Aux Switches... do they have relays???

[Drunktank]

May be an odd question.... but riddle me this... do the Aux switches connect to relays? Or are they just switches inline on a hot wire???

After watching the videos on connecting everything up, it made me wonder where exactly the hot wires under the dash come from? From what I understand... once the wires under the dash are connected, they just pass through the firewall and connect straight to the main hot wire of the light. Just curious... the idea of having a in line switch on something that can be fused up to 30 amps makes me cringe! Though Im sure the Ford engineers are WAY smarter than that.

 

[bakkbakk]

relays

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

relays under the hood.

 

[Drunktank]

That was easy Kinda makes you wonder though... if the relays are under the hood... why would they ever run the hots back into the cab... only to have them pass right back through the firewall.

 

[TheJoker]

That's awesome, I have a relay on upfitter #4 triggering a relay for my 30" curved LED bar. Hey, it works.

 

[NickPic83]

That was easy Kinda makes you wonder though... if the relays are under the hood... why would they ever run the hots back into the cab... only to have them pass right back through the firewall.

Not to sound like a jerk but if u understand how relays actually work it makes perfect sense. The hot that goes thru the switch just controls the relay to pull in and close the ckt for battery power to pass thru to go to the light. The hot for the switch just powers the relay to open or close and thats it, but it needs power to for the relay to do it's job. The amperage from the accessories is all going thru the relay to the battery and not the switch....

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[Drunktank]

Not to sound like a jerk but if u understand how relays actually work it makes perfect sense. The hot that goes thru the switch just controls the relay to pull in and close the ckt for battery power to pass thru to go to the light. The hot for the switch just powers the relay to open or close and thats it, but it needs power to for the relay to do it's job. The amperage from the accessories is all going thru the relay to the battery and not the switch....

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Thats exactly the way I understand it.

I was just wondering why they would run the power wire into the cab and then back out when all that really need to come in/out of the cab are the two wires for the switch. Seems kinda silly if the intent of the relay is to run something that draws alot of amps. Assuming the amps don't change, the longer the wire run, the larger the gauge wire you're going to have to use to keep things safe and not burn up.

 

[NickPic83]

Not sure I follow. Isn't it just two wires per switch...?the relay under the hood is connected to "battery" power. The switches are just on a "control ckt" not the same feed for the relay "battery" power....

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[Drunktank]

Yep. I was assuming the power for the switch was coming from the other side of the firewall... but it could come from pretty much where ever. Heck, could leave the switch out all together and tap the switch wire onto the high beam circuit. Then your fun lights will power on when you flip on the high beams. Normal relay only has 4 connections on it... like for pretty much any offroad light pack. A relay for headlights with high/low usually has 5 connections IIRC.

Guess I should have clarified my question... wasnt about how the relay was connected.... just why the wires were routed the way they were with the factory aux relays being somewhere under the hood.

 

[J DAMAGE]

not to sound like a jerk but if u understand how relays actually work it makes perfect sense. The hot that goes thru the switch just controls the relay to pull in and close the ckt for battery power to pass thru to go to the light. The hot for the switch just powers the relay to open or close and thats it, but it needs power to for the relay to do it's job. The amperage from the accessories is all going thru the relay to the battery and not the switch....

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daaammme ,you go boy, *****
See what happens when an electrician gets involved.