If you have ever spent a freezing Saturday afternoon lying across your truck's radiator support trying to fish four separate relay harnesses through a cramped rubber firewall grommet, you already understand why 8-gang switch systems exist. The Auxbeam AR-820 is built for Canadian truck owners, overlanders, and UTV builders who need to wire up to eight 12-volt or 24-volt accessories—from bumper light bars and ditch pods to air compressors and rock lights—while passing only a single thin control cable into the cab. Priced at CAD $233.90, it sits at roughly one-third the cost of boutique off-road power distribution blocks from brands like sPOD or Switch-Pros.
The single biggest lesson we learned during three weeks of hands-on testing with our unit is that the AR-820's solid-state MOSFET architecture and Bluetooth app integration completely change how you troubleshoot and customize a trail rig. Instead of pulling frozen plastic relays out of a muddy fender well when a light flickers, or re-pinning physical wires just to turn a rear amber dust light into a pulsing strobe, you can reconfigure switching modes, dim the keypad, and trigger circuits from 12 metres away on your phone. It is not flawless—the main battery leads are stingy on length and the membrane buttons take practice with winter mitts—but the core electrical hardware punches well above its price bracket.
What You Actually Get
Opening the Auxbeam AR-820 box reveals a remarkably dense, well-organized layout of hardware weighing 1.78 kilograms in total. The centrepiece is the cast-aluminium under-hood control box, measuring 195 mm long by 115 mm wide by 38 mm thick. Unlike cheap plastic relay boxes that warp near turbochargers or exhaust manifolds, this housing features deep cooling fins milled into its grey anodized shell. Inside, instead of eight traditional mechanical Bosch-style relays, Auxbeam uses a solid-state printed circuit board coated in a thick, clear waterproofing compound. Eight blade fuses (two 30A, two 20A, two 15A, and two 10A) sit alongside the screw-terminal blocks as secondary physical fail-safes, even though the board itself uses resettable solid-state overload protection.
The in-cab interface is a sleek, low-profile touch keypad measuring 127 mm by 66 mm and just 16 mm thick. It houses eight customizable peripheral buttons surrounding a central Master On/Off switch and a tiny ambient light sensor window. The housing is robust polycarbonate with an IP65 dust-and-water resistance rating, meaning it shrugs off wet snow knocked off your boots or coffee spills on the centre console. Connecting the keypad to the engine bay box is a 3.05-metre (10-foot) shielded 4-pin aviation-style data cable that unscrews cleanly at the connector, requiring only a 14 mm hole through a firewall grommet.
Auxbeam includes a comprehensive installation kit in the box:
- One 60-amp manual-reset surface-mount circuit breaker with protective rubber terminal boots
- Two 8-AWG main power and ground cables (approximately 1.0 metre each) with pre-crimped copper ring terminals
- One red ACC ignition trigger wire with an add-a-circuit fuse tap adapter
- Two distinct mounting brackets for the control box (universal flat plate and angled fender mount) plus one articulating dash/console bracket for the keypad
- 120 peel-and-stick translucent icon labels, zip ties, stainless mounting bolts, a mini screwdriver, and a plug-in external piezoelectric buzzer
What is not in the box are the actual wire leads running from the control box to your lights or accessories, nor does Auxbeam include heat-shrink butt connectors—you only get basic vinyl-insulated spade and ring terminals. For a Canadian winter installation, you should immediately toss those standard vinyl crimps into the spare parts bin and pick up adhesive-lined marine heat-shrink terminals to prevent calcium chloride road brine from wicking up into your copper strands.
Hands-On Performance: What Our Testing Showed
To evaluate the Auxbeam AR-820 properly, we installed our unit inside a 2021 Ford F-150 parked outside in central Ontario over a three-week period where overnight temperatures dipped to -14°C and daytime slush coated the highway. We mounted the solid-state control box to the passenger-side inner fender liner using the supplied stainless steel bracket, wired the 60A breaker directly to our AGM battery, and routed the 4-pin communications cable through the factory passenger footwell grommet. On the output blocks, we wired a 240W curved bumper LED light bar, a pair of 40W A-pillar ditch pods, two 20W amber rear chase lights, an under-hood work lamp, and a 25A trigger circuit for our bed-mounted portable air compressor.
Auxbeam AR-820 Review: 8-Gang Switch Panel Tested in Canadian Cold
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Electrical Stability and Thermal Management
The biggest concern with budget switch panels is voltage drop and heat soak when running multiple high-draw accessories simultaneously on dark backroads. With our truck idling at 14.2V, we switched on all connected lighting circuits plus an extra halogen load bank on the workbench to simulate a sustained 48.5-amp draw (roughly 582 watts—80% of the system's 60-amp continuous rating). Using a clamp ammeter and an infrared thermometer inside our unheated garage (ambient temperature 4°C), we monitored the control box for 45 minutes continuously.
