Trustyrusty

How did you guys wire you CB's in? I tried to wire mine into something in the fuse block near the kick panel on my '86 and nothin would work when the power was on ACC, so I wired the hot and ground in with my stereo, now when the CB is in the off position and the radio is on and I shut the truck off, the radio stays on, forever until I either push in my cigarette lighter or turn the CB into the on position, If I leave the CB in the on position when I shut the truck off this doesnt happen.. Can anyone help me? I want my CB to work when the truck is on ACC and running..

stupid_mud_gremlins

something to do with the power supply in the cb does this. it holds a charge that will keep the stereo running for a few minutes after the ignition turns off. something that takes more current will kill it instantly though. just try and leave the stereo run for a while and I'm sure that it will eventually turn off. the only solution i found was to leave the cb on at minimum volume.

a4runnerfreak

Just run the power lead and the ground straight to the battery. The power lead should have an inline fuse. That way, you can still use the CB when the truck isn't started. That's what most people do, and that's how I've always installed my CB's and car radio's, and my friends stuff.

Trustyrusty

Hmm.. never thought about that.. is it safe to run a set of AUX lights like that too? power to the battery, grounded wherever, and then run to switch?

a4runnerfreak

Aux lights should be wired thru a relay then to a switch, I believe. I think there are some aux light wiring threads on here

Trustyrusty

Why a relay? Sounds kinda dumb.. I think it would be perfectly safe with an inline fuse wired directly..

corax

a relay can handle much more power than a switch. Just about any light set you buy will have a harness with a relay in it (unless you buy individual lights). A relay will also have a smaller voltage drop through the circuit, which means more voltage to the bulbs and brighter lights.

a4runnerfreak

Ahhh, I didn't know that. Corax, are you in Stevensons Ranch, or in Santa Clarita? I grew up in Canyon Country

corax

just off the I-5 on 126 going towards Fillmore, my address says Castaic

a4runnerfreak

Ahhhh, close to val verde. That's cool. Havent been out that way in years

Crawdad

There is a ton of power going through those lights. Here's a quote from Toxarch on toyotatundraforum.com:

"Use the relay. Wait, let me say it again. Use the relay. Relays are your friends. Relays stop your aux fuse from blowing and the aux wires from melting. The relay allows power to pass to the lights only when you want them to have power. Like if you only want the lights to have power when the parking lights are on, then wire the switch side of the relay to the parking lights. If you want them to only come on when the high beam is on, then wire the switch side to the high beams. Or if you want them to come on anytime the truck is running, then wire the switch side to the aux power. You get the idea.

Your power for the lights should come straight from the battery. This makes it easier when drawing that much power. You don't want the power running through the truck. The shorter the power wire, the better. A couple of feet doesn't make much of a difference.

Let's assume 14 volts for the truck. 460 watts/14volts = 33 amps. 14 gauge wire is rated for 32 amps plus you want a cushion in place so you should be using 12 gauge wire which is rated for 41 amps."

Trustyrusty

OH... Uh yeah my front lights are totally wired in unsafely... I better fix that soon..

just a 22re

my cb is wired in with my radio and i dont have anyu problems at all with it keyied power to power and ground well you guessed it to ground and it dont keep anything on like stated but i also have a walmart 40 buck cb to though so i dont think i have the caps in mine but it works just as good if not better 10 mile range with only a 4 foot whip

X-Tool Pimp

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