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DIY: Wiring after-market lights

Discussion in 'Technical Chat' started by rhoppas, Mar 6, 2008.

  1. Mar 26, 2008 at 10:07 AM
    #21
    RedruM29

    RedruM29 Blinking Car Mod...

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    Just enough, and never enough
    i ordered the toyota in dash switches they fit like OEM
     
  2. Mar 30, 2008 at 10:57 AM
    #22
    Mellow

    Mellow Well-Known Member

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    Not sure if anyone has found this yet or if it's in this thread but I couldn't find it.

    If you use the 3rd slot (should be unused-yellow arrow in pic) It will power up when your turn your parking lights on so you can leave your fog/driving lights on and they will turn off when you turn your lights off.

    InteriorFuseBlock.jpg
     
    HillJackJDS likes this.
  3. Mar 30, 2008 at 12:17 PM
    #23
    rhoppas

    rhoppas [OP] Land of Oz

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    Good find Mellow. That should be helpful for those doing fog lights instead of offroad lights. I assume it also goes off when you turn off the ignition?? If that is the case you could do without the switch all together for fogs.
     
  4. Mar 30, 2008 at 1:08 PM
    #24
    Mellow

    Mellow Well-Known Member

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    Nope, they are associated with the lights so as long as the parking lights are on, so will this fuse location, ignition or not.
     
  5. Mar 30, 2008 at 1:21 PM
    #25
    piercedtiger

    piercedtiger Devout Atheist

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    So you still need a switch to shut them off if you leave the headlights on? OR does opening the driver door turn them off with the headlights?

    Personally, I prefer to splice into a wire that only has power when the key is turned to ACC or ON so they never run the risk of running the battery down as long as I take the key with me.

    Then again this might be nice if you don't want an extra switch on the dash.
     
  6. Mar 31, 2008 at 5:38 AM
    #26
    Mellow

    Mellow Well-Known Member

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    Yes, I still have a switch. The fuse tap goes to the relay so the lights can be turned on/off either with the dash switch or, if the dash switch is on, they will go off when the truck lights (parking/tail) go off.

    If there is an auto light off option on your truck then, since this is tied into the parking/tail lights, they should also go off.

    If you don't want a switch on the dash at all then you'd had to do something a bit different like bypass the switch itself.

    I like this option because it functions like the previous vehicles I've had with driving lights - you turn on your car's lights and the driving lights come on too - turn them off - the driving lights go off as well and the driving lights can be deactivated using the dash switch in case you have a bulb go out and you don't want the cyclops look... LOL
     
  7. May 11, 2008 at 8:34 AM
    #27
    rhoppas

    rhoppas [OP] Land of Oz

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    Welcome to TW, Leesjoy. I wish I could be of more help to you. My truck came with factory fog lights and I haven't really looked at them that close. I am not sure what is available after-market. I am sure there are probably several people on here who have done what you are planning. Hopefully they will throw in their 2 cents of advice. I am sure you could wire them the same way I did my offroad lights. It's really the same thing, you are just mounting them in a different location. If you don't get a response in this thread you should probably post your question in the 2nd Gen thread. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out...
     
  8. Jun 19, 2008 at 4:26 PM
    #28
    MikeS.

    MikeS. Well-Known Member

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    Nice work, thanks for this.
     
  9. Jun 21, 2008 at 4:59 PM
    #29
    rhoppas

    rhoppas [OP] Land of Oz

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    You are welcome Mike. If you use these instructions show us what you have done...
     
  10. Jul 21, 2008 at 6:11 AM
    #30
    philly74

    philly74 Member

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    just getting started, do not copy haha... tailgate light bar aka lights of fire, LED projector Head lights, LED Tail lights, LED bar in Hood scoop,
    hey ... i got aftermarket halo head lights ... and i can't get them to work ....
    [​IMG]

    when i got them installed they hooked everything up to the signal light...
    not what i wanted... the guys are stupid but they are going to fix it for free !!! so i just wanna tell them how to do it... just let me know if u think this is going to work...

