Ground Wire HELP!!!

Okay this is not a normal topic but I need some help. Currently I have installed switch to kill the power to the brake lights so that when I go hunting at night they don't flood the night vision. The problem is that I would rather kill ground which is a better practice. So on the wiring harness that go to the bulbs, there is a single white wire that splits to three which is the ground. When I cut it in two I should loose all lights, but no everything still works as designed.

What am I missing? How do the lights still work with ground cut? Please anyone that can read the diagrams and give me some advise I sure would appreciate the help. Also if it can be done under the hood or in the cable that would be better. I would love to move the switch from the bumper to the cab.

 

There might be a simpler way to disable the brake lights than cutting the wires that go to them. Look under the dash and find the switch that is actuated by the brake pedal that turns on the brake lights. It should be pretty easy to disconnect one wire from this switch then run that wire and another from the switch up to a "Dark Mode" switch you can put on the dash. Just make sure that this switch lights up and is noticeable when the brake lights are disabled so you don't forget to turn them back on when you get back to the road.

 

I do agree that there has to be a simpler way. I got a test light that shows ground(green light) and hot(red light). When I tested the connection to the lights on the drivers side they all tested as ground wires. Then I turned the running lights on and one wire changed from ground to a hot, meaning my test light showed green while the lights were turned off but them the same wire change to a hot(red) when turned on.

I am lost!!! Is a relay running the brake lights?

 

I would be more than willing to help, but you need to give us more info, like what year your Tacoma is. Wiring diagrams differ from model to model. Can't help if I don't know what I am asked to work on! lol

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...uggestions-before-posting-help-tech-chat.html

 

2006 double cab SR5 TRD 4x4

Does this help?

 

Yes, thank you. (But again, try to follow the guidelines in the linked post when asking for help.)

I can see your point when wanting to break the ground circuit for your brake lamp circuit, but the problem with that is you have THREE different grounds to interrupt. Left, Right, and 3rd brake light. ALSO, the ground wires are used to ground your running lights, and your license plate lights. What happens if you break one of the wires is that the ground circuit now tries to back-feed into the other light bulb circuits, which can still allow illumination of the brakes depending on other factors. It would be much easier to interrupt power going to all 3 brake lights by breaking into the power wire that is the input to your brake switch. That is a Green with white tracer wire. Now here is the tricky part, your truck may have the anti-skid option. If this is the case then you need to actually tap into that green with white tracer wire IMMEDIATELY after the stop-lamp fuse. Otherwise the anti-skid brake light control relay can still energize and turn on the brake lights for you. Probably not an issue, BUT if you drive off-road on dirt trails and such where the anti-skid may engage, then you would want this additional coverage to keep off the brake lights.

 

I found the small fuse(tail) in the cab that controls the brake lights, but I can not find a fuse or controller for the reverse. Any thoughts?

 

That is a simple wire system. Best access is under the truck at the transmission. There is a yellow wire input to the reverse switch, and a red with white tracer wire as the output to the reverse lights.

 

Sounds like to do this I would have to have two switches.

 

im interested in this as well, a switch for killing break and reverse lights while on the beach...