How to wire aux lights?

Anyone know the best way to wire aux backup lights?
Here's my current plan on the drawing board. Curious to hear your thoughts

-remove tail light
-measure what gauge reverse wire is, then buy new wire roll from Home Depot or something that matches it
-screw in/install aux light (Nilight) into bumper holes
-cut reverse wire for tail light, twist it together, then insert it into a good staggered butt connector
-on other side of butt connector, run wire to Nilights
-for ground wire, buy ground loop and find bare metal spot under truck to screw it into, for negative
-wrap wires in 3M Super 33 followed by corrugated tubing; not sure where to buy it or what size. I normally use

$16 Tesa 51608 Noise Damping PET Fleece Automotive Wire Harness Tape, Black, 19mm x 15m, 5 Rolls

Tesa 51608 cloth tape but kind of want to use corrugated tubing just to keep with the stock truck theme. Not sure why Toyota chose it. Cheaper? Less water retention when crossing a river?
-find places to secure harness from moving, with zipties

some of the butt connectors I see on McMaster-Carr that could work are:
-reducing
-3-way
-multi-way



basically pretty much what this guy does around the 28min mark of the video,
except instead of the wire going to a third brake light, it's for bumper aux lights
and using higher quality wiring parts

 

So you want to limit their use to the vehicle being in reverse only, right?

I will be using a separate circuit so I can switch them on with the truck parked if I wish. If I need extra light for backing, I can also just turn them on.

Just a thought.

The corrugated tubing serves a basic physical abrasion function, nothing water proof / resistant about it, as it's split down one side for ease of use. Can be had at any parts house in various diameters.

 

I always run all of my lighting seperate from eom wiring and always run a relay. Its never failed me or given me any problems and I can turn them on whenever I want.

 

Micc idea is the way to do it. That’s how all mine are wired. Butt connectors are crap, you wanna solder and heat shrink all electrical connections.

 

some butt connectors come with solder inside that melts when you put a heat gun to it

FWIW, some butt connectors are better than others
For example, if you get them at Harbor Freight, they suck. The barrel is too thick so they don't crimp well. The insulation is brittle so it pierces easily. And the inside probably doesn't have adhesive.
Vs. NSPA Krimpa-Seal (I hear there's a few rival brands that have the same thing)
has a thinner barrel that's easier to crimp, the insulation is stronger and pierces less easily, and the inside has an adhesive liner that melts to provide sealing against water outside

Hopefully there is a good reason that butt connectors seem to be the only allowed repair for certain vehicles; I believe for Audi/VW they advise those kinds of crimps, and Mercedes uses similar ones except with hot melt solder inside
If it's good enough for them, I imagine it's good enough for Toyota

some car companies (and supposedly helicopters) advise against using solder due to the potential for it (especially if a cheap kind) to break/crack apart under use and vibration, and that it might alter resistance values within the wire.
Tricky part with butt connectors is to stagger them apart if using many, rather than putting them all next to each other which can create a visible clump in the harness

am not really sure
just thought it would be more convenient for them to automatically come on during reverse, with the tail lights
and easier/simpler to wire due to no relay needed

 

Aftermarket higher wattage lights triggered by stock reverse light wire (Tacoma).


Aftermarket higher wattage lights triggered by stock reverse lights and/or a separate aftermarket switch.

 

wouldn't it be negligible in terms of power draw due to being LED and not a high watt bulb?

 

It could be. There are definitely LED light bars that consume enough amperage to require a relay. Every single offroad LED light(s) that I've installed has come with a relay.

 

Why diode and what kind?

 

1. LED light bars are much bigger than backup lights
2. maybe they include relays because they must come with a switch to operate them separately. Because nobody is going to hook them up to automatically turn on with headlights.
Not arguing, just trying to learn

maybe it would be better to wire to a switch
Cali Raised has a few of them, "Reverse Lights" and "Backup Lights" I think.
and it might not get used all the time since a) I hear they can be blinding especially if not angled downward and b) only in certain situations does it seem needed, like pitch dark off road versus a lit parking lot at night

 

The diode is like a check valve. Current flows in one direction. In the pic, it's there to prevent the existing lights from turning on when you flip the switch to turn your new lights on.

