Please help with wiring off road lights

[Blaine Davies]

Your ignition wire needs the switch in it, and the batt+ needs to go straight to the relay.

That's why I always wire the power to the relay to an ignition wire behind the fuse box so that the relay is only active when the ignition is turned on with the key at the tumbler. If your wire a
12V+ constant, the relay is active at all times, it is constantly sending current to the relay, which burns it out quicker and causes a slow drain on your battery. By connecting it in line as a sensory wire that gets it's power from an ignition lead the following happens:

1. lights are only able to be turned on with your after market switch when your key is turned to ignition at your tumbler
2. the lights will go out when you disengage ignition at the tumbler (Shutting the truck off)
3. the relay will only be active when the truck is running and/or when the ignition is engaged; extending the life of the relay as well as your battery.

 

[98_k1500]

I need the OP to tell me exactly how he wants the lights to function, and i'll supply him a simple wiring diagram for them. You can make them only on constant with the lights on, switchable with the lights on, constant with the ignition on, switchable with the ignition on, switchable with the headlights and ignition both on, or switchable on their own (not recommended because you WILL forget that they are on). You never want a switch on the load wire (between the battery and lights). This is what the relay is for. It will burn up the switch. You want the switch on the trigger wire on the relay.

 

[gmfan454]

I can take some pics when im home and post them here for you to follow

That would be awesome man. Thank you!

 

[gmfan454]

I need the OP to tell me exactly how he wants the lights to function, and i'll supply him a simple wiring diagram for them. You can make them only on constant with the lights on, switchable with the lights on, constant with the ignition on, switchable with the ignition on, switchable with the headlights and ignition both on, or switchable on their own (not recommended because you WILL forget that they are on). You never want a switch on the load wire (between the battery and lights). This is what the relay is for. It will burn up the switch. You want the switch on the trigger wire on the relay.

The kit came with a switch that you can mount. I do want it to run off of that switch if you guys do not think it would cause me issues. I want to be able to turn them on and off without any other lights needing to be on.

 

[98_k1500]

ok, would you like the ignition to have to be on so when you turn the key off, they go off, or would you like them totally independent?

 

[98_k1500]

That's why I always wire the power to the relay to an ignition wire behind the fuse box so that the relay is only active when the ignition is turned on with the key at the tumbler. If your wire a
12V+ constant, the relay is active at all times, it is constantly sending current to the relay, which burns it out quicker and causes a slow drain on your battery. By connecting it in line as a sensory wire that gets it's power from an ignition lead the following happens:

1. lights are only able to be turned on with your after market switch when your key is turned to ignition at your tumbler
2. the lights will go out when you disengage ignition at the tumbler (Shutting the truck off)
3. the relay will only be active when the truck is running and/or when the ignition is engaged; extending the life of the relay as well as your battery.

If it is wired correctly, it will not cause a current draw, and it will use the wire to the battery + to turn the lights on. That is the purpose of the relay. It transfers the load from the battery to the lights without going thru a switch. Your setup uses the battery + to activate the relay. This protects your fog light switch, but it is still pulling the load from the ignition switch, which will eventually burn it up.

 

[98_k1500]

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The relay in this diagram is not doing anything, what is the difference in hooking the ignition wire to the switch, then to the lights? If you leave the switch on with this setup and turn off the truck, the relay will stay energized and will cause a current draw.

 

[98_k1500]

When the OP replies to my question, I'll see if i can help both of you out. Relays are tricky little boogers sometimes, but can do amazing things, like make a power window go up and down with a single 3 position switch. They are highly useful for transferring load to protect electrical components.

 

[gmfan454]

ok, would you like the ignition to have to be on so when you turn the key off, they go off, or would you like them totally independent?

I would like them to be totally independant. But if it is much easier to wire it with the ignition turned on, I will do that since my electrical knowledge is pretty much null.

 

[98_k1500]

Ok, this is going to be simple. First off, you do need a 4 pin relay. You can get this at any parts store or pull one out of a junk car if you have one laying around. Some relays have a mounting tab, just depends on where you get it. A 5 pin relay will work, but it will have a unused terminal. You will need 4 female spade connectors that fit the terminals on the relay. I am trying to get you some pictures together but my pics are not working at the moment, so lets see how good i can explain everything. Before you start, unhook your battery cables. Next, you need a battery + source and a inline fuse. The large bolt on the back of the alternator is a ideal spot for this. Remove the nut on the back of the alternator that holds the large charge wire on. You will need a ring terminal that will fit on the stud. Crimp the ring terminal to the inline fuse. Put this on the stud on the back of the alternator and replace the nut. So, so far, we have a hot wire attached to the back of the alternator with a fuse in it. Now you need to decide where to mount your relay. Anywhere is ok (under the hood behind the headlight or on the fender somewhere is where i would put it) , just as long as its away from the exhaust/belt/fan so it won't get damaged. Now, you need the single wire that comes from the inline fuse to be 2 wires. The best way to do this is crimp a butt connector to the inline fuse, and crimp 2 wires to the other end of the butt connector. One of these wires needs to be at least the same size as the wire that came with your lights, the other one can be smaller, it doesn't really matter. So, now we have the wire we put on the back of the alternator, a inline fuse, then it splits into 2 wires. The length of these wires will be determined by where you mount your switch and your relay. At this point, the larger of the 2 wires (if they are the same size it won't matter) goes to the relay. It will attach to pin 30. It will be numbered on the bottom of the relay. The easiest way to do this is with a female spade connector that will slide on the pin on the relay. The other (smaller) wire will go to your switch. So now we have a wire on the back of the alternator, an inline fuse, then it splits into 2 wires, one goes to pin 30 on your relay, the other goes to your fog light switch. Next, you need a wire from your switch to pin 86 on your relay. In the diagram that came with your lights, this is the terminal on the switch that your lights are connected to. You can hook up the ground to the fog light switch if you want the light to work inside it- totally optional. Pin 85 on your relay gets grounded. So now we have a wire off the back of the alternator, a fuse, it splits into 2 wires, one goes to pin 30 on your relay, the other goes to your switch, then from your switch to pin 86 on your relay. Pin 85 on your relay is grounded. All this leaves is pin 87. if it is a 5 pin relay, terminal 87A is not used. Connect pin 87 to the + wires on your lights. Ground the - wires on your lights. If you can draw this and reply with a pic of the drawing, I can tell you if it is correct or not, I would draw you a diagram but my pics are not working. Thats all it is to it, you will have a reliable way to turn your fog lights on and off whenever you want without burning up any switches.