Relay Help Please

[Gottagetone]

I recently added an ARB bumper with the IPF lights. I purchased the bumper from someone on the forum so all the wiring for the lights was set up and ready to go, all I had to purchase was a switch. I purchased a switch to replace one of the blanks and hooked everything up and all worked well for about two weeks. Now the fog lights on the bumper wont come on, they are tied into the headlights so that when you shut the lights off they shut off automatically. That being said, the power is run straight off the battery and I never turn the switch off so that they come on automaticaly when I turn the lights on.

I tested the power along the route and it is hot on both sides of the switch when the switch is on. From what I can tell the power is not coming out of the relay and going to the lights. The relay has Pro Quip 1512x 20/20a on it and I need to know where to get one. Autozone cant cross reference the part number. Do I need to get this from ARB or can I switch it out for a totally different relay? Did it burn up because I was not turnig it off when not in use or did it simply just blow?
Thanks

[cruiserlarry]

Gottagetone previously said:

I recently added an ARB bumper with the IPF lights. I purchased the bumper from someone on the forum so all the wiring for the lights was set up and ready to go, all I had to purchase was a switch. I purchased a switch to replace one of the blanks and hooked everything up and all worked well for about two weeks. Now the fog lights on the bumper wont come on, they are tied into the headlights so that when you shut the lights off they shut off automatically. That being said, the power is run straight off the battery and I never turn the switch off so that they come on automaticaly when I turn the lights on.

I tested the power along the route and it is hot on both sides of the switch when the switch is on. From what I can tell the power is not coming out of the relay and going to the lights. The relay has Pro Quip 1512x 20/20a on it and I need to know where to get one. Autozone cant cross reference the part number. Do I need to get this from ARB or can I switch it out for a totally different relay? Did it burn up because I was not turnig it off when not in use or did it simply just blow?
Thanks

Did you check the power going out to the lights ? You may have a blown fuse in the power line of the relay. First check the fuse. Then check to see if you are getting power to the lights. If so, you may have had a ground wire come loose (common problem) as opposed to a bad relay (uncommon).
Check the ground for the lights and for the relay before replacing parts. Also listen to see if the relay "clicks" when you turn on the lights...

[Gottagetone]

The fuse is good and I get power coming into the relay from the switch and the battery, I cant detect power coming out of the relay (blue wire) going to the lights. I do hear the relay "click" when I turn on/off the fog light swith, I also hear it click when I turn the headlight switch on/off. All ground wires are tied into one ground and all connections look good.

[Gottagetone]

Thanks for your help Larry, I checked all the connections and when I messed with them the lights came on and then shut off. I removed all the old gator clips and used wire nuts instead, removed the easy off plug and basically hard wired everything with wire nuts. The light worked but strangely only after I started my truck. Hopefully they contiue to work because electrical problems like this frustrate the hell out of me.

[doublejfj]

Gottagetone previously said:

I recently added an ARB bumper with the IPF lights. I purchased the bumper from someone on the forum so all the wiring for the lights was set up and ready to go, all I had to purchase was a switch. I purchased a switch to replace one of the blanks and hooked everything up and all worked well for about two weeks. Now the fog lights on the bumper wont come on, they are tied into the headlights so that when you shut the lights off they shut off automatically. That being said, the power is run straight off the battery and I never turn the switch off so that they come on automaticaly when I turn the lights on.

I tested the power along the route and it is hot on both sides of the switch when the switch is on. From what I can tell the power is not coming out of the relay and going to the lights. The relay has Pro Quip 1512x 20/20a on it and I need to know where to get one. Autozone cant cross reference the part number. Do I need to get this from ARB or can I switch it out for a totally different relay? Did it burn up because I was not turnig it off when not in use or did it simply just blow?
Thanks

The relay sounds just like a regular automotive relay. Any 20A or better automotive relay should work in place of it, assuming it has terminals marked like 86, 87, 85, 87a, 30.