    as u can see the 3 LEDs are on a series
    and i cant get all 3 LEDs to work all at once...
    the only way i can get the LEDs to work is if in one of the slots i have a bulb...
    the bulb doesn't light up ...
    but the 2 LEDs that is in the series will ...
    if i try to hook up all 3 LEDs in the series not one will light up ...
    now remember the eyebrow light is also hooked up to the the signal light
    and it will run a LED or a Bulb ...
    so the way i see it right now is
    the Signal light can run 3 LED's at once
    but not in a series ...

    so what i was thinking of doing was to cut the wires in the series and have each LED slot on its own !!!

    i got 3 orange or amber LEDs so i would like to keep the 3 LEDs hook up to the signal light ... put the halos on there own power supply with the eyebrow light

    this should work no??? or any ideas???
     
  11. Jul 21, 2008 at 9:03 AM
    #31
    it's in coma

    it's in coma Well-Known Member

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    would this method work for all the off road lights... i was thinking on getting the KC HID lights so...
     
  12. Jul 21, 2008 at 7:06 PM
    #32
    rhoppas

    rhoppas [OP] Land of Oz

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    Unfortunately I have no experience with halo headlights so I would not feel comfortable giving advice. I suspect the LEDs are wired in series because they do not need 12v each but again that is only a guess. Hopefully someone on here who has installed these before will chime in with some good suggestions. Sorry...
     
  13. Jul 21, 2008 at 7:10 PM
    #33
    rhoppas

    rhoppas [OP] Land of Oz

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    I feel bad for not having any suggestions for you or Philly74, but again I have no experience with HID lights so I would not want to give advice that may be wrong. I believe HIDs use a ballast and require more current than ordinary lights. Hopefully someone on here will chime in with some experienced help for you...
     
  14. Jul 22, 2008 at 5:32 AM
    #34
    philly74

    philly74 Member

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    just getting started, do not copy haha... tailgate light bar aka lights of fire, LED projector Head lights, LED Tail lights, LED bar in Hood scoop,
    its ok man the LEDs are 194 12 v what ever 194 means i think its size !!! lol im not good with electrical mumbo jumbo lol
     
  15. Sep 8, 2008 at 3:39 PM
    #35
    Janster

    Janster Old & Forgetful

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    Exactly!! I just ordered a switch from this place - same switch that everyone is using. I was surprised to see that it's an actual Genuine TOYOTA part.
    It's Toyota part # 00550-35976 In-Dash Switch.

    Now if only my fog lights would get here!!
     
  16. Sep 29, 2008 at 7:02 PM
    #36
    climber-420

    climber-420 I love tight cracks

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    So the lights on the brushguard blow a fuse everytime i put a new one in. I think there is a short. what do i do
     
  17. Sep 30, 2008 at 6:35 PM
    #37
    rhoppas

    rhoppas [OP] Land of Oz

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    Definitely sounds like you have a short somewhere. I would trace each of the wires and make sure you have them plugged into the correct lug on the relay. Also make sure you have a good ground. Is this happening with the switch off, or only when the switch is turned on?
     
  18. Sep 30, 2008 at 6:39 PM
    #38
    rhoppas

    rhoppas [OP] Land of Oz

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    How many lights are you running and what wattage are they? How big a fuse are you using?
     
  19. Oct 2, 2008 at 8:48 AM
    #39
    climber-420

    climber-420 I love tight cracks

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    The truck came with the brushguard and lights. Only 2 off road lights it looks like from walmart,autozone...etc The fuse that was in there was a 15, i put a 25, then a 40 in there and they all blew almost innstantly. I think the wiring job is a bit shotty. I think the wattage on the lights is 50watts.
     
  20. Oct 2, 2008 at 5:47 PM
    #40
    rhoppas

    rhoppas [OP] Land of Oz

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    I am not sure what to tell you except to trace each wire and look for a place that is touching the metal of the truck. Pay special attention to the wires hooked to the positive terminal of the battery. I suspect that one of those is grounding out to the truck metal. If the lights are wired directly to the battery, not using a relay, there aren't that many wires and it might be just as quick to just run new wires. You can waste alot of time tracing wires down. That way you also know it is done right. It is not that hard to do, it just takes a little time (a good Saturday afternoon project). :)
     

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