Upfitter switches request for help!

[DiSanto]

So I have my lights mounted to the light bar, and the rigid industries wiring harness run under the hood. (Through the void near the tow hooks)

I know the upfitter switches have wires under the hood that supply power through relays.

Do most of you cut the wiring harness "switch" wires off, and splice harness "hot" to upfitter switch wire, and ground to the frame or negative battery post? This would have the upfitter switch powering the led light bar. (And require using multiple switches for multiple lights)

Second option is utilize the factory wiring harnesses for all the lights by connecting power and ground to battery terminals, then connecting the "switch" wire to the upfitter powered wire. (The switch wire is three strand, so I would have to figure out what wire to connect to upfitter wire)

In this manner, the upfitter switch would only be powering the factory wiring harness relay. I could connect all the lights switches to one upfitter switch.

Can anyone confirm or refute this for me? I am no electrician, and asking for some help please.

30 inch rigid industry rds
10 inch hyperspot
2 -10 inch e2

 

[Deleted member 12951]

Just depends how you want to use your switches and how many amps each one is. Curious, I know they have 6 aux switches now but how is that laid out in amps? The gen1 was aux 1&2 was 30amp then aux 3 is 15amp and 4 being 10amp. How do you plan on using your 6 switches?

I would double up on two of the same light like for cornering or hood mounts and rear. But if the total amp exceeds the factory aux then I would use a relay to power the difference.

Perhaps if the amps allow, wire the two centers together and the two side lights together to use 2 switches.

 

[DiSanto]

Looks like I can take the middle wire (of the three switch wires) and connect to the upfitter wire. Since the RDS 30" requires 40 amp, I have to double check what each upfitter switch is rated for. Wiring like this should only put a small load on the upfitter wire, as its only powering the factory relay. Correct??

Sorry to be so uneducated about this. I've searched the web high and low, and find conflicting information. I'm going to call rigid industries today.


I found the wire coloring / fuse size chart on line. I'm not sure it's correct. 15 amps max switch 1 and 2?

 

[GOTSVT?]

The amp chart is correct. Not sure why Ford did this.
If you look in your Ford Raptor supplement in the black case you have, you will find it in there.

 

[Dane]

Yes, wiring so that your Aux merely powers the relay and not directly power your light (that comes from the battery in your descriptions) means a very tiny load on the upfitter switch. You could easily run as many lights as you could realistically fit on the truck from one switch in this manner.

Running a light directly from a switch is fine too as long as you obey the amp ratings as described earlier.

Personally, I've done both. When you get a nice harness from Rigid or VisionX that already has it all kinda laid out, I go with using the relay out of convenience.

Bottom line, both ways you've asked about are fine. With direct power having the caveat of amperage rating. It sounds like you know what you are doing. Just pick the solution that fits your needs. Neither is more "right" nor "wrong". If you exceed your amperage, you are just going to blow a fuse under the hood. It's easily replaceable.

 

[Hamm3r]

If you have a single light that requires more than any one of your Upfitters can supply, you can use the included wiring harness with the light. Wire the relay directly to the battery. Instead of using the included switch, all you need to do is splice the hot wire that would normally go to your switch to your upfitter. Tape off the other two "switch" wires because one is a ground (you don't need to ground the upfitter...that's already done) and one is simply to power the LED in the included switch.

To save a high amp switch for later, personally I would wire it to 5 or 6 because the solenoid in a relay typically pulls 100-250 mA.

Let me know if that made no sense and I could try and explain it a different way.

 

[DiSanto]

I appreciate everyone's advice. Thank you!!! Since the rds bar (all sizes) is rated at 40 amps, I'll have no choice but to use the factory rigid harness and use the upfitter to power the relay only. I'll probably put all four light relays on upfitter switch one, so I only have one switch to flip.

Love the forum, and the knowledge shared here. Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 12951]

There is no way that a 30" bar needs 40 amps

Found it:
http://www.rigidindustries.com/led-lighting/88321

It only needs 16.3 amps. They are taking watts divided by 13.8 volts.

Their 54" pulls a little less than 30amps

 

[DiSanto]

There is no way that a 30" bar needs 40 amps

Found it:
RDS-Series 30" - Spot Surface Cool White Black 30"... | Rigid Industries

It only needs 16.3 amps. They are taking watts divided by 13.8 volts.

Their 54" pulls a little less than 30amps

Agree, 40 amps seemed very high. I was just going by what the instructions said. Either way, I'll wire upfitter to rigids harness relay. 250 mamp - 4 lights- 1 amp. Should be good!

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

thats a generic statement....... if you find the relay harness is too long or what not, you can wire the relay without the harness.

85- power from switch
86- ground
87- power from battery (fused)
30- to lights

dont need 87a (unless its a spst relay in which case it wouldnt be there anyways)