So just got done installing a 50" light bar, LED windshield lights, and rugged ridge A-Pillar rocker switches. Ran all power for everything off of the battery and also grounded everything on the battery under the hood and grounded the switches off an existing ground under the dash. Used absolute 5 pin relay and the sockets that came with wired like - 87a (blue) to lights, 87 (white) to battery (-),86 (yellow) to battery (+),and 30 (black) to the switches.
Windshield lights are working perfect but the light bar is flickering and the light bar relay is buzzing. I have checked all my connections and everything looks good. I know relays will buzz sometime from Canbus but I wouldn't think that would be in play here. Also read it could be the switch for the bar might not be making solid connection. Last time I pulled the A-pillar switch pod off I broke one of the metal clips so before I do that, what am I missing?
Do I need a capacitor? Why would I but so many others who have done this exact setup not need one?
Not sure what this means but I swapped the relays and problem persists with the bar but relay that was being used for lower pod lights doesn't buzz when connected to the light bar.
Good idea that's what I tried to describe in an edit above but might not have made sense so I'll try again because maybe it means something to someone with more knowledge then me.
Relay #1 + the bar = relay buzzes, bar flickers.
Relay #2 + pods = works perfectly.
Relay #2 + bar = relay doesn't buzz, bar still flickers.
Relay #1 + pods = works perfectly.
Sidenote: flickering continues even with engine running.
1. Connect the light bar directly to 12 v, not through a relay. What happens?
2. Are you certain that the relay you are using is rated for the amps required by the light bar?
3. Connect the relay up, and drive it manually with a direct 12v signal right from the battery. What happens?
I had some wierd issues with a 50 inch light bar. Only 3/4 of it would light and then some of the leds that were out would light and others would go out. It was funny watching it. Manufacturer had me connect it direct as a test and it worked fine. It came down to a loosely crimped conector on the supplied harness.
So the only thing I was able to do before it started ****ing raining was direct connect the bar which proved that the bar works perfectly fine when hooked up straight to the battery.
Also checked the voltage coming out of the relay and with out the bar connected I get 12.5 volts but when the bar is plugged in I only get 10.5 which is probably why I'm getting flickering. So why less voltage with the load?
Think of electricity flowing through wires the same way you would water flowing through pipes. Voltage is equal to water pressure and amperage is equal to water volume. You have 12V after the relay when the light isn't connected because you are not drawing any amperage on the circuit.
For ex.... If you open your hose spigot all the way and close off the nozzle then the hose is gets hard immediately. You aren't drawing any volume so you have full pressure. This is essentially what you have done. Now add a draw on the circuit and your voltage drops. This would be the same as opening the hose nozzle. There still may be plenty of water pressure and volume to squirt your wife from across the yard but the hose isn't quite as hard as it would be if the nozzle was closed.
Now the problem your running into is something in the circuit is restricting your ability to draw the required amperage (volume) through the circuit to support the required voltage (pressure) to power your light bar. To revisit the plumbing example. Now turn the spigot so that it is only 1/4 open and close the nozzle. The hose gets hard slowly. It even gets as hard as it did when the spigot was full open but just not immediately. Now open the nozzle all the way and squirt your wife across the yard again... Nope. The water only goes a few feet. Why? The restriction of the spigot being 1/4 open doesn't allow enough volume through to keep the pressure up high enough to squirt your wife. And you will notice the hose is a lot softer as well. This is what is happening somewhere in your light's wiring circuit. You have a loose connection, a bad contact in your relay, a wire that is of too small a gauge to allow enough amperage through to power the light or some other restriction including, but unlikely, a weak battery. You are seeing this when you measure the voltage drop with the draw on the circuit.
Find the restriction. My restriction was a bad crimp on a spade connector under the shrink tubing.
So tried just about everything I could think of nothing works unless I touch the lead directly to the battery. Got rid of the harness, changed switches, cut and re-crimped every single connection, tried the pods relay again (that is still working fine with the pods) it buzzed too. Re-did the ground for the switch.
Even took the switch out of the circuit relay still buzzes and light still flickers.
I'm pretty much out of ideas and beyond frustrated.
Make a new harness, run larger gauge wire if you aren't already (I prefer 12 or 14), don't ground the switch to an exisiting bolt, use a self tapping screw and O-ring and tap it to the metal frame behind the dash. Check your relay instructions again. I use 4 pin relays, one for ground, one for hot, one to the switch, and one to the light. I also have an inline fuse mounted about a foot from the battery, and I run my hot and ground from the light directly to the battery.
All I can think of is that is has to do with the 5 pin relay.
Made a new harness tonite and I only used 14 gauge. I checked the relay instructions it is a 5 pin but I'm just not using the "normally closed" pin. I also ran all of my hot wires and grounds directly to the battery.
I will try the switch ground tomorrow, the only thing that confuses me is even when I eliminate the switch it still buzzes back and forth.
thanks for the response I can't believe none of the things I tried didn't fix it.
So apparently I had the the 30 and 87 backwards. I had the 30 going to the lights with 87 coming in from the battery, in theory it works b/c once the switch it closed 30 and 87 are connected and it worked that way on the pods. Switched it to the way it should be power into the relay via the 30 and out the 87 to the light bar ANDDDD flip the switch AND now I don't even get flickering
:atomic:
Just for future reference the problem has been solved! So what happen was after I ditched the harness and made my own I connected things wrong and popped the fuse on my hot wire. Was checking everything and realized I was getting zero voltage going into the relay, and the only thing between the relay and the battery was the fuse. problem solved.
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