Adding led lights...relay or not

[jcummins]

I'm wiring these into a John Deere 855d....standard headlights quite poor.

Should I or do I really need to use relays?

For this... Amazon.com: Auxbeam™ 12" 72W CREE LED Work Light Bar 7200lm Combo Beams 24pcs 3W Cree Chips Waterproof for Jeep off road Van Camper Wagon ATV AWD SUV 4WD 4x4 Pickup Van Off-road: Automotive

And for this...Amazon.com: JACKYLED 2 Pcs 7inch 36W 4000 Lumen CREE LED Work Light Bar Flood Beam 4X4 Offroad Lamp Spot Lights for Vehicles SUV UTV Jeep Truck Boat: Automotive

Both on separate switches.

 

[Looking4new]

A relay will protect the switch.

 

[Paystar]

Not really needed. My 80W LED spot and flood lights only draw 3.69 amps each.

 

[jcummins]

These lights not like days of old. They really don't draw many amps.

BUT I don't see in any of the documentation at Amazon exactly what they do draw. No further documentation came with the lights.

 

[DT86]

I run relays for the purpose of having the LED lights shut down with the key (RTV) and headlights/key (tractor). Both are still on toggles.

 

[jcummins]

I run relays for the purpose of having the LED lights shut down with the key (RTV) and headlights/key (tractor). Both are still on toggles.

I was going to just tap into power that is behind the key, that way they go off if key is off.

 

[DT86]

I was going to just tap into power that is behind the key, that way they go off if key is off.

That works too if you can determine the load and if the source can handle it. I could never figure either so I went the way I did to be sure.

 

[aczlan]

I was going to just tap into power that is behind the key, that way they go off if key is off.

Use a relay then.

Aaron Z

 

[PILOON]

The majority of toggle switches will handle 10 amps at 12 volts DC.
A few major brand names will go 15 amps.
That is for the normal size vs the mini styles.
With most LED systems I would not hesitate to switch direct DC without using any relays.
I even switched dual 3" halogen spots with a standard toggle.

 

[TomSeller]

If you are going to tap after the key so the lights go off with the key, then I would absolutely use a relay and fuse the circuit. The key switch is not intended to power large auxiliary loads directly.