fog lights

[milehighcowboy]

ok so i went and tried to flippen wire in my fog lights. well they were working just fine untill i turned over the motor. then the fuse blew and know i cant even turn the key to the on position with out blowing the fuse. i have connected both ground wires to good metal contact points. the red wire goes straight to the battery from the switch. the white goes from the switch to the lamps. and then the second ground goes from the lamps to the radiator mounting bracket. what should i check next? could the wires at the lamps be hooked up backwards? are my grounds not good ones? (i only am hooking up one lamp at a time and then checking it do i need both hooked up? this is starting to piss me off royally. :furious: thanks guys for any help.

[jj big shoe]

You shouldn't wire any type of lights (or most anything for that matter) directly to the battery. You should use a relay.

Here's a quick page I found that has a basic diagram for wiring up some fog lights. The relay shown is a standard SPDT (Single Pole, Double Throw) 12v relay you can get at any auto parts store or Radio Shack. Just wire your fogs up according to the diagram and you should be fine.

www.the12volt.com has a lot of good info about 12v auto wiring as well.

[milehighcowboy]

the directions on the back of the wiring harnes that i bought say to go to the battery a fuse is built into the red wire that goes to the battery. can i just purchase a relay and then got o the battery with out hooking into the head lights?

[jj big shoe]

Yeah, the diagram I linked to was just an example. You don't have to tie into the headlights at all.

Basically what you want to do is use your switch to control the relay and the relay to control the lights. Try this link for a diagram. Its a .pdf from KC Hilites on how to hook up a two lamp system.

 

12v from battery to #30

12v from switch to #86

Lights hook up to #87

and ground is #85

 

Google some wiring diagrams and relay info if you get swtuck. Once you get it, you'll get it.

[milehighcowboy]

yea i went a bought a differant wiring harness and some baha lights. i hooked them up and bang there we go. it was cake. i think my old lights were the cause of the short. but i say now i have a set of wires to hook up the lights i am putting on a roof rack. lol. thanks again man