switch panel wiring prolbem

ok, i bought a switch panel for all my LEDs for my car. its called the "illuminated switch panel" made by streetglow.

My question is, do i need to connect it to a fuse as i add it directly to the battery? If you look up the item, it mentions it has automatic reset fuses built inside and an easy 2 wire hookup..

Would i still need a fuse connecting directly to the battery such as amps? it doesnt mention anything in the product manual, and the site doesnt help much. What is recommended?

actually, im just going to use my switch board for everything....i have my interiors, my washer nozzles, and my underglow..which should only use up 3 of the 4. the only thing going to the battery would be the wires from the switch panel

To paraphrase Tommy:
What happens to the wire from the battery to the switchboard if it shorts to ground?

the fuses should trip inside the switchboard, but i havent installed it yet...should i have a fuse before connecting to the battery? cause wouldnt that be going through 2 fuses? switch board + the one going into the terminal? is that bad?

No....

You have the battery +12V through a wire to the fuses etc.

If you short that wire, the switchboard fuses will not trip or blow.


What protects that wire?
What stops the battery dumping its hundreds of Amps of short-circuit current through the wire, thereby vapourising it and igniting flammable gases or starting a fire?

I am assuming that the switchboard is not near the battery....

i was told that i use a 15amp inline from the +, in which should power my switch panel, however, i was also told that i should use add-a-fuse rather than direct battery...but if i do that...would my switch panel hold up..because i would have my interior kit, my underglow, and my washer led nozzles going through my swtich panel which wuold be going through an add-a-fuse..it just seems like if i was too turn all 3 on, something would happen..also i was thinking about hardwiring my GPS being that it can hold 4 accessories...

Why would a fuse mess anything up...? The sub-switches are on resettable circuits...Does not appear that the main switch feed is fused...You have 3a per sub switch...As long as that is not exceeded...those should be fine...Fuse the main power connection...What would happen if there is NO fuse and something happens...Fuse the main switch...Im kinda lost on how "add-a-fuse" would somehow ruin something...Then what would happen if you didnt "add-a-fuse" and then turn all the switches on./..? Maybe you could be a liitle clearer...? As far as hardwiring your GPS...As long as it does not exceed the maximum current draw allowed by the sub-switch...IE...3 amps...It should work fine...! Basically you have up to 3 amps per sub-switch totalling 12 amps total...no more then that...! If all of your accessories does not exceed 3 amps per sub-switch...should be ok...! Whats your plan on hard-wiring the GPS...? Some units are NOT 12v and are stepped down to 5v-6v inside the cigarette adapter plug...Verify this before you hack the harness off... !

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M.E.C.P & First-Class
Go slow and drink lots of water...Procrastinators' Unite...Tomorrow!

sry...i lost myself also...

ok..my situtation:

The stuff that i want to install:

Interior Kit LEDglow.com
Underglow kit by LEDglow.com
Washer Nozzle LEDs by Streetglow.com
5 Switch Illunminated Switch Panel by Streetglow.com
   - 1 main switch, 4 sub switches


I want to put all the kits to separate switches on the switch panel.

3 kits = 3 switches + 1 switch for another accessory

the switch panel has already the + and - wires...

what i want to know is how exactly would i connect the switch panel so that its possible to use all switches the same time if i wanted.

1) How would i connect it to the battery (what would i need i.e. fuses, wires,)

Alternate route

2) if i was to use an 'add-a-fuse', would that whole panel (w/ the kits connected) be enough power going through to light everything at once? And if so, what fuse size should i use?

You didn't mention what kind of car you have, but I would connect stuff directly to the main 12vdc feed under the steering column through a 10A fuse.  If you have issues with the 10A fuse you could go 15A, but I doubt you will need it.

Going directly to the battery is overkill in your low current (<12A) situation.  You are pushing the limits of an add a fuse (plus I've never really liked them anyway).

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Kevin Pierson

wouldnt using an 10A add-a-fuse be the same effect as using the 12v feed? the add-a-fuse would be going through the radio if i was to use it

KP x 2.

