wiring driving lights

OK, illuminated Bob, here you go:

Questions:

1. What is the proper gauge wire to use for connecting up driving lights?

12 gauge from the relay to the lights (separate one to each light - double up at the relay terminal)

10 gauge from the battery to the fuse and fuse to relay input

14-16 gauge from relay coil ground to chassis ground

14-16 gauge from dash switch to +12V and another 14-16 gauge from dash switch to relay coil

Some people may think these gauges are overkill.  My response is "Those lengths of wire are cheap and won't get hot and melt their insulation.  Get over it."

2. Is the same gauge wire used throughout the driving light wiring system? 

See above for #1

3. What kind of connections are best? Mine have spade connections coming off the lights now.

That's ok, and use a pair of 8" "channel lock" or water pump pliers to crimp the connection.  The best connection is done with a ratcheting, adjustable crimping tool, but at $50 bucks for a good one, for you I would recommend the channel locks.

4. I have the right bosch relay, need to get a fuse holder, 20 amp I believe is correct.

Amperage is fully dependent on the current draw of the light bulbs.  20 amp is a good start, but you may end up with a 30 amp - I'm jus' sayin'....

5. An unused switch already exist at the dash, so no problem there.

Que Bueno!

6. There is an unused pigtail with spade connector coming off the positive battery cable. Should I be using that?

OK, as long as it goes into a fuse physically close to the battery.

7. I am using a wiring diagram scavenged off this site.

What you've described is pretty simple and straight-forward.  It should work just fine.  

Thank you, Gordon!!!

I'm a shrink wrap and solder guy.  I actually cut the little blue insulator ring off the spade (or other) terminals.  I use Stakon crimping pliers before soldering. 

I agree, Greg. I use a Snap-on crimper or I solder and heatshrink. Never both. Channel locks or pump pliers are NOT for wiring.

But I do have to say Gordon is spot on with all his other suggestions, I couldn't agree more. Most people cheap out on wiring but what are they saving?? 

I do it exactly like Greg, but I almost never solder. The key good wiring is to have a good assortment of terminals and good tools to work with.

You can't wire anything well without 2 tools-- a wire-stripper, and a crimping tool. I suppose you don't need the crimping tool if you solder everything, but I don't.  I'll solder ignition/EFI, but lighting and gauges and other stuff I don't, and I've never had a problem. I re-wire equipment all the time and don't have an issue with my crimp joints-- screw-terminal strips, yes, crimp-joints, no.

I use either Klein or Ideal crimping tools like the one Greg has in his picture, and a "T" stripper with nice insulated handles. The crimping tool is about $30-50 depending on where you buy, and the stripper is $10 everywhere. Stay away from the "combination" strippers and crimpers that cost about $10- 20. A good crimping tool and a T-stripper are something that cannot be worked substituted.

The other thing is the a fore mentioned terminals. You want the proper sized socket-- I've found that the ratings that the manufacturers give are conservative by one wire size-- if you've got a good terminal, a #12 will fit into a blue terminal. I'm like Greg-- if it REALLY matters, I pull the nylon socket cover off and slip on some shrink tube (buy it at Harbor Freight-- it's dirt cheap there), and double crimp, then heat-shrink the joint. As I said, I solder if it's something that will take me to the moon, but almost never otherwise. A good crimp and heat shrink is PLENTY good for 12v lights. As I said, I just don't have problems with crimped joints.

... unless I don't have the proper tools on hand. I CAN say that I've had problems trying to crimp with channel-locks, vice grips, slip-joint pliers, or anything besides a good crimping tool. I'm blessed to have a couple of work trucks full of tools and consumables, so I've got a great assortment of terminals, and have multiple good (Stakon, Klein, or Ideal) crimping tools.

Did I mention the tools are really important?

I believe tools are important......I believe tools are important.....

What's important, Bob? Let me hear you say it again. 

I'm old, I forgot

Even more important is remembering where the hell you put that tool down the last time you used it.......

My next door neighbor (who has free reign of my shop) thinks I'm anal about "everything has it's place and it belongs in it's place when done", but he's under 40 years old (and can still remember 14-digit international phone numbers).   

Just you wait........

BTW:  I worked on the ALSEP program on one of the later Apollo missions.  Nothing in our box was soldered - everything was crimped with special ($10 - $30 each because of the gold plating) crimp terminations and a special, multi-configuration, pneumatic crimping tool (about $4,000 each, not available from Harbor Frieght).  

Just as an aside, how many soldered, wiring harness connections do you think you'll find in a modern automobile??

Answer: NONE, everything is crimped.

I crimp most things in the car, ESPECIALLY things that can move. Soldered wires in a moving connection will fatigue and break. However it is probably close to impossible to crimp everything in a custom crankfire ignition system with a custom harness, especially when splicing to a few shielded cables that require the shield to keep interference at bay. In MusbJim's words, I'm just saying!