ok, so i did some aux lights to my truck.. the original way i wired them up they work fine... however the second way when i added to the circuit, bolws fuses now if both switches are on... let me attach some pic...

my plan is to have the circuit run with either switch on... but it appears that with the in cab switch on, regardless if the the tapped in high beam wire is that the fuse blows... not exactly sure whats going on... maybe someone can help me out...

the bottom pic that is labeled shows the way it was when it worked fine... the pic above it that is not labeled is what is blowing my fuse.. the wire i have tapped off of the highbeam switch (whether on or off and its the red/green wire) seems to blow the fuse if the in cab switch is on... make sense to anyone? did i wire it up the wrong way?

 

you have t oclick on the thumbnail otehrwise you cant see the pic

 

Sorry, I looked at it, thought I could figure it out but am having a brain fart. Originally thinking the positive from the battery is shorting with the wire from the headlight, is the headlight wire positive or ground?

 

i dont really know... i beleive its the one that you are supposed t otap for the highbeams... maybe i got the wrong one... but under regular lights, when i hit the highbeams, the aux lights come on.....

but no matter when i turn on the incab switch, the ligths light for a split second, then the fuse blows....

 

According to the Haynes manual wiring diagram, it looks like the high-beam wire is Red-Green (RG) on early models, and Red-Yellow (RY) on later models. Ground looks to be Red-White (RW) for the left headlight, and Red-Blue or Red-Black (RB) for the right headlight.
Hey, if you get it figured out, please post your findings. I'd like to wire my fogs to my low beams and my driving lights to my high-beams.

 

the tapped wire i tapped into is the red/green... i am guessing that i tapped into the relay signal wire in the wrong spot then? but i dont know where else to put it

 

I understand the principle of a relay, but I know nothing about how they hook up to lights, yet. Just thought I'd post what the schematic showed. I hope you get it figured out.

 

well the relay has 4 things going, constant 12V power, a low wattage signal to trip the relay, a ground and power out to the lights

 

If tapping into the stock headlight wiring, you need to account for the fact that it is switched ground. That is the light (high or low beam) is turned on by grounding one side of the filament, the other side has a constant 12V supplied to it. If you want to add a circuit off that, the best bet is to make it switched ground as well. You may also need to add diodes to prevent interactions between the switches and relays and the headlights.

 

If you run the wiring like it says on a wiring harness diagram, there should be three wires out the back of the switch itself that you mount inside the car on your dash. One of these goes direct to the relay, one is a ground, and the third is a power. The directions will say to tap into a constant 12volt power source in your fuse box. Instead of doing this, tap that wire into the wire for the low or high beam, which ever you want the aux lights to go on with. In my 98 runner, i tapped my fogs into the red and yellow wire in that bundle of wires under my steering column in the dash. This will give you the option of putting your aux lights on with the low beams. In doing this, you can't put the aux lights on by themselves, they will only come on when the low beams come on, when you have the switch on. This is how my fogs are wired, like i said, and this is how i will wire my procomps when it gets warm enough not to freeze my nuts off being outside without the comforts of a garage. I hope this makes sense, let me know if it doesn't and i'll clear up any questions i can.

I"m pretty sure that i will have to tap into the red and green wire for my high beams. That is the color of the wire that is in the plug right behind the headlight bulb. I'm also waiting for a factory style switch i just got off ebay.

 

no my switch has an on position and an off position... no otehr contacts, it is not a 3 way switch

here is what i am doing, i have 3 aux lights.... i want them to come on with the highbeams

i want them to come on with the switch inside the cab.... should i wire up 2 circuits to do this? that way they wont interfere with each other? really, with all the work i have done already, wont be too much more work....

 

Go get 2 diodes from radioshack, 1N4001 or 1N4002 or 1N4003, or 1N4004. Any of those part numbers will work.

Wire up as shown

 

ok i know nothing about electronics.. wahts the diode do? and where would i instal it? is it like a one way check valve so the power doesnt backtrack and fry my fuse?

 

Relays? Want to know about relays? Then this site is for you:
http://www.the12volt.com/relays/relays.asp

Diodes? Not too sure about what that is either, then here's another link:
http://www.the12volt.com/diodes/diodes.asp

the12volt.com is an amazing source for anyone wanting to do mods!

 

Yep, it is a one-way device, only allows current to flow the way you want it and not both ways. You want to install them so your switch only turns on your aux. relay (and not the rest of the lights) and that the high or low beam wire can turn on the relay. A Google search for Bosch Headlight or Fog Light Relay wiring can probably point you to a wiring diagram for what you want to do.

 

Expand the image in my previous post for the wiring diagram.

pm me if you need further explanation.

 

ok the aux lights work fine.... when i hit the highbeam switch, the highbeams come on with the aux lights... however...

befroe i added the aux lights, i had the incab switch and it worked fine...

now with the aux lights on, it blows the 20 amp fuse if the switch is flipped, regardless if the headlights are on or off......

 

Sounds like a grounding issue OR the way you wired the relay is not correct. Suggest you check that 12volt web page for examples as it may have an example along the lines of what you're doing.

 

relay is wired fine... the problem only sufaced after i tapped the red/green highbeam wire into the switch side of the relay, that wire is directly tapped into the wire going to the relay from the incab switch

 

It may be a long shot but it sounds like the amperage is too much for the aux lights... what is the current draw on the headlights before adding the the aux light? How about afterwards? The ground looks fine to me according to your diagram.