Any size diode should work. It's only carrying the coil load.

 

Suggest “marine” grade shrink tube on exterior connections. It has a “glue” on the inside which seals water out.

 

I used this method and tapped into the reverse signal in the truck. I can run the aux lights, off, on and on in reverse.

 

A diode let's +12 volts through in only 1 direction and -12 volts through in the opposite direction. The diode stops the aftermarket switch from turning on the stock reverse lights, if you want the stock reverse lights to come on with the aftermarket reverse lights when the aftermarket switch is turned on simply don't install the diode as the circuit remains the same.

1. LED light bars are much bigger than backup lights which is the biggest reason why a relay should be used. There are other reasons to use a relay. One reason is to keep high current wiring out of the cab as much as possible which a properly installed relay does do. Good quality aftermarket relays (Bosch, Potter and Brumfield, DEI) are extremely reliable and they are more reliable than most high current switches. There are great reasons to install high wattage lights facing rearward. Heavy fog is one great reason. Offroading is another because sometimes reverse is needed at night while offloading.
2. High current switches are available and the use of a high current switch negates the use of a relay. Refer to #1 for reasons to use a relay instead of a high current switch. You are dead wrong that nobody wants aftermarket lights to come on when the headlights are turned on.
It's up to the person that's paying for the work/vehicle owner of what's best for them.
I'm getting a weird vibe that it seems like your opinion is that only certain types of lights should face rearward, an opinion that I don't agree with. It's up to the purchaser/owner.
I'm unsure why a) a person wouldn't point their backup lights angled down - unless their doing high speed runs in reverse (lmao) and b) it's not up to me on what another person does or does not need.
I don't think you live in an area with heavy fog.

For decades vehicle electrical wiring connections/plugs had no water resistance whatsoever and those wiring systems lasted for decades. With that written if a specific vehicle does go through deep water it is a good idea to protect wiring connections. Heat shrink with adhesive is one option. Connectors that shrink with adhesive is another option. Not having connections where water may enter is another option.

 

That definitely would work however the switch must be left in one position in order for the aftermarket lights to automatically turn on with the reverse lights. I'm not suggesting that's incorrect, I'm stating that's not the situation that I was replying to. What I was replying to was how to turn on aftermarket lights on automatically with the reverse lights which your sweet! drawing doesn't automatically do.

 

BTW, if ya gotta hit a switch to make the aftermarket lights come on with the reverse lights why not just avoid the reverse light circuit entirely and just hit the switch whenever you want the lights on or off?

 

Umm it does. Leaving the switch in the on w reverse turns them on automatically when I go to reverse. When I'm not in reverse, they are off. The beauty of a relay.

 

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but would something like this work?



These are OTRATTW switches with part number as an ON-OFF-ON switch with dash light illumination. Light bar and D2 driving lights are Rigid lights with rated fuses. With the switches toggled up, the lights should come on when their respective sources are turned on through stock means, whether the high beams are turned on or you throw the vehicle into reverse. With the switch toggled down, the lights will be always on as long as the vehicle is turned on. Once the 12v ign source is closed, the lights turn off, therefore not draining the battery.

-J

 

Mmmm a schematic. Beautiful.

I only looked at the reverse lights, but looks like the aux reverse lights would be on either with the backup lights , or forced on by switch.

 

Yes have seen fog

I've never seen anyone wire a roof LED bar to headlights vs a switch. If so, they'd blind any other cars on the highway at night.

Rear facing aux backups because of aftermarket steel plate bumper that has the cutouts essentially vertical instead of angled downwards

I think rear strong fog bulbs are typically red and come in certain cars while others not.
Some for example in the US have an extra bulb on the left to serve as a fog light and indicate which side of the car to pass on. Or right side in UK since they drive on the opposite side