Concern about overloaded headlight and dimmer switch...

[LXSTASY]

I was thinking about it today and I have quite a few electronics running off of the headlight dimmer switch for power. I have the UPR glow dash gauges and a/c gauges and 2 autometer phantom gauges running from it. I plan on installing a tach and a few other gauges and I don't know if the switch can handle that many electrical things drawing power. Another thing that worries me is that I have HIDs that draw a lot of power initally on start-up.
Am I headed for disaster?
How could I fix this problem if it is one?

Thanks
Dan

 

[Grn92LX]

A relay is your friend

 

[HISSIN50]

Your HID's should be jarring the charging and electrical system, but not the dimmer circuit.

Mike's idea is nice if you dont ever use the dimmer, in which case I would use the parking light wire as my gauge lighting source. If you put a relay on the dimmer (the dimmer sends a control pulse to the relay, and from the relay other lighting tasks are performed) and you actually use the dimmer, the relay will chatter (the dimmed voltage from the dimmer to the relay makes it not know whether it should be on or off). Make sense?

I would just use the parking lights.

Good luck.

 

[LXSTASY]

Now that I thought about it, it is run from the parking lights for the gauges. Is there too much draw? Do the autometer gauges draw a lot of power (they are the electrical ones)? Does the UPR glow gauges draw a lot of power? If they do not draw too much then i think I am fine. I was just curious to see if I needed to change anything.

 

[Black1987Stang]

Im sure ur fine, but if ur interested you can do this...http://www.geocities.com/midlife66/wiring/Halrelays.html

 

[_jb_]

I wired 3 AM C2 electric guages, indiglo insturment cluster lights and nothing happened.

 

[LXSTASY]

Yea, I figure the indiglo gauges don't draw too much. I had a mid-day crisis where I thought I might fry the switch.