ARB Intensity Solis 36 to Aux Switch Question (Install Complete)

[budman]

I'm going to be installing the ARB Intensity Solis 36 Spot/Flood Combo lights this weekend and have a wiring question. I've searched and read as much as I could find here in the forum but I've not been able to find the answer.
Each light draws 12.4 Amps 13.2V. I'm going to be wiring to one of my upfitter switches but curious if I need to use Aux 1 (30 amp) or can I use Aux 2 (15 amp)? Will still be utilizing the Dimmer Pad to control the light output but want to have the power on/off at the Aux switch. In the future I plan on adding a light bar up top and figure I'd need Aux 1 for that so hoping I can use Aux 2.

Thanks,
-Brian

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[RagnarKon]

165 watts PER LIGHT?!? Holy smokes, those things must be bright.

Anyway, with a 330 watt load you really should be running dedicated power to the battery and using the Aux switch to trigger a relay. AUX1 might be okay-ish if you were mounting the lights to the cowel, but anywhere else would be too long of a run. Honestly the factory wiring isn't thick enough for a consistent 25+ amp power draw.

EDIT— Just to explain more...

The factory wiring is 1.5 mm^2 for AUX1... which is roughly equivalent to 15 AWG wire, but since 15 AWG is a rare size... lets just use 16 AWG. As we can see from @cr117's handy dandy calculator, the maximum cable length for 25 watts and a 16 AWG wire is 3 feet. Acceptable for lights mounted on the cowel, but that's about it.

You could probably get away with it as long as you upsized to 14/12 AWG for the remainder of the cable run, but for a something like lights that are powered for an extended period of time... may not be worth that risk.

 

[budman]

165 watts PER LIGHT?!? Holy smokes, those things must be bright.

Anyway, with a 330 watt load you really should be running dedicated power to the battery and using the Aux switch to trigger a relay. AUX1 might be okay-ish if you were mounting the lights to the cowel, but anywhere else would be too long of a run. Honestly the factory wiring isn't thick enough for a consistent 25+ amp power draw.

EDIT— Just to explain more...

The factory wiring is 1.5 mm^2 for AUX1... which is roughly equivalent to 15 AWG wire, but since 15 AWG is a rare size... lets just use 16 AWG. As we can see from @cr117's handy dandy calculator, the maximum cable length for 25 watts and a 16 AWG wire is 3 feet. Acceptable for lights mounted on the cowel, but that's about it.

You could probably get away with it as long as you upsized to 14/12 AWG for the remainder of the cable run, but for a something like lights that are powered for an extended period of time... may not be worth that risk.

Thanks for that! The lights came with a Loom and will be powered directly from the battery. Each light will have an hot line connected. Also comes with a power/dimmer switch to mount. All I’m looking to do is use the Aux switch to turn them on vs the power/dimmer switch which will still utilize the dimmer function.

 

[RagnarKon]

Thanks for that! The lights came with a Loom and will be powered directly from the battery. Each light will have an hot line connected. Also comes with a power/dimmer switch to mount. All I’m looking to do is use the Aux switch to turn them on vs the power/dimmer switch which will still utilize the dimmer function.

Ahhhh.... okay.

ARB doesn't seem to post wiring diagrams or manuals online with much details. I would assume that wiring harness already comes with relays, and that's how their little touchpad thing turns on/off the lights. If my guess is correct, then you can use any of the Aux switches for those relays.

 

[budman]

Ahhhh.... okay.

ARB doesn't seem to post wiring diagrams or manuals online with much details. I would assume that wiring harness already comes with relays, and that's how their little touchpad thing turns on/off the lights. If my guess is correct, then you can use any of the Aux switches for those relays.

Perfect! Yeah, pretty sure relays are there along with four fuses in the loom as well. Should be a quick install so we will see.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

The ARB harness does have relays wired in. Not sure how/why you want to use the upfitter if you plan to use the dimmer. The ARB dimmer is also the on/off switch. ARB used to have a pigtail that eliminated the dimmer and allowed you to connect to the upfitter. They discontinued it. I have the same lights on our Bronco and I just installed them on our F250 Tremor. On the Bronco I used the ARB pigtail and used upfitter #1. ON the F250 since I couldn't get the pigtail I stripped the ARB harness down to 3 wires. Red to battery, Black to ground, and green to the upfitter connection. No other wires needed. For me the dimmer is not needed. If I need the lights, I want full brightness. If I have an oncoming vehicle it is quicker to turn them off rather than try and dim them. The dimmer switch is kind of a pain to use. The lights are not DOT legal so driving around with them dimmed can still get you a ticket. Full power on/off works for me.

 

[budman]

I was able to install the lights over the weekend and everything works as it should. I simply cut the plug off as shown in the diagram (Black/Yellow wires). Then spliced the Orange and Yellow together with a short length of 16 gauge and connected that to Aux 2 Green/Brown Wire and ran the black to chassis ground. Ran the Dimmer into cab and mounted on left side dash near steering wheel. Dimmer still works as well but like most I want ALL the light intensity when I flip it on so I leave it on the highest setting that way when I flip the Aux 2 Switch it's max brightness. Ran the loom under the fuse box, under the battery then to bumper and connected the lights. They give plenty of length with the loom so just cleaned it up with some zip ties and all done. All in all it was an easy install. These lights are bright!

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