Switches and wiring

[Rexsname]

For Christmas I received a pair of KC lights. A fog and a driving light. I would like to have them to work in two ways.......On whenever I want them on and on only when the headlights are in the "right" position.

Fog light on only with the low beams and Driving light only when the high beams are on. That way, If I have the high beams and the driving light on I'll be able to dim them back to low beams with only a flip of the turn signal stalk.

I'm hoping that the on-off-on switches here www.4x4mods.com will work for this.

I am a hopeless noobie when it comes to wiring and electricity. Is what I want to do even possible? Am I making this overly complex?

REX



I guess the Fog light could be on-off only.....Fog lights shouldn't blind oncoming traffic......

 

[pray4surf]

The secret to this is to obtain the switch power from the low beam power wire for the fogs, and from the high beam power wire for the driving lights.

I posted up a thread over at TTORA which identified which wires are for which circuit. I hope this helps...

http://www.ttora.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1136852&postcount=1

Assuming you are installing these on your Tacoma in the avatar....

 

[Rexsname]

SO would I need to use a on-off-on switch? Or would a regular on-off work just as well for what I described earlier?


Thanks very much for the link and wireing diagram:wings:


REX

 

[Shawn]

DO NOT, order anything from 4x4mods.com, you will not recieve your switches or your money back. And if you do it will be months. I don't know how this guy stays in business. Do a search on them at www.pirate4x4.com. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-544214.html

 

[pray4surf]

SO would I need to use a on-off-on switch? Or would a regular on-off work just as well for what I described earlier?


Thanks very much for the link and wireing diagram:wings:


REX

Just a regular on-off (Single Pole Single Throw) switch will do...

Here's a whole row of mine

 

[pray4surf]

OK - I've gone over to the website you were looking at, and a cursory look and I don't see a SPST switch listed ????

Were you considering an separate switch for each set of lights?

You may want to try Radio Shack - here is a great assortment
http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?numProdsPerPage=60&x=10&y=16&categoryId=2032278&pg=1&retainProdsInSession=1

I got mine off the shelf in Pep Boys...

 

[vengeful]

You can do this a couple different ways.

1) If you want the lights on ONLY when the described headlights are on, and ALWAYS when those lights are on, you won't need any switches. You can use the circuits for the headlights and high-beams to fire the relays.

2) However, if you would like to have control over when the lights are on, or don't want or need them on with the headlights/high-beams all the time, you will need switches, but an on-off SPST switch will do.

It does get a little bit more complicated from there, and you'll definitely need a relay for each light.

Your basic 4-post relay has 2 inputs (trigger, from your switch, and Power) and 2 outputs (ground and the power output to whatever you're powering). For the first example above, you'd simply tap into your high-beam trigger wire (the power wire to the high beams), and connect that to the switch post on the relay, then wire the rest of the relay as prescribed.

For the second example, it is a bit more complex, but a 3-position DPDT On-Off-On switch, while not absolutely necessary, does make it a LOT easier to wire, and you'll only need one relay per light. It's probably more cost effective to get the On-Off-On switch (you can get them anywhere, even *gasp* Walmart), than to use a second relay. A basic 3Position switch has 3 connections on the back, which you would connect like so to have the switch thrown up for always on, down for high beams, middle for off (middle is always off): top - switched or constant 12V lead for always on; middle - output to the relay; bottom - high-beam lead for high-beam on. You can always reverse the top and bottom if you want the throw of the switch differently (up for high beams and down for always on.

That is exactly how I wired my bumper lights, and it works GREAT. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Disclaimer: Be sure you use fuses an all of your constant leads, and be sure you disconnect the battery while doing any electrical work. I do not claim to be some sort of electrical Einstein. I am in now way affiliated with Albert Einstein or his estate or beneficiaries. The content of this email is intended for its recipients only, and is deemed confidential and proprietary. Use at own risk. Do not use in water. Do not submerge. Warranty void if removed :088:

 

[Rexsname]

So, if 4x4mods.com is a bad place to shop from, where would you suggest that I buy switches that look good. I hate tacky looking switches. They don't have to look like the ARB switches but I don't want the inside of my truck to look like it was done by a 17 year old kid.

I chose those switches because they are available in several different labels, are there others?

To answer an earlier question, Yes, Two lights...two switches..two relays.



REX

 

[KG6BWS]

DO NOT, order anything from 4x4mods.com, you will not recieve your switches or your money back. And if you do it will be months. I don't know how this guy stays in business. Do a search on them at www.pirate4x4.com. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-544214.html

damn i never heard about any of that. i liked those switches too.

 

[Ron B]

I've never used this guy, but has some cool looking stuff, some vehicle specific:

http://www.12voltguy.com/web/

rb

 

[ntsqd]

Those switches on the 4X4Mods site are Carling Switch's "Contura II" model line and are available from many places. Everything that you ever wanted to know about Contura switches: http://www.carlingtech.com/pdf/CarlingSW_V2_3.pdf
Allied Electrical carries them and is probably where most of the 4WD specific vendors get them from. Note the quantity discounts, they're geared to sell volume but they'll sell you one switch if that's all that you want.

Assuming that Taco's are wired like earlier Toyota's they are a bit different than domestics in their head light wiring. They use 3 relays. The first is turned on by the head light switch and powers the headlights. Then either of the remaining two relays are turned on by the high-low switch setting. Which ever is turned on grounds that set of head light elements. :Wow1:
So due to voltage drop where you choose to pick up a trigger for your relays becomes important to the operation of your system and to the headlights.
I think that the easiest way to tap in would be to also do the high current head light wiring/relay mod as well (like that which is done for on earlier models for high wattage H4 bulbs). Then you have non-OE wires to tap into and don't risk causing a problem with the truck's wiring. Obviously it is possible to tap into the OE wiring and have a fault-free mod, but do this with care and study.

EDIT: Just noticed that Waytech Wire also carries the Contura switches.
http://order.waytekwire.com/scategory/M37/260/200

 

[KG6BWS]

for my lights i just used a splice and tapped into the hibeam wire just behind the headlight.

 

[Rexsname]

My switches arrived yesterday from OTRATTW.com They are the Carling-Contura switches that look just like the ARB switches. Very fast shipping,good folks to deal with.


REX

 

[eugene]

try digikey or mouser, there are no quantity requirements, both just charge a handling charge for orders under $25 so its easy to just order a couple spare to bump over the $25 mark.

 

[slosurfer]

I've got a DPDT Carling rocker switch that I got from 12voltguy and hooked it up so that my LF's can be switched on whenever and then I can switch them the other way and they will go on and off with my highbeams. I actually have my "whenever" set up so that I have to at least have my parking lights on, that way I won't accidentally leave them on if on a daytime trailrun as my warning buzzer will sound.

These switches light up when the circuit is available, not when they are switched. For example, my lower light on the switch lights up when I have at least my parking lights on, letting me know that I can hit that side of the switch to get my lights on. When my highbeams are on, the upper light on the switch will also go on, letting me know that I can also use that side of the switch. Just an FYI as some people prefer the ones that light up once the switch is in use.

Definately check out 12voltguy and contact him if you don't see what you need on there as he can probably get it. He donates a ton of stuff to offroad events and is really involved with keeping trails open. He's also really helpful with answering your wireing questions.