The cast-aluminium heat sink rose to a peak temperature of 43.2°C—warm to the touch, but nowhere near the 105°C ceiling of the internal MOSFETs. Voltage drop across the solid-state switching path from the input stud to Output Terminal 1 measured just 0.16V under heavy load. We also deliberately dead-shorted a 10A circuit to test the overload protection; the solid-state breaker tripped in under 0.2 seconds before the physical blade fuse even melted, flashing the corresponding keypad button red to alert us inside the cab.
| Test Metric | Test Condition | Measured Result | Pass / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standby Parasitic Draw | Ignition Off, -14°C Ambient | 1.4 mA | Negligible battery drain over 21 days |
| Voltage Drop Across Box | 30A Load on Circuit 1 (14.2V Input) | 0.16 V | 98.8% power delivery efficiency |
| Control Box Surface Temp | 48.5A Continuous Draw for 45 Mins | 43.2 °C | 39.2°C rise above 4°C garage ambient |
| Bluetooth Range (Line of Sight) | Hood Closed, Phone Outside Truck | 18.5 m | Reliable switching up to 14 m through cab |
| Auto-Dimming Response Time | Bright Flashlight to Total Darkness | 2.8 seconds | Smooth step-down to 15% backlight brightness |
Switching Modes: Toggle, Momentary, and Pulsed
Where the AR-820 justifies its premium over basic rocker switches is its three-mode logic per button. By default, every circuit acts as a standard red-lit Toggle switch (press once for on, press again for off). By holding the mode combinations or tapping inside the smartphone app, any circuit switches instantly to blue-lit Momentary mode (power flows only while your finger holds the button) or green-lit Pulsed strobe mode. In our testing, we set our high-output ditch lights to Momentary so we could flash them briefly to check snowy driveway markers without blinding oncoming snowplough operators, and set our rear amber pods to Pulsed mode when parked on the shoulder of a rural highway during a whiteout.
RGB Backlighting and Auto-Dimming
Older switch panels often glow like a neon sign inside a dark truck cab, ruining your night vision on unlit northern highways. The AR-820 solves this in two ways. First, its RGB LEDs let you dial in the exact colour hue to match your factory dashboard—we matched Ford's ice-blue interior lighting in about 20 seconds using the app's colour wheel. Second, the built-in photoelectric sensor on the keypad faceplate actively reads cabin light levels. When we drove out of a brightly lit service centre into pitch-black rural roads, the keypad automatically stepped its backlight down to approximately 15% intensity within 2.8 seconds, eliminating windshield glare completely.
Bluetooth App and Grouping Features
The Auxbeam app (tested on both iOS 17 and Android 14) pairs via Bluetooth 5.0 in roughly four seconds once you open the app near the truck. Unlike Wi-Fi-based controllers that disconnect your phone from wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, the AR-820 uses low-energy Bluetooth, meaning our navigation maps and Spotify kept running seamlessly on the truck's dash screen while the switch app ran alongside. Our favourite feature inside the app is Circuit Grouping: we created a virtual group called 'Trail Recovery' that simultaneously triggers the front light bar, rear work lights, and under-body rock lights with a single tap on the phone screen while standing 12 metres behind the tailgate hooking up a tow strap.
Living With It: Long-Term Notes
Over three weeks of daily driving and weekend trail runs, several practical realities emerged. First, the cold-weather behaviour of the physical keypad is dependable—even when the truck cab was soaked in -14°C cold before the heater core warmed up, the buttons responded immediately with zero lag. Furthermore, the external piezoelectric buzzer plugs into a dedicated lead behind the keypad if you want an audible beep on every button press. Frankly, we unplugged that buzzer on day four; its high-pitched 72 dB chirp sounds like a commercial microwave and quickly gets annoying when toggling lights on quiet early-morning commutes.
Second, the app customization is genuinely useful if you have multiple drivers sharing the vehicle. Instead of peering at tiny 12 mm sticker icons in the dark to remember whether 'AUX 3' is the left ditch light or the bed lamp, the app lets you snap an actual photo of your truck's light bar with your phone camera and assign it directly to the virtual button. We also noticed zero firmware crashes over 21 days, and the physical keypad retains all programmed RGB colours and switching modes in non-volatile memory even if you disconnect the truck battery to perform maintenance.
In terms of maintenance burden, our only ongoing check involved inspecting the under-hood control box after driving 400 kilometres down salted Ontario highways. Because the wires enter the bottom of the aluminium box through a foam-rubber compression strip rather than individual waterproof cable glands, fine salty mist can migrate near the terminal screws if you mount the box too low behind the radiator grille. Keeping it high on the upper firewall or inner fender—and packing the screw terminals with dielectric grease—kept our connections completely corrosion-free.
Where It Falls Short
No sub-$250 controller is without compromises, and the AR-820 has four specific limitations you should plan around before starting your install. First, the supplied 8-AWG positive and negative battery cables measure just 1.0 metre (about 39 inches) in length. In a modern full-size pickup like a Ram 1500, Silverado, or F-150 where the battery sits on the passenger front corner and the best mounting spot for the relay box is over on the driver-side fender or firewall, 1.0 metre is simply too short. We had to crimp up our own 1.8-metre run of marine-grade 6-AWG welding cable to place the box where we wanted it.
