2023 Auto High Beam + Light Bar

Hi Dave:

There have been references to this in previous threads, but I want to make sure I am ordering the right thing from FBC Harness Solutions.

To summarize, I am an EMT in a rural area and frequently respond to medical emergencies in my personal vehicle (which is a 2023 TRD Off-Road with the premium trim package). I have a 32" CaliDesigns light bar behind the grill which turns out is super useful for (a) finding poorly marked houses and rural driveways in the middle of the night and (b) discouraging deer from jumping out in front of me. (I will thank commenters in advance about warning me of the dangers of using this lightbar on road and note that I have the required permits from the state and local PD that allow its use.)

I, of course, try to turn the light bar off if I see oncoming traffic (which is rare, to be honest), but I'm not always fast enough. Hence I would like to wire the light bar into the auto high beam circuit so I can use the auto high-beam off signal to turn off the light bar automatically and quickly.

I think I need: https://fbchs.square.site/product/t...true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=4 with the "high beam only" option, but would like to ask you to confirm this.

Thanks.

 

Your truck can with OEM LED from the factory? Not halogen headlights?

The ideal solution would be a 3 way rocker switch for on / off / auto. I just got 3 in and I have one slated for a similar setup with aux driving lights. I could reserve one for you and then we just need to determine length to the light bar input and connector style.

For the manual trigger you might want that ignition switched so if you forget to turn it off it won’t drain the battery. Unless you want to run the light bar without high beams on while the vehicle is off.

For just the trigger, an LED T w high beam only gets it done but you’d need some way to avoid the manual switch backfeeding high beams so that’s typically done with diodes.

How comfortable are you with DIY vs PnP?

 

Thanks Dave.

Yes, my truck has the OEM LED lights.

I love the 3-way switch idea. My original thought was that if I wanted the light bar to be alway on I would just shut off the auto high-beam switch but this, of course, implies the high-beams would be on too.

I am using OEM-style switches in the blank slots to the left of the steering wheel, so if you have a 3-way switch that will fit in the "tall" style hole, that would be awesome.

Ideally, I do need to run the lightbar with truck off as I use it for scene lighting. However, thinking about it a bit, this is usually just so I can get myself into the house without getting killed by inevitable crap all over the yard; if the light bar could also be tied to the auto head-light off system this would solve both problems.

I'm very comfortable with DIY (I'm also an EE.). In fact, I was going to write a little program to grab signals off the CAN bus and drive a relay but figured that was overkill

So what are next steps?

Thanks,

Mike

 

So it’s actually easier to have the “on” work off battery rather than ignition.

the switch I like is a small not a tall, next time I recommend 3 pedals as that comes with the tall populated with clutch start cancel

options at this point:
1. Buy just the T from me, switch from anytimebackupcamera and hack away, use diodes and integrate with existing light bar harness. You also likely want to solve for switch illumination, potentially with Kyle’s harness sold by Guild Outfitters to T the cargo connector.
2. Pay a bunch more for something plug and play from me, wait for me to build it, should be a quicker install.

You can do butt splices in cab since that’s weatherproof but you want something sealed for the engine bay. If you don’t have crimpers I recommend heat shrink butt connectors which are solder and seal in one.

https://www.anytimebackupcamera.com/collections/switches

 

More detail on heat shrink connectors:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/howto-connect-ebay-grille-lights.759814/

 

Also if you want me to throw all the parts I’d use in a box and send I can, but you’d have to then buy a few different crimpers and you might need a little practice. Some of the small ones can be a mild pain.

I tend to prefer to yank the OG harness without hacking it up so it can be included with a sale if you swap light bars. But it’s definitely more economical to use it. I just like sealed relays and most of the harnesses I’ve seen are unsealed.

 

So, a few more details. I currently have a tall SPST switch (which is illuminated from the dash light power) and fed by a separate 12V low-current fused signal; output of this switch drives a 30A relay, also on a separate fused circuit, that goes to the light bar. The relays are in a waterproof box under the hood, which also has all the stuff to power the siren and strobes - see attached - the six relays under the fuse block.

My thought was to simply cut the +12V out of the current relay to the light bar and insert another relay which would be controlled by the signal to the high beams. This assumes I can get +12V when the high beams are on. I think if I did this I would avoid the need for a diode, but I may not understand the issue here. Please let me know if you think this makes sense and if the "T" you reference can provide this signal.

I assume when you wrote "1. but just the T from me..." you mean "1. BUY just the T from me". If this is the case, which "T" specifically are you suggesting?

Thanks,

Mike

PS: I've got crippers, heat shrink, Deutsch connectors and all the other required goodies.

 

I see fuses but don’t see relays.

if you want high beams _or_ the switch you need diodes or more relays. If you want high beams only and ditch the switch then you’re fine. What you don’t want is the switch turning on your high beams, which is what diodes would prevent.

 

Your first post has the item of interest to grab the high beam signal.

 

Personally, given the level of effort in that fuse box alone, I’d want on/off/auto so you can control this from the cab and use auto high beams with or without the light bar. It’s not much harder that way. The ABC switches are nice. They just don’t come in tall. But MESO and guild have options for adding small switch spots in the driver cubby or lower switch panel.

 

Awesome.

The relays are below the fuses in the photo above.

Also, I already run a two-up switch from CH4x4 that allow me to control my front- or rear-facing response lights on independently.

I will order the T from your site now.

Thanks,

Mike