1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

Fog Light Install Help

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by Will Prerunner, Sep 13, 2009.

  1. Sep 13, 2009 at 1:05 AM
    #1
    Will Prerunner

    Will Prerunner [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    Member:
    #14975
    Messages:
    157
    Gender:
    Male
    Tempe Az
    Vehicle:
    01 TRD Prerunner Doublecab
    Trail-Gear rock sliders, OME Lift, kobalt tool box, herculined fender flares, CrossFab light bar, Deck plate Mod, Differential Breather Extension, 32"goodyear duratracs Pioneer 3 way speakers, alpine head unit, Boss Bass 600 sub, custom az pinstriping
    Just bought some cheap fog lights from Wal-Mart for 25 bucks and have a few questions about how to install them. I plan on mounting them below the bumber in the small holes.

    1. The directions say to wire up directly to the battery, is there a way to wire them in with the headlights or parking lights so if i forget to turn them off or something they wont completely drain the battery? I would really like to hook them up to the parking lights so anytime the car is on I can flip them on is this possible?

    2. I have heard people talk about grounding the wires how do you do this?

    3. I am still a little confused about relays is this the same thing as the on-off switch it came with?

    4. Where in the cab do you guys suggest mounting the on-off switch

    Thanks for the help
     
  2. Sep 13, 2009 at 10:41 AM
    #2
    MowTaco

    MowTaco Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2009
    Member:
    #22530
    Messages:
    3,817
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Matt
    Kansas
    Vehicle:
    16 Chevrolet Silverado
    I can't tell you much but grounding it is easy. Just bolt the ground wire to the body or frame or something else that is "grounded"
     
  3. Sep 13, 2009 at 11:09 AM
    #3
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2008
    Member:
    #6497
    Messages:
    112,751,503
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    FlimFlubberJAM
    Tenoe, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2019 Rubicon 4 Door,
    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    You can mount the switch in one of the OE blanks to the left of the steering wheel, on the dash. This diagram may help
    [​IMG]
     
  4. Sep 13, 2009 at 11:46 AM
    #4
    socal19

    socal19 TACOMA03

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2009
    Member:
    #13694
    Messages:
    363
    Gender:
    Male
    California
    Vehicle:
    03 tacoma pre runner
    2.5" Front spacers, 16inch wheelers steel wheels on 265-75-R16 BFG All Terrain, N-FAB prerunner bar, Flowmaster Exhaust
    I mounted my fogs on my bull bar I ran the wire straight to the battery and there's a switch in my truck it won't drain ur battery......mine are only for when I go out trailing...are u going to use yours for street driving or dezert
     
  5. Sep 13, 2009 at 12:47 PM
    #5
    Janster

    Janster Old & Forgetful

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2007
    Member:
    #1138
    Messages:
    14,339
    Gender:
    Female
    First Name:
    Jandy
    Lancaster, PA
    Vehicle:
    2016 GMC Canyon SLT w/ LineX and....
    If I remember correctly - ours are wired to the headlight power.
    You have to have atleast the parkers on to allow power to the fogs.
     
  6. Sep 13, 2009 at 12:58 PM
    #6
    epa4wd

    epa4wd Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2009
    Member:
    #14828
    Messages:
    2,323
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Eduardo
    Vehicle:
    2019 SR
    Clazzio Seat Covers OR Wheels 40% tint Side Steps KC Fog Lights
    The relay is not the switch but it works as a switch,
    Relay with these kits usually have 4 wires,

    #1) Ground
    #2) +12V from battery
    #3) +12V to the Fog Lights
    #4) + Wire That "Activates" the relay.

