Fog Light wiring issues... advice?!?

I thought I'd buy an aftermarket wiring harness and try to use that instead of figuring out all the wiring on my own. Basically save time and 100's of questions.

Well that seems to have backfired. I now have it hooked up just under my hood to make sure it works. I have a voltmeter and checked continuity from the power wire to the lights and have power all the way through. (Kragen 4" 35w HID) But the stubborn bastards won't turn on. I had a faulty relay but they sent me a new one and with the voltmeter I can tell that I have power from the battery to the switch to the relay. From the power into the relay with the switch on I have continuity out to the fuse and out to the lights... but they still won't turn on.

I took the inline fuse out which was a 10amp and boosted it to 30amp but still nothing. I also think the 30amp fuse is way oversized but I'm not too knowledgeable about that stuff.

The relay is a 40A 14VDC with the coil at 12VDC.

I'm not sure I understand what the issue is. If you have any ideas I'm all ears... even if that includes scrap it and do it on my own. I'm sick of fighting with these lights.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

Sounds like somethings wrong from your switch to your relay. Are you sure you're hooked up to the right side? Also, do you have your ground hooked up on the relay? You should have at minimum 4 wires on your relay...

Switch input
Switch ground
fog power in
fog power out


Use the fuse that came with it. Do the math, total wattage divided by 12 or 13 volts. You're running 35w HID's, thats a total of 70 watts, 10A would be a safe fuse, allowing the caps a little extra current to charge on initial hookup. Fuses are there to protect the truck, the wiring, the electronics, and especially you. Should you keep a larger fuse installed, you run the increased risk of fire, or damage to the system.

 

If you are setup for TW live, upload a pic for us. I'm sure someone could help.

 

text message me tomorrow after 10 am and i can help you out by walking you threw your setup... or figuring out a new one for you.

 

wow dude, you looking to get phone bombed? You just posted your number for the whole world to see lol

 

Its just the internet... its safe... plus how do you know that i am not just a lonely old fart wishing people would call me???

Good advice, ill just pm him.

 

Agree with this, but want to try and add clarity to the relay terminals, it sounds like you have mixed something up there.

Standard relay terminal numbers are usually stamped into the relay: Terminal 30 goes to the battery. You should have your inline fuse installed in this wire, as close to the battery as possible. Terminal 87 goes to your lights. Terminals 85 and 86 are the relay's "coil". The coil is just an electromagnet that pulls the relay's switch contacts closed. A relay is just a big switch, controlled by another smaller, manual switch. Ground either one of the two terminals 85 or 86, connect the other one to the output of your dash mounted switch. If there is a terminal labeled 87a, don't use that one. It has no application for a standard light install such as yours.

Each light should also be grounded. A lighted switch will have it's own ground also. There should be a positive wire going into the dash mounted switch also. The positive wire going into the switch should also be fused. A small fuse such as a three or five amp is plenty for that one.

DO NOT UPSIZE THE FUSE. That's how fires happen.

 

I was really hoping no one would see this and I could skate by without admitting how stupid I was haha ...

After boiling in frustration because of the bad relay the first time, then getting a new on a week later and rewiring it all only to find it wouldn't work. I rewired a majority of the kit with 14 gauge wire and it still wouldn't work. Turns out I had the fuse running from the relay to the fuse then to the negative terminal of the battery switched that over to positive and it's working like a champ.

But I can't find the 10 amp fuse it came with so now I'm running a 15 but will replace it today. I do have a 7.5 and 5 as well. Should I use one of those?

Thanks for your advice guys I really appreciate it!

 

You could try the 7.5.... it will probably work. If you blow it...get a 10. 15 is pushing it....

 

Alright cool. I'll work with the 7.5 then.

 

most times...
a failure can be traced to a poor ground.

 

Just so future viewers know. Two 35W HID Kragen lights cannot be powered by a 7.5 amp fuse. Too weak stupid thing popped. 10 amp works though

 

Probably because of the ballasts. A slow blow fuse might have done the job but 10A is reasonable. . Good to hear you got it working.

 

For anyone as new to this as me... The add-a-fuse wiring method is an awesome idea. However, when you take the fuse out and put in the add-a-fuse remember you need to put what ever you took out plus another small fuse for the switch to operate. I took out the fuse to my Acc which is a 7.5 amp fuse. Then I plugged the add-a-fuse into the Acc space and put two 5 amp fuses into the add-a-fuse. If you simply put the 7.5 into the add-a-fuse it won't work.

At least that's what happened with me. Mine said 10amp max so I didn't want to over do it.

Oh and when you pull the stock fuse out and realize its tiny not just mini... Don't worry ya didn't break the ends off. They are just that small.

 

If you're talking about one of these:

Then the bottom fuse needs to be the same size as the one that was originally in the fuse slot. The top one is the one powering whever you connected to the wire. You also have to make sure these are oriented the correct way when you hook them up in order to function correctly. If you install them backwards, power gets drawn through the bottom fuse, then through the top fuse before getting to your accessory, adding a load to your original fuse.

 

Yea that's what I'm talking about. But I didn't have a 2.5 amp fuse so I took out the 7,5 and put in two 5 amp fuses. Seems to be working. Is that not a good idea?

 

If there was a 7 amp fuse in the location you're using, there should be a 7 amp fuse in the bottom of the add-a-circuit and whatever you choose for the top. You've undersized the base circuit's fuse. It's not dangerous to undersize a fuse as it will just blow on you more frequently, I was just pointing it out to save you the headache down the road. It's dangerous to oversize a fuse.

More importantly, you have to make sure they're installed in the correct orientation. In my picture above, the prong oppositte the wire needs to be on the load side. If it's backwords, you're making the base fuse take the load for both circuits. This isn't a safety issue, it could just lead to a pre-mature blown fuse down the road.

 

Alright I see what you're saying. So what I'm doing is working but not quite the right way.

I'll straighten it out. Thanks.