Quote:
More importantly, how long do you expect to draw current, ie how long will you have the horn button depressed? Even if the current draw is close to the rated ampacity of the wiring, overheating will only occur if the current is drawn continuously for some period of time...short beeps, esp. intermittent beeps, will dramatically decrease the total power consumption.
Not exactly... running a device for a longer period will of course increase it's -total- current draw, but when any electric/electronic device is switched on it's current draw is greatest at the first moment of operation. That's why you get a small spark on the switch, and it's that very spark that'll weld the switch contacts together if you overload it.
Rather than "do I need a relay with this horn?" the question should be "Is there any reason NOT to use a relay with this horn?". Sure it may not NEED it... for that matter you don't NEED fuses either! Till something goes wrong the bike'll work fine without either, but for the sake of a $2 investment and installing one extra wire to the battery I'll take the relay any day.
Last edited by Sandmann; 02/01/2007 5:27 PM.
