Hey everyone, I am trying to wire some tailgate LEDs to a toggle switch. I have done this before with running board lights but for some reason these seem to be giving me trouble.

When I touch the switch, I get static electricity. I flipped it on and the wire going from the 3 prong switch into the fuse panel gets extremely hot. I have a ground running from the switch and it is secure. I re-did it just to be safe. No bare wire is touching anywhere. My switch is rated high enough in terms of amps (same model switch I used for the other lights), All my connections and crimping are good. I think it is important to note that a spark came from the bottom of the toggle switch.

Thanks and any help is much appreciated.

Could the switch itself be shorted? Also, the toggle switches I have seen for vehicles don't really provide any shielding from the hot connection to the ground connection.????? Is it not blowing the fuse?

I blew one fuse rated for 15 amps, but not the one I replaced it with which was 20 amps. I have tried two different switches from two different brands both rated for 20 amps. If one 20 amp switch can handle 12 running board light LEDs, another 20 amp switch should be able to handle 6 LEDs

Also getting a lot of sparks from the switch. Specifically the prong with the wire drawing power from the fuse panel.

You need to ensure a couple of things...first for a 15amp circuit, you need 14 gauge wire and for a 20amp circuit you need 12 gauge wire.
What is the rating of the LED units?
Is the light switch a lit one?

I am using 18 gauge wire as I did on the others. All LEDs I buy are 12v.
I tried both a switch with a light (ground included) and a switch without one. Same issues with both.

460Trucker said:

I am using 18 gauge wire as I did on the others. All LEDs I buy are 12v.
I tried both a switch with a light (ground included) and a switch without one. Same issues with both.

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Ok...18 gauge wire should NOT be fused at 15 amps...10 maximum...I am asking the load (current) of the LED's.
Are there 2 wires coming out of each fixture?...and are they all connected in parallel?
They should all be connected in parallel and then the ground run directly to the ground, with the hot going to one side of the switch and the power to the other side of the switch.

DNFXDLI said:

Ok...18 gauge wire should NOT be fused at 15 amps...10 maximum...I am asking the load (current) of the LED's.
Are there 2 wires coming out of each fixture?...and are they all connected in parallel?
They should all be connected in parallel and then the ground run directly to the ground, with the hot going to one side of the switch and the power to the other side of the switch.

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I have it fused 18 gauge on the set of 12 running board lights and they have been alright...weird.

I will have to figure out the load, I cant get back to you tomorrow morning on that Duncan. The lights are all connected to one main power line and they are grounded not by wire, but by a metal tab secured by a screw into the tailgate and one of the plastic pieces on the back of the light plugs into that. So there is only one wire coming out, which plugs into the other plastic piece on the back of the light.

Ok....all I am getting at is that wires have a certain ampacity....and if you fuse a wire at a greater amount than what the wire can handle, it can overheat and burn before a fuse wil blow.

The load should be minimal with the fixtures...like in the order of maybe .1 amp each...so you should be good.

I looked at your pic and that seems the case...so all the hots should be connected together and then switched at the switch.

There is a chance that one of the fixtures could be factory wired backwards...it does happen...you might want to test each fixture independently to test that.

Have you tried grounding the tailgate to the frame? You`re probably not getting a good enough connection through the hinges and latches. Kind of like trailers that use the rusty ball for the ground. Know what I mean?

DNFXDLI said:

There is a chance that one of the fixtures could be factory wired backwards...it does happen...you might want to test each fixture independently to test that.

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My boss and a friend have told me this as well. I will have to try it.

primetime said:

Have you tried grounding the tailgate to the frame? You`re probably not getting a good enough connection through the hinges and latches. Kind of like trailers that use the rusty ball for the ground. Know what I mean?

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I have also been told by my boss and my friend to try this. I will also give this a try. Thanks for everyone's help so far, it is very much appreciated.

X2 on what Justin said..if you have a poor ground the increase in resistance can make for sparks and higher current draw....and please make sure that you fuse your 18 gauge wires at 10 amps or less.

DNFXDLI said:

X2 on what Justin said..if you have a poor ground the increase in resistance can make for sparks and higher current draw....and please make sure that you fuse your 18 gauge wires at 10 amps or less.

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Well it blew the 15 amp fuse...would you suggest a rewire my power wires?

460Trucker said:

Well it blew the 15 amp fuse...would you suggest a rewire my power wires?

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Not necessarily....you need to determine the current draw for each fixture (light). I just can't see an LED drawing much over 1-200 mA, which is .1 or .2 of an amp....do you have a model number and make for those units?

DNFXDLI said:

Not necessarily....you need to determine the current draw for each fixture (light). I just can see an LED drawing much over 1-200 mA, which is .1 or .2 of an amp....do you have a model number and make for those units?

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Ok. I do. They are made by Blazer International #C1536R. The 2 inch LED light.

Thanks, I looked it up and they don't give a spec...but, given that they are clearance lights and 3 LED's per fixture, I'm going to say that they wouldn't be more than 100mA each...or 300mA per unit...so .3 amp...so 8 would be 2.4 amps at a nominal 12 volts.
Your primary wiring is more than likely just fine...I'm guessing the problem to be either a bad ground, bad + connection or a combination of both.
Ideally, all connections should be connected with a compression connector, then soldered, then a heat shrink with a seal over that.
Also, where you have a lug connection, a coating of dielectric grease is most useful.
If you look up the thread where I fixed that boat SS Clampett, there are some good examples there.

Thanks for the info/advice on that. I should invest in a soldering gun. I used butt connectors and crimped with electrical tape and flex tubing.

460Trucker said:

Thanks for the info/advice on that. I should invest in a soldering gun. I used butt connectors and crimped with electrical tape and flex tubing.

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You're welcome. The issue with the butt connectors is the normal crimping tools don't really offer enough force to properly compress the barrel.
Electrical tape looks like it provides a good seal, but moisture can and will creep anywhere...and then migrate down the wire oxidizing each individual fine conductor within the wire...battery cables do the same thing.
The plastic split loom is a great idea for mechanical protection...if you have mulitiple conductors in the split loom, it's a good idea to tape them together to stop mutual chafe...hmmm that sounds like some kind of STD...

DNFXDLI said:

You're welcome. The issue with the butt connectors is the normal crimping tools don't really offer enough force to properly compress the barrel.
Electrical tape looks like it provides a good seal, but moisture can and will creep anywhere...and then migrate down the wire oxidizing each individual fine conductor within the wire...battery cables do the same thing.
The plastic split loom is a great idea for mechanical protection...if you have mulitiple conductors in the split loom, it's a good idea to tape them together to stop mutual chafe...hmmm that sounds like some kind of STD...

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Sounds worse than Roy's cat scratch fever

I've been following your thread Mike, I know Duncan is an electrician and would be able to help you the best. Hope you get it all "lit" up tomorrow! Got my harness I was telling you about, so looks like an upgrade to mine

Dam this itch, got it from some kitty next door,