If you are installing a new LED light bar, there is a good chance that you will want to use a relay to control the lights. A relay will allow you to control a circuit that is very high current, and it will help keep your wires from overheating, which will cut off the power to your light bar and can cause premature failure.
A relay is an electrical switch that can be used to control a circuit in a variety of ways, such as with an electric car or machine. They can be used to turn on and off circuits, switch from one voltage to another, or control circuits using a ladder diagram, which can help save time and energy.
Generally, a relay is connected to the positive side of a battery or to another source of DC voltage like a fuse box or an electric cooling fan. This helps prevent the circuit from overheating and causing the switch to burn out.
Relays come in a variety of shapes, sizes and designs, but they all work in the same way. They energize a coil within the relay, which allows them to switch the circuit on and off at certain times.
You will need to have a power supply that can provide enough voltage to your LED light bar, and this will depend on the size of the coil inside the relay. Most small coil based relays will draw about 150-200mA, which is more than enough for most automotive applications.
A standard relay is made up of 3 separate switches or contacts that are known as L1, L2, and MCR (Master Control Relay). When the circuit is switched on, the L1 contact will be hot. This means that electricity will flow around it and through the MCR contact, causing it to energize the coil.
When the switch is depressed, L1 will go down to a normally closed contact. This means that current will flow around it until it sees a switch that is open. Then it will go to the MCR contact, energizing the coil, and then the contact below the START switch will be closed. This then closes the current flow, and your lights will stay on.
Now, if you press the STOP switch, the contacts will be closed again, and this will stop the current flow to your lights. Once the STOP switch is released, the current will start flowing again through the contacts and back to the MCR contact and re-energize the coil.
Now that you have the power source and the relay, you are ready to install it into your vehicle. If you are going to wire the lights directly to your battery, be sure to check the maximum current rating of the relay before wiring it up. You don’t want to overheat the wires and run the risk of burning them out, so make sure that you have a power supply that can provide the voltage output that your LED light bar needs.
