maikan Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) Hi everyone I tried to seach on this but I don't quite handle it. So last weekend was spent on the trails, but we took longer than we taugh and darhness surrounded us. Eventually I had to bach up, but my pathfinder didn't came with factory back up lights. S o I decided to intall some. I bought some utility lights and wired them to the backing light in the taillight. But some people frighten me about how unsafe it is and I think I don't have a lot of juice because Lights seem weak. So is there anybody who know about a how-to threads on wiring off-road lights with fuse and switches and etc... Thanks Edited April 21, 2010 by maikan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 (edited) there is a way to do this safely, the proper way is to use a relay, if you don't mind running wires from the front of the truck to the rear than you have options. Using a relay you can tap into the wire for your reverse light so the backup lights only are on when you are in reverse, or you can wire the back up lights to a switch so they are only on when you turn them on, or you can have both. If the lights you are thinking about using aren't some big monster sized lights with 100 watt bulbs you could tap off the trailer harness ( if you have one for your power source), if you were to do it this way and just wanted the lights to come on when you had the truck in reverse you could do it with out having to run ANY wires towards the front. here are a few examples: scenario 1: lights on when in reverse only: relay mounted inside near rear of truck relay (has numbers next to the pins on the bottom of the relay) these are what the numbers correspond to: 30 = 12 volt in ( this is your power source) 87 = 12 volt out (this one goes to your lights) 86 = control power in (this turns the relay on, you could splice this wire into the factory reverse lights, the amperage required to turn the relay on is in Milli amps) 85 = this goes to ground so, run a wire with a fuse from the constant hot in the trailer harness to #30 of the relay run a wire from 87 on the relay to the furthest back up light ( if your using 2 that is), connect the closer backup light to the wire going to the other light using a Scotchlok connector), you may have to ground the lights if they are not touching metal or if they have a separate ground wire run a wire from 85 on the relay to a ground, I usually loop the wire back up to the screw I use to mount the relay run a wire from 86 on the relay to the hot wire that goes to the reverse lights since the reverse lights are only on when you put the truck in reverse, the relay will only close and power your backup lights when you are in reverse that's it for that scenario 2: if you wanted to control the lights with a separate switch only: all of the above would be the same EXCEPT !! the wire going to #86 on the relay gets run to where ever you want the switch to be (dash I presume), if you are using a lighted switch it will have 3 terminals on it this is where each goes switch: terminal one - ground terminal 2 - 12 volt power only on with the key ( so you don't accidentally hit the switch and leave the lights on all day) terminal 3 - this goes to number 86 on the relay if the switch is an unlighted switch it's the same as above minus the ground wire scenario 3 lights on when in reverse or when you flip a switch same as first scenario EXCEPT you would also run a wire from number 86 of the relay to a switch than follow scenario 2, this way when in reverse the back up lights would come on, but if you are not in reverse you can flip the switch to turn them on when ever you want ( say if your camping and unloading the truck and need light, you don't want to have to have the truck in reverse do you??) Hope that wasn't too complicated, any questions ask me, most relays are all numbered on the bottom next to the pins, if you buy a set of lights it will probably come with a harness and relay, if not the type you want is a SPST or also known as a normally open relay Edited April 21, 2010 by ahardb0dy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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