Jumper wire to attach fuses in distribution box

[Sauce]

Not really "Ford Specific", but I know a lot of others use various distribution boxes, so I figure I would ask...

Say Im using a distribution box (Auxbeam) to control various aux lights. Use two pairs of lights (four total lights) as an example.

Each of the light pairs draws about 6-8 amps and they are on 20 amp fuses - so plenty of amperage headroom on the fuses. Each of these fuses has a corresponding button on my control panel to control the light pairs (two buttons on the control panel controlling 2x 2 lights).

If I wanted to use a third button on the control panel to control BOTH sets of lights (four lights total, drawing 12-16 amps), could I use a jumper wire from each of the two fuses to a third fuse? Is this a no-no or is there a "right way" to do this?

Clearly Im not an electrician, but I can do basic stuff and just trying to learn without endangering myself or others.

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[CACTUSGREYFX4]

It would work but if you use all 3 sets of lights at same time you will more than likely blow the fuse as it's using more than the fuse is rated at.

 

[Sauce]

It would work but if you use all 3 sets of lights at same time you will more than likely blow the fuse as it's using more than the fuse is rated at.

Thank you. If Im assuming four lights that draw 1.5 amps each (Morimoto 4bangers) or 6 amps total, I assume putting them on a 20 amp (3.33x) or even a 10 amp (1.66x) fuse I should have plenty of headroom for surge. I assume all three fuses would need to be rated for that load - not just the one that controls both the lights (since they will be connected by the jumper). Correct me if I may not be considering something though.

 

[CACTUSGREYFX4]

The way those taps work is the main circuit is protected by original fuse so say 20A then you can put whatever different fuse in the slave part but I wouldn't want to overtax the original circuit.

 

[renato23]

Been hoping to find this information but doesn't even know where to start looking at.

I'm not an electrician as well, so maybe it's a silly question but I have nowhere else to ask.

I recently installed some electrical components to my 25 Ranger:

1. LED bar at front bumper: It's connected directly to the battery and I have a switch next to the steering wheel to turn it ON/OFF but I need it to be ON only when the ignition is turned on, so even if I forget my switch ON it looses power when I remove my key from ignition. I know Raptors have the AUX from factory, any ideas on how to do it with non-raptor models?

2. Courtesy lights on the inside: This one I would like to turn on only when my headlights are on because during daylight it's barely visible. Any suggestions on how to do this without cutting any wires and losing my warranty?

I guess the easiest way for both cases are these fuse jumpers. Am I right?

Thanks!

 

[Sauce]

So I thought through the original issue further and determined the jumper wire definitely wouldn’t work. Since the jumpers would connect to the “all on” fuse terminal, they would be connecting all of the individual fuses and so I wouldn’t have any individual control over the lights. The Auxbeam doesn’t really permit the configuration I was looking for. Hard to explain but it wouldn’t work without another switch.

The system that I’m now going to use (and would also work for the prior poster) is a Garmin Power Switch which allows you to run multiple switch configurations through the app and allows control through CarPlay.

For the prior poster - the Garmin Power Switch allows for two trigger wires and you can assign different lights to the individual triggers. I believe you could use two different fuse taps and accomplish what you want with the Power Switch. There’s probably a more complicated way to do it without the power switch but I think this device will greatly simplify and streamline things.

I haven’t actually installed it but I did a good bit of research to understand how it works and it seems to be very configurable. Kind of wish I could connect it to a Bluetooth physical switch panel but that’s lower on the list of priorities. Also like that each of the fuses can take 30 amps (although the overall unit has a limit and you can’t max them all out).

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