    When You Turn On the fog lights using the On/Off switch, the relay lets current flow from wire #2 to wire #3. It does this by giving current trough wire #4 to the relay, current flowing from wire #4 creates an electromagnetic field around a piece of metal which attracts another piece of metal, making a metal to metal contact that lets current from wire #2 continue its way trough wire #3. That is why you can hear relays click sometimes. Current from wire #4 is the current that the On/Off switch controls, if the source of this wire is connected to parking light or headlights it means you can only power the fog lights with the Switch on AND parking/headlighs on. So if you turn off your headlights but forget to turn off the switch, foglights will turn off anyway because its needs both conditions mentioned above to work. (this should answer question 1 and 3)


    Edit cool relay animation here
    http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/relay1.htm
     
  7. Sep 13, 2009 at 10:56 PM
    #7
    Will Prerunner

    Will Prerunner [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    Member:
    #14975
    Messages:
    157
    Gender:
    Male
    Tempe Az
    Vehicle:
    01 TRD Prerunner Doublecab
    Trail-Gear rock sliders, OME Lift, kobalt tool box, herculined fender flares, CrossFab light bar, Deck plate Mod, Differential Breather Extension, 32"goodyear duratracs Pioneer 3 way speakers, alpine head unit, Boss Bass 600 sub, custom az pinstriping
    Thanks for the replies and the diagrams. I'm going to try to hook it up tommorow when I get off school and work.
    From what you guys said it looks like it didnt come with a relay, just a fuse and a on off switch. I think I am just going to hook it up to the battery first and see if it works. For this I shouldnt need a relay right?

    I looked to the left of the steering wheel and I don't think I have any OE blanks, just the locker switch, then a switch that says ETC Power what is this? and then the rest is just solid dash. Below this is the fuse panel with all the fuses.

    Also where do you bring the wire through from under the hood into the cab. Down by the pedals it looks like there is only one whole about the size of a dime and it is already full of a bunch of small wires in a plastic casing. Do you have to drill a hole?


    I found this diagram below that seems pretty good, but I don't understand why the wire past the switch is going to the fusebox? Or what the indicator is?


    [​IMG]
     
  8. Sep 14, 2009 at 11:24 AM
    #8
    Will Prerunner

    Will Prerunner [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    Member:
    #14975
    Messages:
    157
    Gender:
    Male
    Tempe Az
    Vehicle:
    01 TRD Prerunner Doublecab
    Trail-Gear rock sliders, OME Lift, kobalt tool box, herculined fender flares, CrossFab light bar, Deck plate Mod, Differential Breather Extension, 32"goodyear duratracs Pioneer 3 way speakers, alpine head unit, Boss Bass 600 sub, custom az pinstriping
    Alright I just went out to try and hook them up real quick without mounting them or anything before I go to class and I didnt even get started. I couldnt get the negative battery terminal clamp off the battery. I havent messed with the battery since I got the truck and it has alot of corrosion on it. So I washed it off with warm water and baking soda, and tried to turn the nut, nothing, so I Got some Dw40 and soaked the whole thing and finally got it off, but the horsehoe piece still wont open, I tried prying it and tapping on it and nothing worked its like its welded shut. After about 30 min out in the heat I got impatient and pulled on the thing too hard and the whole metal rod that is the negative terminal pulled out of the battery:mad:. Any ideas for getting the clamp off.
     
  9. Sep 14, 2009 at 11:46 AM
    #9
    T@co_Pr3runn3r

    T@co_Pr3runn3r XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2009
    Member:
    #12767
    Messages:
    14,566
    Gender:
    Male
    <----------------->
    Vehicle:
    08 RC Prerunner SR5
    Damn, that sucks. I was only gonna suggest that you hook the pwr wire to something that at least has to have key on accessory so even if you forget to turn them off they still go off but would still work independent of parking/dims/hi beams.

    I would have to go with just getting new neg cable (and battery now) if the cable you have is that faunky. Break down & pay for an oem cable tho.
     
  10. Sep 14, 2009 at 10:51 PM
    #10
    Will Prerunner

    Will Prerunner [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    Member:
    #14975
    Messages:
    157
    Gender:
    Male
    Tempe Az
    Vehicle:
    01 TRD Prerunner Doublecab
    Trail-Gear rock sliders, OME Lift, kobalt tool box, herculined fender flares, CrossFab light bar, Deck plate Mod, Differential Breather Extension, 32"goodyear duratracs Pioneer 3 way speakers, alpine head unit, Boss Bass 600 sub, custom az pinstriping
    Went out and got a new battery, positive,and negative cables, a relay and some 12guage wire. These $25 Lights are up to $200 now, its crazy how quick stuff ads up.

