nztim Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 So as the title says I have been putting spot lights in all afternoon, at first I was doing my checks and found the relay wasn't working and found the solution to that rather quickly as that the original earth terminal had been snapped off. So that was an easy fix and it was producing voltage. then I went on and mounted and wired the lights turned them on and "click click click" nothing.... So I think the old relay that was in the vehicle already had officially died, but I had a spare relay in the shed. I wired it up and with out the 12v constant from the battery its clicking happily when triggered, then I apply the 12v constant and the click seems to go away. I used the multi meter on the terminals and its producing 9v for the spot lights, which cant be near enough but the lights arn't even glowing..? So what would you do here? Is my spare relay possibley dead too? does the sound like a short?(i have checked thoroughly but cant find any...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I would make sure the relay is wired correctly and if so try another relay. You say you are getting 9 volts at the output of the relay, what do you have going into the relay or at the battery? You shouldn't lose 3 volts thru a relay. What lights are they? Are the bulbs 12 volts? I've seen some bulbs from Hella that come in 24 volt. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nztim Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 I have 12v constant and 12v switch voltages coming in. Yea I was confused at loosing 3v too. and the bulbs are 100w 12v. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nztim Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 So slight update now the output to lights terminal is ready 0v, so im off to the store to buy another relay... hopefully it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 try jumping the input wire to the output wire to see if you get anything at the light 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nztim Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 So bypass the relay altogether? I went to the store just now and brought another relay, tested all the connections and they were good, flicked the switch and "buzz" no lights, grr.... there must be a short I am missing.... possibley between the relay and the lights themselves. but I dont see how that would cause the relay to buzz? at the store it was the same price to buy a relay as it was to buy a relay wiring kit. so I brought a relay wiring kit, I might pull out the old setup and put in a new one... if that dosent work im not sure what I will do... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Just to test the lights. So you have constant power to the relay, switched power, ground and output to the lights which are grounded, do the lights ground thru the mount or separate wire? does the relay have the numbers on the bottom next to the terminals? Make sure the wires are at the right terminals, you can have constant and switched power to the relay but still have the wires in the wrong place. I would just touch the wire from the battery to the wire going to the lights to make sure the lights work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nztim Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 Ok, well its dark out now, So will have to be tomorrow night as I dont have a shed. haha. But ill give that a go, and yup the lights are grounded to the same as the relay. I tested all grounds and they are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 (edited) you ran the grounds from the lights back up to where the relay is mounted? I would have tried to keep the grounds as short as possible, usually I will loop the ground wire back up to the mounting bolt. You probably know this already but just in case you don't, relay numbers and where they go: 30 - 12 volts from positive battery ( with a fuse) 85 - ground 86 - 12 volts in from switch 87 - output to lights some relays have an extra terminal 87A - when relay is off this terminal has power, when relay is on 87 has power and this one does not, also referred to as a "changeover" relay Going to bed almost 2:30 here good luck, will check back in tomorrow. Edited June 24, 2012 by ahardb0dy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theexbrit Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 (edited) Good advice from ahardb0dy. I had a small problem when I did my lights, I had a Bosch relay & the terminals were all different, 30 went to ground, etc, really weird! I figured it out by actually using the little diagram on the relay itself & figuring it out from that. It seems like a short in the wiring from the relay to the lights as a 3 volt drop is a lot if you're running wire less than 15' or so. What gauge wire are you using? How much draw do you have on the alt? I'm guessing it's a 70amp alt right? Maybe there's too much amp draw, I think the formula is watts divided by 12 to get amps, so a 100w lamp will draw 8.3 amps. Calculate all your amp draw & see how much left over you have for lights. Just a thought. Edited June 24, 2012 by theexbrit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I always thought the relay numbers were universal, maybe the one you had was numbered wrong or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 IIRC, the blue Nissan relays I used for my headlights are different. I don't even look at the numbers unless I have the manual in front of me, I just go at it with the alligator clips, figure out which contacts make it click, and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 the relays with the numbers I am referring to are aftermarket relays, not even sure if the OEM relays use numbers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nztim Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Got it going!! horray!!! I borrow my mates shed. Everything was sweet except an intermittent earth problem, which was the cause of everything... for some reason it would stop earth under load...? I ran all new cables tonight and set it all and boom, these puppies are bright! Thanks for the help guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Bad grounds are always a pain. I installed a fish finder on my neighbor's boat a couple years back, the power tested good, but it wouldn't power up... turned out to be a bad ground. It gets just enough of a connection to make the voltmeter think it's good... then you ask it to pass however many watts your lamps are, and it can't handle it. Sort of like how the dash lights can come on but the truck won't start if the battery clamp is loose. Glad you got it working! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nztim Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Yea i had the negative terminal problem a while ago. i just hammered some lead in there and it hasnt happened since. btw sweet display name. haha i finished the radio series again the otherday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 (edited) The stock blue relays are numbered 1,2,3 & 5 and can be used instead of an aftermarket relay for lights and related, I tried this today when testing some other relays. Nice thing about the factory relays is you can get them and the matching plug out of most Nissan vehicles. The plug I have has small wires going into it but I'm sure others have thicker wire depending on what they are used for. If I can get the wire terminals out of the plug I may add my own thicker wire. Just a heads up. sorry, forgot to say good job figuring out your lights !! Edited June 26, 2012 by ahardb0dy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 My name... is not important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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