One for the electrical gurus

 Ok driving up the coast last night my spotties gave up the ghost halfway on the trip, wasn't happy as it's a roo infested road at times and like all the light I can get.

Anyway took a look under the hood today and found the fuse for them, it was basically melted but not blown. I pulled it out had a good look and plugged it back in, the spotties worked again but I could feel the plastic fuse body getting hot so have pulled it out until a remedy.

It's strange as I've run these spotties heaps of times and for more than 2 hour stints along Gnarloo track. 

It's 40 amp and the wiring looks heavy enough but I'm no expert.

It's running two Narva LED spotties and a light light bar.

Will more than  likely get an auto sparky to look at it but keen for some thoughts on here. 

Cheers 

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Faulkner Family's picture

Posts: 18254

Date Joined: 11/03/08

 Could be a relay switch.  I

Wed, 2021-12-08 18:33

 Could be a relay switch.  I know the one in my Ute does similar but cuts out all lights 

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scotto's picture

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Date Joined: 21/04/08

Most probably

Wed, 2021-12-08 20:46

Undersized wiring in the harness. The leds do draw serious power. I was one of the first to get led spotties years ago, and had the exact same problem as you Andy. Melted fuses, but not always tripping/blowing.  The supplier gave me a bigger gauge wiring harness, but still the same problem.  I fixed it with a 30amp circuit breaker in lieu of the fuse/holder. 

sea-kem's picture

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Date Joined: 30/11/09

 Thanks mate, that sounds

Wed, 2021-12-08 20:50

 Thanks mate, that sounds logical to me. Pissed me off last night halfway up the highway. My eyesight's not that great at night these days either. 

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scotto's picture

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Date Joined: 21/04/08

same here

Thu, 2021-12-09 08:30

it was a pain in the arse as hilux's are negative switched, and trying to hook these spotties up was a absolute head-fuck! once I figured it out, i then found out the wiring was too small guage for such a big power draw, and had to re-do the whole lot with a bigger harness.... and for the same result! melted 30amp fuses and fuse holder. the 30amp circuit breaker did the job, and for some reason I never had anymore trip outs after i installed it. 

 

also for the record, I went back to HID lights (narva). they are a much lower power draw, cooler, and certainly have more long distance punch. the biggest difference though, was the Kelvin/temp/colour range on the HIDs. the LED's reflected the big road signs too much for my liking. i'd have to squint as I drove past any sign, as the reflection was too bright. I opted for a lower Kelvin temperature/yellower light on the HID's, and dont have nearly as much a problem. yes they take approx 5-10 seconds to completely warm up, but they are a better driving light overall in my opinion. 

Posts: 889

Date Joined: 30/12/09

 Yep LEDs make my eyes tired

Fri, 2021-12-10 03:08

 Yep LEDs make my eyes tired and sore. HIDs for me as I prefer to drive at night on long trips. 

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 Get busy living, or get busy dying!

Posts: 287

Date Joined: 21/07/14

Heat sensing

Thu, 2021-12-16 12:23

 Heat sensing/ infrared scanners are available to check for faulty joints and can save vehicle and house fires and are relatively cheap. Some use a LED display nowadays and the ones I bought for Telstra used a display of individual LEDS in a sliding type display and the use was part of standard maintenance procedure. Also using a digital voltmeter and checking voltdrop across terminals and fuses can indicate dry or faulty items. If you are in business you most probably can write of to tax.

 

Posts: 572

Date Joined: 24/04/11

Contacts

Fri, 2021-12-10 04:00

Gday Andy, bad contacts on the fuse holder, either where the fuse plus in, or where the wire is connected to the fuse holder would lead to a hot fuse.

 

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Date Joined: 23/04/11

 Agreed, sounds like a hot

Fri, 2021-12-10 14:28

 Agreed, sounds like a hot joint

sea-kem's picture

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Date Joined: 30/11/09

 Thanks Blair, will have a

Fri, 2021-12-10 17:42

 Thanks Blair, will have a real good look at it. Might buy a new one and see what happens. Mate we still need to catch up with you and Paul for beers, discuss tactics 

And my jocks selection for next year lol

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Date Joined: 24/04/11

Jocks

Sun, 2021-12-12 07:46

Maybe just wear clean jocks this time Andy! 

Jackalchub's picture

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Date Joined: 10/03/12

 If it's been fine for some

Fri, 2021-12-10 17:54

 If it's been fine for some time and suddenly failed it definitely a high resistance (hot) joint, can happen with fuse holders 

Jackalchub's picture

Posts: 599

Date Joined: 10/03/12

 If it's been fine for some

Fri, 2021-12-10 17:55

 If it's been fine for some time and suddenly failed its definitely a high resistance (hot) joint, can happen with fuse holders