I am installing a power door lock actuator in the tailgate of my truck, my question is how much current will my new actuator draw? I have some wires run now, but I don't know if they will be enough.
I bought both a motor driven gun style:
and a square solenoid driven one too:
I have some extra wires run from the cab to the tailgate from when I ran wires for my backup camera and I know which wires to tie into, but I don't know how much current these will draw.
There was NO info with them today when they were dropped off via UPS, and I have not been able to find anything so far.
I guess I should also ask which is more reliable? I was planning to use the solenoid style as it's smaller and has fewer parts to go bad (which is a good thing inside the tailgate)
TIA
-if youre worry about a pair of relay will do the work, yes it can.
-look at the relay section for reverse polarity.
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Houston,TX
"The two most common elements in the universe are H+ and stupidity" (Ellison).
i used the sqaure style once and i had all four of them blow apart...they had two much torque....i only use the gun style...
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Good Luck
David
Ace Security
813-376-9778
Tampa
Donate to the 12volt
They do not draw much amperage at all. I have used 4 actuators and used a 15 amp relay inline and still didn't blow the fuse. The amperage is less than 3 amps for sure.
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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA
Thanks. I have relays, and I know how to hook them up, (don't need any relay actually) but my issue is I ran some extra cat-5e wire (8 conductor) from the cab to the rear tailgate area planning on maybe using a pair or two for this and them maybe something else (backup sensors maybe) later. I don't like trying to route wires along and through the frame, so I figured I would run extra last year when I did need to do it. If the actuator is going to draw like 10 amps, I will need some bigger wire. One or two 22ga will not work.
Hi, first of all amps from a battery are different than say house ac current. Any relay can handel 30 dc amps. Now if your using a door lock actuator for a tailgate say on a pickup truck you'll need one made for that. They do draw more power but since its only momentary you can use16-18 gauge wire and be safe. You sould use a 30amp fuse and a relay if it is a tailgate for a pickup.