TECHNICAL

Caravan & motorhome technical questions

Question

Hi tom. i am installing an awning light as my caravan does not have one and because my led light does not have a switch on it i am installing a separate switch too. i have put both light switch and light in place and ran wire from the neg and pos battery terminals straight to the switch then from the switch to the light. the light works fine but when you turn the light off the wire gets really hot? i've put an in line fuse in and tried thicker wire but still the same. any ideas please? many thanks

Answer

It seems that your wiring has created a dangerous situation as you have a 'dead short' which will result in the wires getting hot and possibly causing a fire.
Only the positive wire must go to the switch and the second terminal on the switch is connected to the positive on the light. The negative wire must only be connected to the negative terminal on the light.