    When I removed the battery, between it and the side of the truck was a rat nest. A damn rat has been living up under my battery, there was a bunch of bedding and rat poop and then some pumpkin seeds and little oranges. I guess I'm lucky he didnt chew through any of the wires right there. I drive it every day and its hot as hell under there so I don't see how he survived?

    I couldnt for the life of me figure out what the relay was for and then after rereading your guys post a few more times I finally get it. It keeps the high current and larger wires out from under the dash, under the dash there is just enough power to flip the switch so it helps protect against electrical short circuits. I think?

    I will post a pic when I finish them up tommorow once I get off school.
     
  11. Sep 15, 2009 at 1:51 PM
    #11
    ubermx5

    ubermx5 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2008
    Member:
    #6783
    Messages:
    264
    Santa Clara CA
    Vehicle:
    98 2.4 5 speed
    K&N Air filter
    The relay is there to keep the large Current from the Switch that can not take it.
    So as a result, yes the large wires stay under the hood.

    The Switch is only to tell the power what to do. no realy power should go to a Cheap switch. Or it will melt like mine did or get real HOT.. if you have fog light and the Switch get warm or HOT, get a relay before you melt it or worse.

    The relay diagrams here are great.

    Always use a relay..
     
  12. Sep 15, 2009 at 2:45 PM
    #12
    DellGSG5

    DellGSG5 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Member:
    #17584
    Messages:
    788
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Dell
    San Diego, California
    Vehicle:
    2009 PreRunner TRD
    Step rail, Grill guard, bug deflector,bed lights, Window Deflectors.
    Darm, I just install fog lights couple weeks ago and did not install relay, I better get one. Thanks to all you guys info.
     
  13. Sep 15, 2009 at 11:46 PM
    #13
    Will Prerunner

    Will Prerunner [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    Member:
    #14975
    Messages:
    157
    Gender:
    Male
    Tempe Az
    Vehicle:
    01 TRD Prerunner Doublecab
    Trail-Gear rock sliders, OME Lift, kobalt tool box, herculined fender flares, CrossFab light bar, Deck plate Mod, Differential Breather Extension, 32"goodyear duratracs Pioneer 3 way speakers, alpine head unit, Boss Bass 600 sub, custom az pinstriping
    I just mounted them and wired them up without the relay, just the switch and they work great. Then I wired them up with the relay and nothing.
    The relay looks like
    87
    86 85
    30
    I wired 87 to the lights
    86 to the ground
    30 to the fuse and battery
    and 85 to the switch

    The switch has 3 prongs that say power acc ground
    l l l
    I hooked the power to the 85 from the relay, and the ground to the ground and just skipped the middle one. Nothing
    Then I tried the power to the battery, the acc to the 85 on the relay and ground to the ground. Nothing

    I'm probably just doing something wrong but just in case the relay is busted I'll go buy another one tomorrow

    Any ideas?
     
  14. Sep 16, 2009 at 12:01 PM
    #14
    ubermx5

    ubermx5 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2008
    Member:
    #6783
    Messages:
    264
    Santa Clara CA
    Vehicle:
    98 2.4 5 speed
    K&N Air filter
    on the Switch.
    you want to run the wire from Pos 85 to both Power and ACC on the swtich if you want the light to turn on without key.

    If you want the light to work only whenthe Key is in the car,
    then send a Wire with Ign signal to the ACC poll on the switch....