It's all low current stuff.


And Kings - cool - it was the fuse "as close as practicable" to the power source to protect the downstream circuit (ie, wire) that I was getting at.
Normally I (and others) will merely state that outright, but in this case I was curious and tested your reaction etc. (I must be that dummies exist on other forums and NOT here!)


But LEDs etc are usually very low current - typically 20mA per "(series) string", so existing fused circuits should be fine (as per KP above).


But if your Washer Nozzle LEDs is/are blue, then you'll need that fuse in case I stick an axe through your bonnet, or my bumper-bar through your grill. (Whether blue eyestrain or blue-light false alarm - I like neither.)

No, it isn't the same.

You are adding 10A worth of capacity to a (most likely) 15A line.  Do the math, but that is a very high %.  Chances are the factory electronics are consuming half of the 15A that the line is fused for.  Add that 7.5A to your ~10A and you have overloaded the wire.

Now, add your 10A to a wire fused at 90A that sees a peak only when starting.  Your starter solenoid is going to use 10A so you are much safer to add a small load to the main 12vdc ignition feed then you are a smaller branch circuit.

Now, if you can find the main wire that feeds the fuse panel you can tap it in there, as well (same principle as above).  Adding the add a circuit to the actual branch circuit, without knowing wire size, can lead to fire hazards.

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Kevin Pierson

I'll trade you ...Year,Make,Model for Wire location,Description,Polarity...Got a deal...?

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M.E.C.P & First-Class
Go slow and drink lots of water...Procrastinators' Unite...Tomorrow!

Fuses:

I've been in the electronics repair business since about 1986 and have come to believe that most people don't understand the function of a fuse, or they just like to let the smoke out of electronic devices (transistors, resistors...).

Note:

Letting the smoke out of an electronic device is a process which converts a useful piece of electronic equipment into a paper weight.

Function:

A fuse is generally inserted into an electrical circuit for 1 of 2 reasons, either to protect the power source which includes the wire that connects the power supply to the electrical device, or to protect the electronic equipment. The electronic equipment manufacturers specify a fuse rated to open the electrical circuit before damage can be done to the device or open the circuit if the electronic device fails in some way (electronic devices may pull excessive current when they fail). If a fuse larger than the specified fuse is used, a small mistake when installing the equipment may cause catastrophic failure of the equipment. WHEN, not if, WHEN you're thinking of replacing a blown fuse with a higher rated fuse ask yourself if you know more than the engineer who designed the equipment. Don't get in a hurry when installing electronic equipment. Take the time to go get the right fuse. 50 cents for a fuse is better than $50 labor plus the cost of the replacement parts for a repair job.

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Using multiple small wires in place of a larger wire:

Some people may want to use a bunch of smaller, individually insulated, wires (like ten 14g wires) in place of one larger wire (like a 4g wire). This may be OK as far as current carrying capacity is concerned but the problem comes in when you have to fuse it. A 4g wire can handle about 125 amps. A 14g wire can handle about 15 amps. If one of the strands of the 14g wire is shorted to ground (like where it runs through the firewall), the main 125 amp fuse would not blow and the wire would burn. To properly protect the multiple strands of insulated wire, you'd have to use ten 15 amp fuses in individual holders (each wire would have its own fuse). I know that this may be an 'off the wall' situation but I've had several emails about this (generally concerning two or three 8g wires and a large wafer fuse) so there are, at least, a few people who don't fully understand this.

Suggested Fuse Sizes:

Wire Gauge	Recommended Maximum Fuse Size
00 awg	400 amps
0 awg	325 amps
1 awg	250 amps
2 awg	200 amps
4 awg	125 amps
6 awg	80 amps
8 awg	50 amps
10 awg	30 amps
12 awg	20 amps
14 awg	15 amps
16 awg	7.5 amps

These are the recommended maximum fuse ratings for the corresponding wire size. Using a smaller fuse than what's recommended here will be perfectly safe.

