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How to Wire LED Light Bar without Relay

Who does not know, regular drivers need enough lighting while driving at night time. You feel comfortable and confident if you have LED light bulbs wired in your vehicles. You may think, how to wire LED light bar without relay? Actually, this is a good idea, but you have to know the process. We want to discuss in the article about the various steps to wire LED lights without a relay.

How to Wire LED Light Bar without Relay-The necessary Guidelines

Basically, a relay is used to open and close the circuits electronically. But this is not at all a good idea to wire the LED light bar without relay in a vehicle. However, if you like to do it, here we are going to discuss different steps on how to wire LED light bars without relay.

Step-1: Mounting location

The first step is to install LED light on your vehicle and select a suitable mounting location. You may think to place it in a vehicle bulbar, roof case, or other suitable places where you feel comfortable. But it is important to know the regulations on installing driving lights. It may help you to avoid the hassle with the traffic authority.

Step-2: Proper drilling

After selecting a location, you need to drill the right size holes to mount the light bar. Prior to drilling, make sure any part will not be damaged due to drilling.

Step-3: Select the LED

Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) depend on color temperatures and lifespan. Higher color temperatures are usually effective. It runs between 20,000 to 50,000 hours. It makes the scene have a lower color temperature and lifespan is low.

Step-4: Power Supply

Usually, batteries are the main source of power supply. You have to determine whether the batteries you have will cover the wattage and voltage for the LED you are going to install. Make sure the LED has the same value for voltage and amperage.

Step-5: The Resistor

Before determining the resistor that you are going to use, calculate the voltage and amperage. Because high current values may cause the LED to burst.

Step-6: – Wire LED Light Bar to Switch:

When completing the steps mentioned above, you should carefully do the following to wire LED light bar to the switch:

  • Use copper wire to connect one side of a respective resistor to one terminal of the switch and make sure the switch is in an off position. Solder the both ends of this copper wire to the switch and the resistor.
  • Now you may connect the other end of the switch to the positive side of your power supply and the soldier both ends. Positive (+) sign to be mark end of the power supply
  • Connect the cathode of the LED with the power supply and solder both ends.
  • Now turn the switch ON and check your LED Lights.

In order to doing the whole things you need the following:

  • Driving light
  • LED light bar
  • Drill, bits, self-tapping screws
  • Electrical tape

Step-7: Location of Switch:

Find a suitable place in your car where you can switch easily. Strategically, you should mount the switch inside of the vehicle. While driving, you should not want to take your eyes off the road. Just find the switch. To improve the efficiency and speed of the installation process, you may also use a remote-controlled switch for better service.

Step-8: Harness

Now you need to connect the ground wire with a large terminal to a negative battery terminal from the harnessWhen you do this from the harness, connect the power (or red wire) with the large terminal to a positive battery terminal.

Step-9: Disconnect Negative terminal

Safety is the first priority. So ensuring safety, detach the wire from the negative terminal of your car battery before doing anything. Otherwise, you could suffer from electric shocks. In order to avoid losing your radio stations, you may connect a memory reminder to your accessories.

Step-10: Final Checking 

After completing the process here, re-check all the electrical connections. This final step includes tidying up the system and ensuring safety. Carefully find and make sure, whether any loose connection or naked wires and plugs are found. So immediately tape up and tight the loose connection and plugs.

Finally, after all work is done, reconnect your negative terminal to your battery and double-check if you have accomplished everything correctly before testing your LED light bar.

Now you need to aim your vehicle’s fitted LED light bar in the appropriate direction. In this process, you can see how to wire offroad lights without relay.

You may follow the steps properly in order to avoid any bug or error left. Doing this, now you have all set with the light fitting without relay.

Suggestion and Recommendation for Wiring LED Light Bar without Relay

Our recommendations or suggestions are very simple. If you have electro-mechanical knowledge and can do it by yourself perfectly, that is good! But don’t take any risk!

Actually, this installation process absolutely requires expertise. If you are not sure about this process, please contact a professional who can easily do it. Also, you can ask the regular auto electrician to wire the LED light bar without a relay. We think that would be guaranteed for you.

Most of the manufacturers have their own electro-mechanics to do this kind of job. In fact, It is now becoming stylish with vehicles like Jeeps and other off-road drivers.