    This will fix your issues
     
  15. Sep 16, 2009 at 7:30 PM
    #15
    Will Prerunner

    Will Prerunner [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    Member:
    #14975
    Messages:
    157
    Gender:
    Male
    Tempe Az
    Vehicle:
    01 TRD Prerunner Doublecab
    Trail-Gear rock sliders, OME Lift, kobalt tool box, herculined fender flares, CrossFab light bar, Deck plate Mod, Differential Breather Extension, 32"goodyear duratracs Pioneer 3 way speakers, alpine head unit, Boss Bass 600 sub, custom az pinstriping
    Tried what you said ubermex5 but I still didnt have any luck. I thought maybe the relay was bad so I got another one and still no luck. So I rewired all of it and still no luck. So I just decided to go without the relay and replace all the 22guage wire with 14 guage. Works great now and the switch on the inside looks pretty clean thanks for the help

    Truck 001.jpg

    Truck 002.jpg
     
  16. Sep 16, 2009 at 7:49 PM
    #16
    dhurley

    dhurley Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Member:
    #17817
    Messages:
    998
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Doug
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Vehicle:
    04 Double Cab TRD SR5 V6
    TRD, Snugtop Super-Sport, bedliner, receiver hitch, alarm mod, deck plate mod, AFE Pro-Dry S, Saddleman camo seat covers, TW decal, grey wire mod w/switch, DRL, LED cupholder mod, Dynomax Super Turbo, aux back-up lights, Devil Horns by Andres, "blue plug" mod for 2LO, shorty antenna, Pro Comp fog & driving lights, receiver shackle, 15% tint front windows, stainless nerf bars, Ultra Gauge, diff breather mod
    Interesting, those look like my lights!
     
  17. Sep 16, 2009 at 7:54 PM
    #17
    dhurley

    dhurley Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Member:
    #17817
    Messages:
    998
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Doug
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Vehicle:
    04 Double Cab TRD SR5 V6
    TRD, Snugtop Super-Sport, bedliner, receiver hitch, alarm mod, deck plate mod, AFE Pro-Dry S, Saddleman camo seat covers, TW decal, grey wire mod w/switch, DRL, LED cupholder mod, Dynomax Super Turbo, aux back-up lights, Devil Horns by Andres, "blue plug" mod for 2LO, shorty antenna, Pro Comp fog & driving lights, receiver shackle, 15% tint front windows, stainless nerf bars, Ultra Gauge, diff breather mod
    Comparing your switch to Chris4x4's diagrams here, make the following connections and everything should work. Ground = earth, power = supply & acc = load.
     
  18. Sep 17, 2009 at 8:13 AM
    #18
    ubermx5

    ubermx5 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2008
    Member:
    #6783
    Messages:
    264
    Santa Clara CA
    Vehicle:
    98 2.4 5 speed
    K&N Air filter
    This last Diagram, look right and this is a better way of doing it.
    As it will work... Sorry my way did not work....
    I should have looked at my system, but it a bit tuff to get at right now.
     
  19. Sep 17, 2009 at 9:03 AM
    #19
    dhurley

    dhurley Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Member:
    #17817
    Messages:
    998
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Doug
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Vehicle:
    04 Double Cab TRD SR5 V6
    TRD, Snugtop Super-Sport, bedliner, receiver hitch, alarm mod, deck plate mod, AFE Pro-Dry S, Saddleman camo seat covers, TW decal, grey wire mod w/switch, DRL, LED cupholder mod, Dynomax Super Turbo, aux back-up lights, Devil Horns by Andres, "blue plug" mod for 2LO, shorty antenna, Pro Comp fog & driving lights, receiver shackle, 15% tint front windows, stainless nerf bars, Ultra Gauge, diff breather mod
    This is how my lights are wired. Before I never used a relay, but finally got tired of the switch getting hot and replacing when it failed.
     
  20. Sep 17, 2009 at 6:18 PM
    #20
    Will Prerunner

    Will Prerunner [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2009
    Member:
    #14975
    Messages:
    157
    Gender:
    Male
    Tempe Az
    Vehicle:
    01 TRD Prerunner Doublecab
    Trail-Gear rock sliders, OME Lift, kobalt tool box, herculined fender flares, CrossFab light bar, Deck plate Mod, Differential Breather Extension, 32"goodyear duratracs Pioneer 3 way speakers, alpine head unit, Boss Bass 600 sub, custom az pinstriping
    I think it should work fine, I upgrade to 14 guage wire and switched from a 15 to 30 amp switch, and it doesnt seem to get hot, but I guess we will see.
     

Products Discussed in

To Top