(bcae1.com)

Safety:

Any time that a tap is made off of a power source (battery, fuse block, distribution block...), you MUST put a fuse inline as close to the source as possible. Another thing to keep in mind is that you must insert a fuse inline anytime that the wire size is reduced, such as a tap off of the main power wire for an amplifier, head unit, equalizer... The fuse must be rated to open (blow) well before the wire starts to overheat. A secondary but very important consideration is environment. Is the temperature going to be extreme, hot or cold? Is there anything like oil, grease or solvents that will come in contact with the wire's insulation? All of these things have to be considered to build a reliable, high quality system.

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M.E.C.P & First-Class
Go slow and drink lots of water...Procrastinators' Unite...Tomorrow!

its for a 1999 ford f150, ya its not an import, but its a vehicle....

	Battery		GREEN/ PPL		(+)		OR YEL IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS...You can use this wire if you will be using the lights with the car off... as the switch will have constant power
	Ignition 1		RED / BLACK		(+)		OR BLU/GRN IGN SWITCH HARNESS...This one will act like accessory except stay on during crank...off with key...and eliminates leaving something on by accident...But for the cool factor some do use theirs with the key off
	Ignition 2		GRAY / YELLOW		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
	Ignition 3		DARK RED / BLACK		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
	Accessory 1		GRAY / YELLOW		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS OR BLK/WHT...Or this one and they will be on only when key is on ACC or when started...Shuts off with duringcrank/starting...and then off with key...Really only beneficial if you are forgetful and leave something on...This is also the wire you will use for the gps...(you can use constant and just make sure you shut-off the main or sub switch...)
	Starter 1		RED / LIGHT BLUE		(+)		IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
	Anti-Theft Type		RF ACTIVATED SYS.
	Anti-Theft Descript		PATS
	Key Sense		BLACK/ PINK		(-)		STEERING COLUMN HARNESS
	Neutral Safety		RED / LIGHT BLUE		(-)		IGNITION SWITCH
	Tachometer		WHITE/ PINK		(-)		BCM PIN 48 OF 104 FOR DIESEL PIN 19 OF10
	Speed Sense		GRAY/BLACK		(AC)		PIN 58 AT PCM MOUNTED THROUGH FIREWALL
	Parking Lights		BROWN		(+)		DRIVERS KICK OR LIGHT SWITCH
	Brake Lights		RED		(+)		AT BRAKE SWITCH
	Reverse Lights		BLACK/ PINK		(+)		AT SWITCH ON TRANSMISSION
	Horn		DARK BLUE		(-)		BRN 6 PIN CONN BEHIND DR. DASH

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M.E.C.P & First-Class
Go slow and drink lots of water...Procrastinators' Unite...Tomorrow!

Then you will attach the Positive wire from the main switch to the listed Accessory wire from the post...gray / YELLOW i think...! ...This will act like all the other accessories in your vehicle...ie...radio,amp,etc and turn on with the key and off while cranking and then back on while the car is running and back off when you turn car off...So basically...The 2 wires ffrom the main switch...Make the ground connection first...dont overlook this connection as it is just as important as the 12v connection...Just make sure it is tight and the metal has been roughed up by some sandpaper...Next take the 12v/power wire from the main switch to the gray / YELLOW...You will still need to add a fuse...easiest way...Get 2 insulated female spades and cut the 12v wire from switch in half no more then and inch or two from the accessory wire...crimp the INSULATED female spades on the wire you just cut from the switch(remember a couple inches at most from the accessory wires connection point)...then get an ordinary blade/automotive fuse(15a) each leg of the blade fuse will fit perfectly into INSULATED female spades...I always take a pair of pliers and squeeze the INSULATED female spades a little to confirm a tight hold on the fuse...Not to hard...Just a pinch...And voila...you're all set...--

Was a PM...Just felt obligated to add it...!

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M.E.C.P & First-Class
Go slow and drink lots of water...Procrastinators' Unite...Tomorrow!