Light wiring

I just installed a pair of ipf lights on my trucks bullbar. I wired them in to the high beams but am having second guesses. If I wired them to the running lights I could use them either with or without my high beams on.. the way I have it wired I need my high beams on to run the fogs. Not much help in the fog. Thoughts? How does everyone else have them wired?

 

Have you considered a separate harness/switch? Maximum flexibility and you can turn them on whenever you'd like.

 

I wired the switch for them right in to the high beam wire in the drivers side headlight. how would I wore them completely separately?

 

well, depending on the amp draw of the lights, you could wire from battery to the switch or any ACC +12v power supply then to the fogs. or better yet wire in a relay. a little safer since the relay can handle more amp draw then a switch can. again, depends on the amp draw of the lights. you can turn them on when ever you want

 

if you are using a switch + relay this is the correct method as factory "fog" lights should only be able to come on when the headlights are on. when high beams or headlights off you can't use them. check with your inspection rules to make sure they will not flag you if done incorrectly.

otherwise as suggested use the running lights wire to the relay. If you only have a wire from the headlight to the switch you are seriously drawing too much electric and will cause problems

 

Not your only option, but probably the easiest since it would be "plug and play":

$10 MICTUNING MIC-B1002 LED Light Bar Wiring Harness, Fuse 40A Relay On-off Waterproof Switch

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O72R7Z8
Pos/neg leads to the battery and to the lights and run the switch to your desired location in or on the truck.


BTW, you say you wired the switch into the highbeam wire? Do you mean to say you installed a switch in your cab separate from the high bean switch on the column and connected that to the high beam wire? Semantics might be confusing to some here that are trying to help.

 

Yes exactly. I have a separate switch in the cab.

 

do you have that switch connected to a relay? Or does the wire go from the headlight wire > switch > lights > ground?

 

To the relay first. I just want to be able to use my lights without needing my high beams on.

 

ok. then you need to switch the wire coming from your headlight wire to the running light wire. I can't remember the color off hand but maybe someone can chime in that has a diagram.

or you can run it straight from the battery and by pass needing to have lights on at all, but I think this would be less ideal.

 

Right on, thanks!

 

does anyone have "day time running lights?"
my stock 97 regular cab has a small metal switch below the steering wheel which toggles the headlights to behave automatically.
the switch doesn't look stock but I have been led to believe by people who have no reason to mislead me, that this was a stock option in 97...

 

DRL version of Tacoma has completely different circuit from non-DRL version. Maybe you have DRL version and the add-on switch is "cutting off" the famous "white green wire" disabling DRL. Because of the DRL circuit complexity it is easier to disable DRL in "DRL version" than adding DRL to "non-DRL version".

 

I could be wrong but I don't think DRL was available until '00 or '01 model? Not saying you can retrofit it but the circuits would be different for the years

 

OP, as others suggest, separate wiring is best. Then they are in your control.

If they are really fog lights, you'd only want to run them with low beams anyway, as the trucks with fogs are wired to do. High beams are bad news in fog conditions

If you are using some kind of driving light, you don't want them on in the fog, but you would with high beams.

 

DRL was standard in Canadian version since the day one (I mean since 95). Still the DRL version had quite complicated headlight circuit including DRL control unit (black box), DRL resistor and few more relays. In 95 non DRL Tacoma the headlight circuit is quite "primitive" and the thing I don't like at all is that the whole headlight current (that is 9Amp) goes through headlight switch instead of being switched by relay.