LED Light Bars and its benefits

how to wire offroad lights without relayhow to wire offroad lights without relay

Obviously you know about LED bars and its benefits. But furthermore, we take the opportunity to intimate you for your recollection and better knowledge of this simple device. LED Light Bars are the best way to add some extra bright and colorful illumination to your project,

And each Light Bar is basically a set of three super-bright 5050 size LEDs. They are offered in a variety of colors including white, red, blue and green. LED Bars are very simple devices. Its nominal operating voltage is 12 volt.

In this article we shall go over some of the important specifications and benefits of these LED Light Bars, which will help you to assemble them.

Characteristics and Benefits

  1. DOT Compliant:  LED lighting bars are to minimize the risk of noncompliance. You do not want to get a ticket by the local police or a driving inspector for the Department of Transportation due to a lack of proper lighting. The use of LED light bars is beneficial for seeing more clearly at dusk and when you are doing night driving.
  2. Useful for Off Road Vehicles: According to review, the main advantage points out that LED light bars are especially useful for off-road vehicles. Due to effectiveness and powerfulness in LED light bars, they are a great helper in having clear lightning at the night time. Hence, if your vehicle requires sufficient lighting at night time, it is essential to wire an LED light bar in it.
  1. Long lifespan: A good quality LED light bar should last between 30,000 to 50,000 hours and last even longer, according to the US Department of Energy. Why do some bulbs burn 50,000 hours? Because it depends on several factors, including the fixture type and operating temperature.
  1. Energy Efficient: LED lights are known as energy efficient and thus, becoming very popular in use. Likewise, the vehicle LED light bars are made with energy efficiency in mind, particularly now they share the energy source with all other electronic devices in the car. In fact, the mechanical experts advise that people should buy LED lights for excellent energy efficiency.
  1. Safety: Drivers always want to avoid any accidents and risks for the safety of them and the safety of others. If not it is due to improper lighting.  The use of LED light bars is beneficial for seeing more clearly at dusk and when you are doing night driving. That is why LED light bars are safe.
  1. Environment Friendly: Promoting green energy, LED light technology has won many medals.  In fact, LED light bars for vehicles are environmentally friendly as they do not emit any toxic waste to the environment. The materials make them harmless in all ways to the environment and more so, the users. Some studies show that the LED light bars help to reduce the carbon footprint by up to 30 percent. The materials making the lights are 100 percent recyclable.
  1. Economy Price: Every person is concerned with the cost of all items they buy. So when buying the LED light bars, I can bet one of the considerations is the cost implications. However, one beauty of using these light bars is that they provide excellent value for money. All their qualities and the many benefits they bring along have a great value.

LED Relay with its Advantages & Disadvantages

How to install LED light bar without relayHow to install LED light bar without relay

Prior to knowing the Pros and Cons of LED Relay, you need to know what is Relay?

Relays are electric switches that use electromagnetism to control the electricity in high current circuit loads. These conversions occur when electrical inputs activate electromagnets to either form or break existing circuits.

Mainly it is leveraging weak inputs to power stronger currents. The relays effectively act as either a switch or an amplifier for the electric-circuit, depending on the desired application.

Advantages of Relay

  •  A relay provides a low current circuit to control the electric flow in a high current one.
  • Overheating of the switch may sometimes occur in cases where a relay is not used. It can lead to dangerous situations. So using a relay is safe.
  • In absence of a relay, the control switch is unable to handle the full current of the LED light bar and thus problems arise. In low powered LED lights, the problem is hardly noticed but in case of high power it is really difficult to manage.  As a result, difficulties like melted wires and heating of the switch more than the optimum level occurs.
  • Without a relay, full current of the LED light is not managed and the light is feeble. Bright light is only possible through relay. For this reason, relay is preferred to be used in LED lights.

Disadvantages of Relay

  • Relay parts are exposed to extreme wearing and tearing and may cause ignition of sparks between the switch contacts. The sparks are noticed when the voltage and current levels are higher than optimum level.
  • They are of no use in micro-electronic circuits due to absence of high current. As a result, additional circuitry is required in their cases.
  • The coil can be damaged due to the back-emf created during powering off the relay coil.
  • They show a fairly slower response.
  •  Due to the slow type of response, they cannot be used to turn the switch on and off at rapid speed. This is a major drawback in case of relay. In such cases, relays are to be avoided to be used in wiring LED lights respectively.

Final Words

Wiring the LED light bar in front of the vehicle makes an easy view clearly while driving at night time. In fact, this is a very complicated process. Although this article will help you how to wire LED light bar without relay. If you really want to do it, our suggestion is to contact a professional electro-mechanic for better fittings. Have a good day, and bye !

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