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Wiring problem?


maxtorman1234

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Hi, I recently installed a rear work light on my 416. It is 50 watt, the amperage should be no more than 5. First, I blew a 10 amp fuse and checked my wiring for a short. THe wiring was ok, so I replaced the fuse with a 15 amp. It blew it also, what could be wrong? Ive checked everything I can think of, THanks
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Disconnect it from your switch and if you have a meter with a 10 amp shunt, measure the amperage (otherwise fuse it at 15 amps) on just that leg back to the battery. If it pegs the meter or blows the fuse start looking for a short in the wiring path back to the light. The idea is to isolate that circuit to make sure that it is the culprit. bob_o
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Check the bulb socket, if it's new and you recently had it apart you may have something grounding there, when you reassemble it. If it's an older light corrosion in the socket will do it,you have something grounding the positive in the lamp or the wire leading up to it. If you added this to an existing headlight cicuit and are using only the original switch you might be overloading it.
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Its a brand new light with a new switch so I think the componets are ok, and so is the wiring. THere is no reason that I can see for it to be blowing these fuses.

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New parts are not necessarily always good. Check each component with an ohm meter for a short from the 12 volt side to ground. If the components check OK, then check the wiring for a short to ground. Something is shorted or the fuse would not blow. My 2 cents.
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Not sure where you have the fuse located in the circuit, but if you have it between the battery and the lamp, I'd first disconnect the lamp from the circuit. Then holding the disconnected wire clear of any ground, turn on the switch. If the fuse blows, then you have to have a short to ground between the fuse and the disconnected wire. If the fuse does not blow, I'd take a volt meter and check for 12-14 VDC at the end of the wire you disconnected from the lamp. Assuming that you find you have 12-14 Vdc. I'd then disconnect the negative cable from the battery. I'd then use an ohm meter and check for shorts to ground on the lamp. Many of these lamps have a single wire lead and the lamp is grounded through the housing. Check between the input lead and the housing for a short. Using the ohm meter, I'd then check the circuit back from the lamp to the battery checking for shorts to ground when you have the switch turned on. If that doesn't show you where the problem is then better describe the circuit, where did you splice it to get the 12 volts, what kind of switch are you using, where is the fuse, etc.
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THanks, Im positive the light works and the switch is good. It will work for a little while when im using it, then it will blow the fuse. Im having different troubles now. I just went into the garage and tried to start the tractor to move it up, and the battery was dead. The ignition was off, the wiring hasnt been touched for the last week, and this is the first time i've had this happen. I must have a short, but I cannot find it anywhere. Ill show a diagram of the wiring later. Thanks,
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If that is a lighted switch you might have it wired wrong the only reason a switch would have a ground is if it was lighted. If you have the ground on the switch side and you turn on the light you are connecting straight to ground. The ground wire in that switch is for the light in the switch. With the switch in the off position power goes nowhere. When you turn the switch on power goes to your work light then ground at the same time to the light in the switch and ground.
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The light in the switch stays on all the time, and it even does this when not connected. I still cant find anything wrong with it.
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The light on the switch should not be on all the time. That is why the battery was dead. You have a constant current draw. Either the switch is wired wrong or there is an internal short in the switch that is causing the light to remain on all the time and when you turn the switch on there is short to ground. That switch must be getting real hot when you have it on. What is the current rating of this switch. I've had nothing but bad luck with the cheap plastic switches and have never liked the lighted switches. I would recommend that you use a metal SPST toggle switch (on-off). These switches have brass screw terminals to attached with wires using a ring solderless connector. You can find these at Home Depot, Lowes, and most good hardware stores in the electrical department. They are probably labeled as being a motor switch. I like to use the rubber toggle handle covers to seal the switch and prevent water from getting into the switch guts. These covers screw onto the threaded switch body when you install the switch through a sheet metal body panel. You don't need an indicator light to tell if the lights are on, just look at the rear light. That is the brightest indicator light I know of. With the cheap plastic switches, you should be using a relay. The switch is then used to activate the relay with very low current draw and then the relay contacts close and complete the circuit to the lamp. I used to use a toggle switch to turn on two snowplow headlamps and kept ruining switches, then I added a relay and didn't have any more problems. I'm not sure what the "board" is in your wiring diagram, but I don't see why you just don't get a good toggle switch and add a fuse between the switch and the "battery". By connecting to the solenoid, I assume that you are attaching the wire to the same terminal that the positive battery cable is attached to. Heres a link showing a wiring diagram with a lighting relay in the circuit. http://www.kchilites.com/instructions/6315_RelayHarness.pdf Heres a typical toggle switch and the waterproof cover. http://www.dale-electric.com/detail.cfm?upc=60198670250&itemnumber=70250 http://www.dale-electric.com/detail.cfm?upc=60198670240&itemnumber=70240 Hope this helps.
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The light is on all of the time because it is wired wrong The switch light is staying on because it is back feeding ground from the work light. You blow the fuse because when you turn the switch on you are feeding directly to ground. Disconect the work light and wire the switch so that the switch light will come on with the switch in the on position. When you have this right connect the work light to the empty terminal.
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The light is on the same kind of circuit the front headlights are on, when the ignition is off, the lighted switch is off. I have totally disconnected the light a short while ago, but it drained the battery again today whith the fuse pulled and the lead to the lighted switch off. I must have a short somewhere else,.
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