KC daylighters.. whats to much ??

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I currently have two 100watt 6inch KC (pencil beam) daylighters on the front of my 5.3ltr Silverado. 10 years ago I installed the lights and have been very happy with the performance in off road use. I recently was given another pair of the same identical lights and have already installed the lights on my brush guard (looks sweet) however I didn't get any wiring.. my questions are..

#1 the power draw, with the truck running and I activate the lights, you can very clearly see the power draw on the the trucks battery gauge move up slightly with two lights powered up, the alternator is clearly working harder.. when I do use these lights its never for an extended period of time, two to 3 minutes tops usually. will I overstress the alternator and potentially burn it up with running 2 sets of these lights (4 total 100 watt fixtures) ? I have nothing else aftermarket on my truck other than a trailer brake controller.

#2 wiring. I have been on KC's website and to order the wiring kit its approx. $45.00 before shipping, this includes switch, relay, fuse holder, double leads for both fixtures and wireloom and hardware. I have ordered and used with great success LED lightbar wire harnesses from Amazon. 30/40AMP 12V relays etc.. I know the KC'S draw more power, however to my untrained eye I think I could get away with using the significantly less expensive kits sold on amazon, However im not 100% on the guage wire.. Has anyone tried these kits on higher draw lights ? I don't want to start melting wire/burn down my truck..
 
Each light uses about 8 amps. So about 32a for all 4. Quite a draw. How many amps can your alternator put out?

Honestly I would either find LED bulbs for the lights or buy a LED light bar. They don't nearly use as much currant as the old kc bulbs do and are brighter.
 
its about the look, those pretty chrome housing units look good on the truck, Im liking your idea of replacing the bulb with LED.. I have used many LED bars and pods on various ATV's and side by sides. Im going to look further into the bulb/LED replacement idea.. thank you
 
With all the better and more efficient LED off road lights available today, I wouldn't bother with those halogen lights. I had a friend who years ago bought 2 of those 100watt KC lights and installed them on his new truck. I told him not to leave them on if he was just idling because of the draw on the alternator. You could hear the alternator really whine when you turned those lights on. It wasn't long before he was replacing the alternator, which I'm sure was because he didn't listen to me about shutting them off when he was idling.
 
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The amp draw is no problem for any modern vehicle. The battery can provide any additional power for a period of time too.
 
Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
I don't want to start melting wire/burn down my truck.


Then get rid of the KC's and start using high brightness LED's, which use a LOT less power.
 
Actually it would take a standard 40" LED light bar to equal the output of one 100w 6" halogen Daylighter. Unless you go with a pro type LED setup which can cost 3 times or more than the day lighter and current draw can easily exceed the halogen.
I also prefer the color of halogen lights to the LEDs.
 
I have, and have installed a dozen LED light bars, up to 50 inch. Clearly I like them, However at the price point I haven't used anything that competes with a pencil beam KC for reaching out 400-500 yards and spotlighting. Up close like 200 yards or less I very much like using LED bars. I did look into retrofitting LED's into my KC housing units.. that's about mission impossible for my skill set. I had a 32 inch bar on the front of the truck for a short time, it was half spot and half flood. It was great for cruising gravel roads.. It simply doesn't reach out.. If money was no object, Id have 4 HID spot lights on my truck, However I only use My KC's once in a great while and at the much higher price point of HID its simply overkill for my occasional needs.
 
as long as I can safely use all four KC'S I am very happy with the output, I see no reason to get rid of what I already have.


Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
I don't want to start melting wire/burn down my truck.


Then get rid of the KC's and start using high brightness LED's, which use a LOT less power.
 
so I did the install last night, two independent sets of wiring, two relays. It works very well. man oh man, it sure is bright... the pull on the system seems to be fine. by my naked eye the battery gauge doesn't seem to be moving any more or less than before when its all turned on.
 
good for you! How did we live before LEDs? Color Rendering is still a much safer bet with halogen, and LED longevity is questionable for a lot of the 3rd party products. I've run several LED fixtures overnight when trailer camping and they can mysteriously quit long before the "100,000" hour LED lifespan. I've had some quit as early as within 40 hours of run time.
 
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