Wiring KCs into Rugged Ridge Switches & Painless Fuse Box
12-11-2011, 05:02 PM
#1
JK Newbie
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Wiring KCs into Rugged Ridge Switches & Painless Fuse Box
Hey Folks,
I have two sets of KC lights coming this week and want to wire them into the Rugged Ridge A-Pillar Switch.
So....I bought one of the Painless Wiring 7-CirKit Fuse Boxes and am ready to go. However, what is bugging me is how to wire the whole system together. I noticed that the Rugged Ridge unit has switches with three prongs. Do I need to head to a Radio Shack and buy special connectors for these?
From a high level I understand the basic setup: The fuse block wires into the ignition (pink wire) and into the battery (red wire). The lights will have a power wire that will be spliced into one of the seven wires running into the Painless Box. Then one wire to the ground. But how do I wire it so that I can ditch the stock KC interior on/off switch and wire it into the Rugged Ridge Pod? This is the part that is bugging me.
Before I start splicing wires should I head to Radio Shack and have some extra connectors/hardware/etc on hand?
I have two sets of KC lights coming this week and want to wire them into the Rugged Ridge A-Pillar Switch.
So....I bought one of the Painless Wiring 7-CirKit Fuse Boxes and am ready to go. However, what is bugging me is how to wire the whole system together. I noticed that the Rugged Ridge unit has switches with three prongs. Do I need to head to a Radio Shack and buy special connectors for these?
From a high level I understand the basic setup: The fuse block wires into the ignition (pink wire) and into the battery (red wire). The lights will have a power wire that will be spliced into one of the seven wires running into the Painless Box. Then one wire to the ground. But how do I wire it so that I can ditch the stock KC interior on/off switch and wire it into the Rugged Ridge Pod? This is the part that is bugging me.
Before I start splicing wires should I head to Radio Shack and have some extra connectors/hardware/etc on hand?
12-14-2011, 06:23 PM
#4
JK Enthusiast
Subscribed. I'm interested in seeing how this is done. Right now I have my Rigid lights wired directly to the RR A-Pillar Toggle Switches without the Painless Fuse Box. The switches do not light up until they are in the 'on' position. I want to connect them to an ignition switched power souce (Painless) so no one can reach inside and turn them on and I want them to light up when the ignition is on.
12-14-2011, 06:40 PM
#5
JK Junkie
First part - Wire your switches to any accessory circuit.
Second part - Reverse the power leads on the switch.
12-14-2011, 07:19 PM
#6
JK Enthusiast
Thanks JK-Ford. I kinda figured I had the power leads backwards but hadn't tried reversing them yet. I picked up a fuse tap and just thought that a Painless Fuse Box would simplify the multiple switch wire connections to an ignition powered source.
12-14-2011, 11:09 PM
#7
JK Junkie
With the 3 prong switches, you have a choice of having the LED on only when the switch is on. Or the LED on anytime the accessory circuit is on. So I guess that there is realy no "backwards". Just depends on how you want it to work. I personaly do not believe that the Painless Fuse Box is a very good fit for a multiple lighting situation. Most of them are only rated at 30 amps. ( I have multiple lighting circuits rated at 30 amps each ). For lighting, you do not need to shut down the entire fuse block everytime you turn off your jeep. Just shutting down the power to the switches works the same way. For switch power ( to power relays ) the single fuse tap is all that you will ever need. This single wire can power as many switches as you want. The fuse tap connected to an accessory circuit will accomplish the same thing as the relay in the "Painless" kit. A totally sealed fuse block is still a good idea if you plan on having multiple "distribution" circuits. And the totally sealed relay blocks are nice to. You can find these block combined together from different manufacturers. Just don't be fooled by gimmics. Purchasing things that are prewired can be nice. But these products have issues to deal with also. To much / not enough slack in the wiring. Installing the wiring with the extra mass of the prewiring. Ect Ect.
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12-15-2011, 07:12 AM
#8
JK Enthusiast
With the 3 prong switches, you have a choice of having the LED on only when the switch is on. Or the LED on anytime the accessory circuit is on. So I guess that there is realy no "backwards". Just depends on how you want it to work. I personaly do not believe that the Painless Fuse Box is a very good fit for a multiple lighting situation. Most of them are only rated at 30 amps. ( I have multiple lighting circuits rated at 30 amps each ). For lighting, you do not need to shut down the entire fuse block everytime you turn off your jeep. Just shutting down the power to the switches works the same way. For switch power ( to power relays ) the single fuse tap is all that you will ever need. This single wire can power as many switches as you want. The fuse tap connected to an accessory circuit will accomplish the same thing as the relay in the "Painless" kit. A totally sealed fuse block is still a good idea if you plan on having multiple "distribution" circuits. And the totally sealed relay blocks are nice to. You can find these block combined together from different manufacturers. Just don't be fooled by gimmics. Purchasing things that are prewired can be nice. But these products have issues to deal with also. To much / not enough slack in the wiring. Installing the wiring with the extra mass of the prewiring. Ect Ect.
Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread but thanks for the information!
Crystal