Is there a “safety factor” built-in to the auxiliary switches?

[MyDaughters20JL]

just wondering if there is any kind of a “safety factor“ with the auxiliary switches. I have a bunch of lights that I am planning on wiring in and one of the sets at 12 V, would be 14.2 A. Is that pushing the limits of the 15 amp circuit on either number three or number four switches?

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[DHW]

just wondering if there is any kind of a “safety factor“ with the auxiliary switches. I have a bunch of lights that I am planning on wiring in and one of the sets at 12 V, would be 14.2 A. Is that pushing the limits of the 15 amp circuit on either number three or number four switches?

They have fuses and relays. Personally I use wire that far exceeds the current draw of my accessory. And I'm no electrician but I'm pretty sure the 14.2 amps would be fine.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Wire a fuse and relay between the switch and the lights so the relay handles the load.

I used two of these on two of my light circuits:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07RTW33Z2/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_glc_fabc_R44GFGF4V83C7EVAGS32

 

[TheRaven]

just wondering if there is any kind of a “safety factor“ with the auxiliary switches. I have a bunch of lights that I am planning on wiring in and one of the sets at 12 V, would be 14.2 A. Is that pushing the limits of the 15 amp circuit on either number three or number four switches?

You'll be fine. A 15A fuse won't necessarily blow at 15.1A. It could, but fuses and breakers aren't designed to primarily limit continuous current, they are designed to limit current RAMP. I've personally witnessed fuses and breakers support 2x the current they were rated for simply because the ramp up to that level wasn't too fast and that level was not maintained for long. Also, wire and contacts are rated for current AT temperature. The vast majority of wire is rated at 80 or 90C. Current capacity diminishes with temp increase, so you need to consider the max temps your wire will be exposed to in order to determine how much "cushion" you have. If a wire is rated for 15A at 90c, and it's only going to see 60c, it'll easily handle 20A. But also keep in mind that engine bays can approach 200F (93C).

The moral of the story is that if you use quality components, you will have lots of breathing room. So a 14.2A load will be perfectly fine on a properly constructed 15A circuit using quality stuff.

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