Gottagetone previously said:

Thanks for your help Larry, I checked all the connections and when I messed with them the lights came on and then shut off. I removed all the old gator clips and used wire nuts instead, removed the easy off plug and basically hard wired everything with wire nuts. The light worked but strangely only after I started my truck. Hopefully they contiue to work because electrical problems like this frustrate the hell out of me.

My friend, I'm going to suggest you not use wire nuts. It might be worth a 6 pack or something to find a friend who's handy with electrical wiring to help you tidy it up. Alternatively, if you wanted to conquer it yourself, maybe read some stuff about soldering wire connections, heat shrink, etc. and get yourself up to speed. I see people use wire nuts for stuff in cars sometimes and it's just not really a good idea.

Enjoy the bumper, I want one!

[DEWFPO]

Lately, I've been reading in automotive journals, that soldering is taking a back seat to professional crip-on connectors and heat shrink tubing. The key is to use the correct sized connector, have a professional crimping tool (not that expensive) and crimping it in the correct orientation on the connector. (The connector should be placed in the crimping tool with the seam at 12 o'clock ,facing up. When the jaws are closed, the shaped crimper die presses down on the seam from above, bends and crushes the connector metal, compresses and traps the wire strands and produces a tight crimp.

There is apparently less corrosion and better longevity than the previously considered superior connections (solder). Has to do with something called 'tin whiskers', heating and cooling cycles with dissimilar metals and vibration.

DEWFPO

[NCFJ]

I saw a piece on either the Discovery Channel or Learning Channel on "Tin Whiskers" It was amazing. How something microscopic like that can cause such HUGE problems is amazing. I have long been a fan of good crimps and have not had issues with them in many many years. I understand the obvious benefits of soldering but never felt it was an absolute in automotive wiring.

[doublejfj]

DEWFPO previously said:

Lately, I've been reading in automotive journals, that soldering is taking a back seat to professional crip-on connectors and heat shrink tubing. The key is to use the correct sized connector, have a professional crimping tool (not that expensive) and crimping it in the correct orientation on the connector. (The connector should be placed in the crimping tool with the seam at 12 o'clock ,facing up. When the jaws are closed, the shaped crimper die presses down on the seam from above, bends and crushes the connector metal, compresses and traps the wire strands and produces a tight crimp.

There is apparently less corrosion and better longevity than the previously considered superior connections (solder). Has to do with something called 'tin whiskers' and heating and cooling cycles with dissimilar metals.

DEWFPO

Well, to a degree you're correct.

First off, tin whiskers is really only a big issue in areas where circuit boards are concerned. When you're soldering connectors to wires for your vehicle, you're going to be fine.

Second, you're assuming use of the professional, expensive crimping tools and appropriate ends, which are not going to attract the general home enthusiast. The generic, regular crimp-style stuff without a sophisticated die structure should be soldered.

Generally, for lower-current applications, crimping (even the consumer grade) is fine. However for high current (and high strand count wire), it really should be solder or electrical spot welding (as many battery cables are put together with). This has to do with the fact that all of the individual strands carry the current and you really want them all "connected" in a sense. Soldering ensures that the wire is connected completely. It's also a good way to make sure that the wire doesn't fray and builds some rigidity into the connection.

[doublejfj]

NCFJ previously said:

I saw a piece on either the Discovery Channel or Learning Channel on "Tin Whiskers" It was amazing. How something microscopic like that can cause such HUGE problems is amazing. I have long been a fan of good crimps and have not had issues with them in many many years. I understand the obvious benefits of soldering but never felt it was an absolute in automotive wiring.

Isn't that insane how many failures are caused by them? Shorts to ground and all that jazz, causing missiles to down and planes to almost crash.

I agree, a good crimp is just fine for most things.

[Gottagetone]

I just wanted to fix my lights and make them work. I have done the solder thing and am capable but until I make sure that I have fixed the problem in the long term, wire nuts are a great fix. Thanks for all the comments and help.