comes to .05 voltage drop. You are likely loosing that with all the additional connectors

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

I used relays for this circuit to be able to use less wire (another common reason, in addition to the two you provided) going from the fuse block to the switches to the lights. You could absolutely run each one from it's own spot on the fuse block to the switch to the lights, like I showed in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-o-YlpzrnuzI.html but that's just not what I chose to do in this circuit. Now that I've taught the concepts of how relays work, I don't have to teach it again when we get to higher powered items like winches, higher powered lights, etc.

@paulbonfiglio4853 10 месяцев назад

Can the switch be grounded to the same lug as the light?

@taoz7368 Год назад

Is a diode needed to protect the switch in this case?

@hrborders Год назад

My fuse panel will Be at the back of the van, near my batteries and my switches will be up front like yours. Is it better to place the relays near the fuse panel, the switches up front, or somewhere altogether different? Thanks!

@christoffer1973 2 года назад

One idea is that relay can also trigger by the door lights. If you want to trigger the light whit the car key. Most new cars/van turn inside light on when you open the car whit key fob thing.

@donb6474 Год назад

When I did mine I had 2 fuses for each relay. What I don't like is its large size. I did mine for the ebike I am building.

@billyk7831 Год назад

Hey Nate I see the relays have fuses in the as well. How do you determine the size fuse do you require in the relay and what size you need at the DC fuse block with this configuration?

@VideoByPatrick 2 года назад

Where can I get that relay and coupler that has 4 pig tails ?

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

There is a link in both the pinned comment and the video description.

@Sea2van_Adventures 7 месяцев назад

My brother is an electrician and said the boxes need to be grounded. But I don’t see a screw on your plastic boxes to ground them. Do the plastic junction box’s need to be grounded? Or do you only have to ground them in house electrical?

@EXPLORISTlife 7 месяцев назад

I don't recall using any boxes in this tutorial over 12V DC lights & relays; but no plastic boxes don't get grounded.

@tator2345 2 года назад

Please do a video on connecting the DC/DC Charger on the start battery side and connecting the house bank on the alternator side. If you already have a high output alternator and external regulator with a 400Ah plus house bank it seems crazy to not do it this way! Why buy a bunch of DC/DC’s and parallel them when you already have the output? There are no videos on it. Thanks!

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

We don't have an alternator with an external regulator, so we will have to use a DC DC Charger, but we will definitely be coving all of that later in the build.

@goobermcgylish5666 5 месяцев назад

How confident can a person actually be with those lever nuts? I’ve always understood those kinds of things (or similar), to be less than good.

@EXPLORISTlife 5 месяцев назад

Wildly confident. Look up some of our videos on lever nut testing.

@goobermcgylish5666 5 месяцев назад

@@EXPLORISTlife excellent. Thanks very much. I appreciate all the hard work you’ve put into these videos. Very helpful!

@dmwi1549 2 года назад

Hey Nate. Curious about why you put scene lights on van instead of roof rack? Pros & Cons? Debating for my install. Thanks

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

We had the scene lights on the roof rack in our Sprinter. We opted for them in the side of the van to decrease the amount of wires we had to run through the roof and attach to the roof rack. It's just so much easier to wire everything inside the van and uses less wire. It's also a more low profile look.

@tuomokolari535 Год назад

does it matter what kind of lever nuts i will be using on sockets ect. :o what would be good size for amp wise and volt wise? :o i found some 32A and 450V ones from internet. :o

@hrborders Год назад

Any issues with powering lights like these off the house battery vs. the ones in the garage? Also, I was thinking of having the lights on 1 switch vs. 3. Any reason not to or just preference? Thanks!

@GirdHerd 2 года назад

Nate, Wouldn't it be better to use well nuts to install the exterior scene lights so they are more water tight and the light can be removed at a later date without removing the interior panel?

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

There's probably 12 different ways to properly do this. I like the way we did it.

@justin555666 Год назад

Would it be bad practice to connect the switch ground to the chassis instead of running a wire?

@EXPLORISTlife Год назад

I recommend running a dedicated wire as shown in this video.

@justin555666 Год назад

@@EXPLORISTlife Ok I’ll do that. Being able to use thinner gauge wire is already savings enough. Was just curious. And thanks for the quick reply!

@ghudson14 2 года назад

Thanks for the video. Are the relays necessary when using something like an Auxbeam, Switchpro, or spod?

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Those units basically take the place of a bunch of relays. There is a control module controlled by a remote panel similar to relays, but it comes in a nicer package at the obvious added expense. We will likely be installing one of those for additional functions and lighting up front later in the build (foglights, spotlights, ditch lights, winch, compressor, etc).

@ghudson14 2 года назад

@@EXPLORISTlife thank you. Good to know. Great video series very helpful!

@granitfog 2 года назад

What is the advantage of using relays intead of simply using a switch to interrupt the circuit between power source and light?

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

I talked about that at the 2:03 mark in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mTH1Uc_L2M8.html

@granitfog 2 года назад

@@EXPLORISTlife Oops, perhaps that's when I got my coffee :-)

@hrborders Год назад

I am so close but something is off! My lights don’t turn off regardless of the switch. Where might I have slipped up? I assume it’s with the black/ground wires. Thoughts?

@EXPLORISTlife Год назад

Tough to tell. Re-build it on a tabletop, perhaps? That always helps me when I am building more advanced circuits like this.

@hrborders Год назад

@@EXPLORISTlife so I have determined the system “works” but only when I remove the fuse from the relays. I have tried putting in 10A-30A relays in each one and it always results in the lights on, even when I switch them off. Does this make sense?

