Bodge Or Not

I have been in another altercation elsewhere regarding vehicle modifications, this came about because someone wanted to fit accessories to his vehicle and i informed him of the correct way to do it.

The issue was concerning fitting 4 X 100w roof lights to his 4X4 and he was advised by a number of people to wire it straight to a switch, then to his lights; this is illegal and dangerous and could lead to a vehicle fire as he had no fuses or relays in the circuits, and he was illegal as each PAIR of lights should have a visual indicator to show when they are on.

When a large load is switched in a vehicle a relay must be fitted, this is a simple device which uses a very small current to switch a large current, they are available cheaply and are very easily wired in, they have numerous accessories such as sockets for permanent and professional fitting, and prevent large currents at the dashboard, which can be dangerous. ALL vehicle electrical circuits need protection, fuses and cabling of the correct sizes must be correctly installed and supported, this includes fitting rubber grommets where wiring passes through metal or other fittings o a vehicle to prevent chafing the wiring.

To cut a long story short he was going to wire straight from the battery to a dashboard switch, from here the live would go straight to his lights, he was drawing 33.3 amps and the highest switch readily available is 20 amps, not only is this a disaster waiting to happen, it would invalidate his insurance if the vehicle ignited through shoddy and incorrect installation.

The moral is simple, do any modifications correctly, not only can you lose your vehicle, but your insurers may refuse to pay out.

hi you are correct their are so many badly done electrics and mods in general that I am surprised that their isn't a burning car on every street corner its not just the fact of peoples lack of fuses and relays but also wrong wire type used for the job I have seen lights wired up using speaker wire with no fuse or relay straight off the battery into a rocker switch now that's a fire waiting to happen I have also seen fuel pipes with no clips holding them on and some with just a bit of tape wrapped round and brake pipes that are just dangling and aren't secured to anything I suppose its one of the reasons we have an mot test here in the uk to try and kerb so many badly done jobs

Totaly agree. If a jobs worth doing.......

I'm next to useless with electrics, but even I know that high current accessories such as spotlights and horns need relays, fuses and decent wire. All I can say is the bloke must be a numpty, more precisely a young numpty, 'cause as you gain experience you do tend to see the dangers. When I was a teenager I thought the only wire for vehicles was speaker wire!!!

What really surprised me was the large number of people supporting such a dangerous practise.

As Tom said I had never heard about relays and diferant wires for ages. So must have been lucky through the years and never had any mishaps. :shock:

yeah deffo put spot lights through a relay, no doubt about that

eeehhhhh,, ,,,,400w of lighting,,,,,,deffo correct wire fuses and relay,,,nothing less,,,,have you ever seen a wire burnout,,which takes half your wiring loom and have you ever tried to put a wire fire out,,,when you cant get to disconnect the battery,,,,,,,,i have,,,,,,,

I have seen a number of electrical fires over many years, and the one thing which surprises me is how quickly they get hold in a vehicle, and how so few people are adequately prepared to deal with them when they occur.

It is this type of bodging which creates the most problems because it is notoriously difficult to access the rear of the dashboard where so many bodging type fires begin, it is even more difficult to do it with a fire extinguisher and put it out properly, assuming you even carry a fire extinguisher.

a battery isolation switch in the cab is a good idea,,,then you can just cut everything off,,,i am fitting one in the 101 im building,,, ,