Second, the keypad's silicone membrane buttons are flush across the faceplate with very subtle tactile ribs between the eight circuits. When driving bare-handed, it is easy to operate, but when wearing insulated leather winter work gloves, it is easy to accidentally fat-finger the adjacent button or hit the central Master Off switch by mistake. Third, the control box is strictly limited to 60 amps total continuous current across all eight channels combined. If you run a massive 50-inch roof bar (25A), heated snowplough lamps (20A), and a heavy air compressor (30A) all at the exact same moment, the 60A breaker will trip to protect the board.
Finally, on Android phones, the Auxbeam app mandates that you leave Location Services permissions enabled at the operating system level to scan for the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon during initial pairing. While it does not track your driving routes, privacy-conscious users often dislike granting location access just to toggle truck lights. Also, keep a portable jump starter in your cab if you choose to wire the red trigger wire directly to constant battery power instead of an ignition-switched ACC fuse; leaving the keypad illuminated 24/7 draws roughly 110 mA, which will flatten a cold truck battery in about five days.
How It Compares
To put the Auxbeam AR-820's CAD $233.90 price tag into perspective, we stacked it against two well-known competitors in the 8-gang auxiliary switch market: Auxbeam's own entry-level BA80 panel and the premium industry benchmark, the Switch-Pros SP9100.
| Model | Price (CAD) | Key Spec | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auxbeam AR-820 | $233.90 | 60A Max / RGB + Bluetooth App / 3 Modes | Overlanders wanting smart wireless control on a mid-range budget |
| Auxbeam BA80 | $139.99 | 60A Max / Fixed Green LED / On-Off Only | Budget builds needing simple wired switching with no app |
| Switch-Pros SP9100 | $895.00 | 125A Max / Fully Potted / Billet Keypad | Extreme rock crawlers running high-amp winches and dual compressors |
Buy the Auxbeam AR-820 if: You want the sweet spot of modern features—Bluetooth smartphone operation, Momentary and Strobe programming, colour-matched dash lighting, and solid-state reliability—without spending nearly a thousand dollars. For 90% of Canadian pickup, Jeep, and Tacoma builds running LED lighting and moderate accessories, the AR-820 does everything the high-end units do at a fraction of the cost.
Buy the Auxbeam BA80 if: You are outfitting a farm truck, ATV, or snowblower tractor where you only need simple On/Off switching, do not care about matching factory dashboard colours, and never plan to use a smartphone app. Saving nearly $95 CAD makes sense if you just want basic wired switches.
Buy the Switch-Pros SP9100 if: You are building a competition rig or heavy expedition vehicle that requires more than 60A of continuous output, needs fully sealed IP67 automotive-grade Deutsch connectors instead of screw terminals, and demands low-voltage battery cutoff programming built directly into the firmware.
Buying Advice
Auxbeam AR-820 Review: 8-Gang Switch Panel Tested in Canadian Cold
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When ordering from Amazon.ca, verify that you are selecting the exact AR-820 variant rather than the older AR-800 or non-Bluetooth RA80 models, which often share the same product listing page. The AR-820 is identifiable by the central Master On/Off button surrounded by the Bluetooth icon and the sleeker chamfered bezel. Before your package arrives, spend an extra $18 at your local Canadian auto parts store on a pack of 16-14 AWG adhesive-lined heat-shrink ring terminals and a small tube of silicone dielectric grease; those two inexpensive additions turn a good installation into a winter-proof one that will survive years of slush.
In terms of warranty and Canadian support, Auxbeam provides a 2-year manufacturer warranty against defects, and purchasing via Amazon.ca gives you the standard 30-day hassle-free return window if the control box dimensions do not fit your specific engine bay layout. Price-wise, the AR-820 typically hovers around CAD $233.90 to $249.99 throughout the year, though we have tracked lightning deals and clip-on coupons during Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday that bring the landed cost down closer to the CAD $185 to $199 mark. Even at full retail, factoring in the cost of buying eight separate switches, relays, fuse blocks, and looms individually, the AR-820 easily pays for itself in saved installation hours alone.
The Verdict
After three weeks of sub-zero testing, heavy electrical load trials, and daily commuting, the Auxbeam AR-820 earns a strong 8.7 out of 10 and our Editor's Choice badge for off-road power management. It transforms what used to be a rat's nest of under-hood relays and in-cab toggle switches into a clean, professional, two-hour afternoon project. The solid-state MOSFET board runs cool under a 48.5-amp load, the auto-dimming RGB keypad blends seamlessly into modern truck interiors, and the Bluetooth 5.0 app adds genuine utility when working outside the vehicle after dark. While we wish Auxbeam included longer 1.8-metre main battery leads for full-size pickups and deeper tactile ridges between the keypad buttons for gloved hands, those are minor hurdles compared to the value on offer. For Canadian truck and trail riders who want smart, reliable 8-gang control without paying boutique prices, the AR-820 is the unit to buy.