@VitaliyHTC 2 года назад

I use wago 221 for temporary circuits. But I'm confused why you don't directly crimped connectors to the wires and use wagos... I understand that it'll work fine - but it's additional connections, a lot of. In some places where additional connections possible - OK, but near switches? Sorry, just my cockroaches 😁

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

It just makes things so easy. It's easy to shorten wires, easy to make them longer, easy to inspect the connection, easy to probe for voltage, easy to disconnect then reconnect the wire, etc. It's just easy. When we are only dealing with a few amps, I'm not worried about an additional high-quality connection.

@hinterlandvans 2 года назад

In an instance where you would be powering a load light at the rear with a switch in the dash in the front, is there an advantage in placing the relay in close proximity to the load light?

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

So, if there is a way you can theorhetically draw a 'T' with each end going to the fuse block, switch, and Load... the relay is best placed near the center of the 'T', if that makes sense.

@Fingers896 2 года назад

Is there a reason to run the ground through the switch and not the live?

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

There are a bunch of different ways to wire a lighting circuit. If you feel that you want to change things up from what I've shown and understand why you need to do so in your specific case, go for it. 🙂

@mohork 2 года назад

Great job guys, but however I'm still more dumber now than before lol

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

It took me FOREVER to understand the concept of relays. The thing that helped me the most was just getting a cheapy battery, lights, and relays and just wiring it up and playing around with how it works.

@richardcurrie6043 2 года назад

Hi, would you please send a link to the 12v connector..."lugger nut". thanks

@fergusmoloney 2 года назад

I think he’s trying to say lever nut. Look for Wago connectors.

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

Sure! Parts List: Lightforce ROK9 LED Utility Light: www.lightforce.com/en_us/rok9-work-light Angled Base: www.lightforce.com/en_us/rok9-30-degree-angled-base Relays: amzn.to/3HBhdu7 2 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/3y3BVzB 3 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/3y1lEeC 5 Conductor Lever Nuts: amzn.to/39DSdWA Wire: amzn.to/3O49neQ

@BTNomad Год назад

How would I use a relay in a dimmer situation? Is it the same? The lights I'll be using have a push button on/off, and I want to use a dimmer with them.

@mikesteur931 Год назад

Similar question: I want to wire a dimmer with 2-way switches. If I use a relay, should I wire the relay to the first switch per this video, then wire the dimmer and second switch per your 2-way switch video?

@BTNomad Год назад

@mikesteur931 , you may want to ask your question directly to Explorist, otherwise I don't think they'll see it under my question. Good luck!

@EXPLORISTlife Год назад

Think of it like this: wire the 2 way switches to control the relay. The relay then controls the light.

@mikesteur931 Год назад

@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks!

@mikesteur931 Год назад

@@EXPLORISTlife I got it all wired up. The 2-way switches work fine. But when I try to dim the lights the dimmer buzzes and the lights don't dim. Then the switches don't work. I didn't blow any fuses. My dinner has in and out wires for both positive and negative. Any guesses as to what is happening? Is the relay able to transmit varying power to the lights?

@tommyv22222 10 дней назад

I thought you were going to show us the lights when they were done

@EXPLORISTlife 10 дней назад

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PUeNLqihZSg.html

@redwood1957 2 года назад

Did you say switch the negative? I don't think that is a Good idea. If a wire wears the insulation and the copper connects to ground (frame metal)it will turn on the light. Now you can't turn the light off. The battery will drain. You switch positives not negatives. So your fuse will blow.

@cablewrangler Год назад

Given that you are wiring three separate relays with a 30 amp fuse installed in each: for 3 sets of lights how did you determine the size of the fuse needed in the fuse block talked about here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mTH1Uc_L2M8.html to protect the 3 different loads? Or would it be a single fuse protecting all 3 circuits to the relays? So would I triple that to a 90amp fuse?

@cablewrangler Год назад

Nevermind! I figured out that this wiring schema you have setup is wired as negative triggering. Alas, I had to wire mine positively triggered. A lot of the common rocker switches from popular brands are daisy chained for you to accommodate for a positively triggered circuit already. Video idea - Go over SPST and SPDT relays and the difference between configuring either positively triggering or negatively triggering circuits and when to choose one or the other for both DC or AC. This is highly useful such as having a switch in the back controlling some rear facing scene lighting for when you're loading/unloading ski gear at night, that can also be turned on/off at the front in the cabin of the van whilst driving I.e reversing and needing some extra light. Maybe even throw in some winch love for us snow goers and go over a dual SPDT relay setup for extracting and retracting a winch ;)

@EXPLORISTlife Год назад

For this one in particular, since the loads are so minimal, we were able to use one fuse for the entire 3-circuits. The fuse was sized large enough to not blow when all of the lights were on which was also small enough to protect the smallest wire in the circuit. I think that fuse is somewhere in the 10-15A ballpark.

@RMACIAS2460 2 года назад

👍🏽🇲🇽🇺🇸🙂🍺🌮

@EXPLORISTlife 2 года назад

🤣🙌👍

@NormandParent 2 года назад

Lizard Skin?

@MrStroller4u Месяц назад

Why not do ground wires to chasis ground? Is it to separate van's electrical from the solar electrical supply? In aircracft, 28VDC and 115VAC are all grounded to airframe ground. This would save the use of extra ground wires, weight, money and simplify the wiring. Your 12V fuse box black to chasis ground and each 12v ground circuit of each component to chasis ground. 115V, i would keep separate.

@EXPLORISTlife Месяц назад

It’s less reliable.