help! Driving light install

[JasonMiller]

I got everything hooked up right from what I can tell except, I am unsure of where to tap into my high beams. Which wire is for the high beam and what is the easiest way of getting at it?

Thanks

[88pathoffroad]

I take it you only want the driving lights to come on when the high beams are on, right?

 

Get an electrical tester or voltmeter. Turn on your headlights. Unplug one headlight plug from the back of the housing. There will be three wires, one ground, one low beam and one high beam wire. Now, probe the terminals inside the plug to determine which wire is currently running 12 volts. That will be your low beam power wire. Note which wire that is, and turn on your high beams. Probe the terminals again and find which wire is now also running 12 volts. That will be your high beam wire. Very simple to find out.

 

I would suggest wiring your new lights through a relay using the high beam wire as the trigger or switching wire. Trying to run a set of driving lights off your high beam wiring will burn it out in short order, if it doesn't blow a fuse first.

[JasonMiller]

I have everything running through a relay. I have some hella 500s that require tapping into the high beams. By doing this they are supposed to turn off when you turn your high-beams on, just like the factory fog lights. This is the law so, I don't think they will turn on unless I have it wired this way.

[Nick]

Well in that case I think you want to tap into your low beam wire, same process as 88pathoffroad has explained, just have your lights on low. Then splice it in, should turn on when lows are on becuase juice it flowing thru, and off when highs are on, no juice flowing thru.

 

 

Hope this helped a little.

[JasonMiller]

I understand what you are saying, it didn't make sense to me either to tap into the highbeams. The only reason I was so set on that, was because it was in the directions. Thanks a lot!

[Nick]

No problem, if you need anymore help just feel free to ask.

[denisb]

Hey Jason,

I think when they tell you to tap in to your high beams, they want you to use your normaly closed position on your relay, this means your lights will be off when there is power to your relay. Therefore your fog lights off when your highbeams on. The reason for doing it that way is your high beams on your truck are on less of the time therefore less use of your relay. I am not 100% sure but I think that's the reasoning behind it. It will work both ways though.

[Nick]

Actually I meant find the wire that gets hot when your lows are on , cut it, take the hot wire from your new lights and splice it into the low beam wire. Then it will turn on when lows are on, and off when highs are on.

 

 

But denisb way will work also.

[88pathoffroad]

Nick, you would recommend chopping off the low beam headlight wire just so your driving lights work? I think you left a few details out, there...

[Nick]

I meant to cut the low beam hot wire, stip both ends that you cut, take the hot wire from new lights, crimp the new hot wire with one of the old hot wires in one end of a crimpy thingy, then the other end of the old hot wire in the other end of the crimpy thingy.

 

 

I think thats what you were lookin for 88?

[JasonMiller]

Hey Jason,

I think when they tell you to tap in to your high beams, they want you to use your normaly closed position on your relay, this means your lights will be off when there is power to your relay. Therefore your fog lights off when your highbeams on. The reason for doing it that way is your high beams on your truck are on less of the time therefore less use of your relay. I am not 100% sure but I think that's the reasoning behind it. It will work both ways though.

So, if I splice into the highbeam wire, my driving lights will turn off when my high beams are on, and will turn on when my low beams are on? Am I understanding this correctly? Thanks a lot for your help guys!

[88pathoffroad]

I meant to cut the low beam hot wire, stip both ends that you cut, take the hot wire from new lights, crimp the new hot wire with one of the old hot wires in one end of a crimpy thingy, then the other end of the old hot wire in the other end of the crimpy thingy.

 

 

I think thats what you were lookin for 88?

You could also just use a quick splice and not have to cut anything at all. Those "crimpy-thingies" as you so eloquently put it, are called quick splice connectors or splice connectors. The proper way to reconnect cut automotive wiring is to solder the ends back together and use either electrical tape or shrink tubing to insulate the wiring.

 

JasonMiller: No. If you wire it so that the driving light relay wire is attached to the high beams, then your driving lights will only turn on when the high beams are on. If you wire it so the relay turns on using the low beam wire, they will come on with your low beams. How hard is it to understand? Sheesh.

 

Here's a simply worded bit I found in thirty seconds with a Google search.

 

The law, in OZ at least, states that driving lights must be turned off when you switch from High beam to Low beam. Driving lights are for extra lighting only when the High beams are turned on.

 

So;

Connect the relay pin 30 directly to battery positive.

Connect the relay pin 87 to the driving lights then the other side of the driving lights to a good ground

Connect relay pin 86 to the existing headlight High beam circuit (for positive)

Connect the relay pin 85, to the Driving light switch to ground.

 

This means that you can turn the driving lights on and off only when High beam is on and it will automatically switch off when you go from High beam to Low beam. This is why they have you use the high beam wire for the relay in the instructions.

[Nick]

There 88 pretty much said it all

[JasonMiller]

Oh, ok. Thanks a lot, I understand it now. I think I was looking too hard into it. It seems like an easy thing to understand, and that would have been my first assumption(splice into highbeams=lights turn on when highbeams are on etc.). I was misinformed by other people outside of this board and having never done anything like this, it made it confusing. I have all this stuff hooked up to a switch as well if that matters. So, my factory foglights are hooked up to my lowbeams I assume since, they turn off when I turn the highbeams on?

[BigMike]

how would i go about to get my foglights singled out so that i can turn them on speratly without having to turn my lowbeams on? the reason i ask is because i have some axilery lights that i want to reconnect them to a separate switch, they are currently connected to the foglamp switch and the foglamps are not connected at all. i wanna reconnect them to the original switch and have the ability to turn them on freely without the headlamps on.

[Nick]

Im not sure about the fog lights on these because I havn't looked at them that much. But if you just find your fog light wires, and rewire them to your switch, you know from the batter to the switch to the fog lights, you should be able to turn them on whenever. Because right now they are wired to your low beams.

 

 

Hope this helps.

[BigMike]

Im not sure about the fog lights on these because I havn't looked at them that much. But if you just find your fog light wires, and rewire them to your switch, you know from the batter to the switch to the fog lights, you should be able to turn them on whenever. Because right now they are wired to your low beams.

 

 

Hope this helps.

thats what i was think of but i wanted to see what others have done. is there anything i should worry about if i wire my foglamps and my auxilery lights strait to the battery? i figure i should put a fuse in the line some where near the switch.

what do u guys think?

[Nick]

I personally would probably just put a fuse in before the switch and also make sure the switch can handle a good load, thats about it. A fusible link would probly work also.

[denisb]

I would do the same as Nick said, like he said make sure the fuse is before the switch and you should be good to go. Remember if you hook them directly to the battery, you chance leaving them on, I put a lit switch on mine so I wouldn't forget them on. If you buy a lit switch make sure you try it before so it isn't to bright though, I find mine is a little bright and I plan on changing it soon.

[Nick]

good point denisb, i have a lit switch also, and mine also it too bright. So to solve this i put electric tape around the switch but lef the top untaped so I could still see a little bit light up

[denisb]

There's an idea for the light part. I might try that, it could save me from changing my switch, I sometimes get lazzy like that

[Nick]

Haha, glad I could help

[94extreme]

hey any idea what each wire at the switch is?

purple, yellow, green

[Mr. Pickles]

Purple is switched power from the headlight circuit, yellow if power from the switch to the relay under the hood, and if I remember right, green is ground.

 

By the way, you can make the fogs/driving lights come on with the parking lights (and no headlights) by simply disconnecting the purple headlight power, and replacing it with a wire tapped into the parking lot circuit. Doesn't need to be heavy duty, since you're only triggering the relay with it.

[94extreme]

Purple is switched power from the headlight circuit, yellow if power from the switch to the relay under the hood, and if I remember right, green is ground.

 

By the way, you can make the fogs/driving lights come on with the parking lights (and no headlights) by simply disconnecting the purple headlight power, and replacing it with a wire tapped into the parking lot circuit. Doesn't need to be heavy duty, since you're only triggering the relay with it.

thanks mr.pickles.. actually that's the next thing i am going to do with the fog but i actually have a stock switch i want to use to run my off-road lights and was wandering how it is set up.. thanks for both comments.. where is a good spot to tap into (the parking lights power/circuit) ???