Switch for driving lights.


baadboy11

baadboy11

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Hey guys I want to wire a switch that will do three things to my aux. driving lights...
1. turn them on when high beams are on
2.turn them off completely
3. turn them on by themselves.

My question...what kind of switch do i need SPDT center off...or DPDT center off...or????

Thanks for the help guys.
 
Are you talking about the driving lights that are currently on the truck right now? If so all you need to do is find the sensing wire for the factory relay and tap it into your parking lights. Then you will have the driving lights come on with the parking lamps as well as your low and high beams. Is the switch for the driving light part of the headlamp switch? Meaning do you have to pull the headlamp switch knob out to get your lights to come on? Let me know and I can get a wiring schematic for the wire you need to go after.
 
Don't run your lights off the switch. Most switches are not designed to support this kind of current draw and will die after a while. Wire in a relay and use the switch to control that. What you describe is basically just an on and off. That would be a single pole, single throw (SPST) for both the switch and the relay.
 
Here ya go.

Switch for driving lights.


For your needs, run a fused power wire from a switched hot (a wire that is only hot when the ignition is on) to your controlling switch instead of using a hot from the headlights. That wire is the "green" wire in the diagram.
 
how would I wire it so that the highbeams turn on the lights, but the lights can also be turned off with the highbeams on....as well as just an on switch for the lights.

In other words what I want is one switch that...
1.turns aux lights on with highbeams.
2.turns aux light on without highbeams.
3.turns lights off even when highbeams are on.

Thanks for the help so far guys, this is kinda hard to explain what i'm going for.:no2:

CRBnunit, your diagram just showed up, would it do what i am explaining above? thanks for the help bud
 
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Turning on and off with the high beams is easy. Just use the high beam wire as the power wire (green) for your switch. Keep in mind this is illegal in some states. The easiest way to do what you want is to follow my first recommendation. If you want to do it your way, it gets more complex and adds relays. Just a simple circuit to turn them on and off anytime you want is a lot easier than "programming" them to turn on and off under certain circumstances. You CAN do it but...
 
You can do what the diagram says but switch the green and yellow wires (make the yellow go to the relay instead of the switch) and run a switch with an on-off-on sequence. Or just run the sense wire to the parking light power and have what you want.
 
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My driving lights are powered very simply, the switch I used is a SPST rocker switch.

It switches ground to the relay coil (if the switch is "open" the lights are off)

The 12V-Pos side of the relay coil is supplied by the factory wiring to the high beam filament

So if you switch the high beams on and off the driving lights switch with them.

Wiring fog lamps is a little different (and will sound weird at first)

For the relay coil you tap into the SAME high beam filament power feed, but you connect it to the GROUND side of the relay coil.
and the switch controls 12v pos tapped from the marker lamp circuit.

This circuit allows the relay to function with the switch IF the marker lamps or headlamps are on, but if the high beam circuit is energized there is 12V pos on BOTH SIDES of the relay coil and it "drops out" the relay coil is "Grounded" through the high beam filament (the current flow is too small to light the bulbs)

That diagram above makes no sense.
(it is confusing because it's a "Do all diagram for connecting
driving lights OR fog Lamps)

the relay should be grounded via the switch.

12V pos from the high beam circuit should be connected directly to the relay. And the ground wire at the switch only makes sense if it's to light an indicator lamp inside the switch.

Done "my way" you only need to run ONE WIRE through the firewall The switched ground from the switch. The other wire is run to a ring terminal on any nearby convenient screw that goes into metal

And then powering your highbeams on and off will automatically
switch the relay on and off.

AD
 
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Just curious but how do these lights turn on/off currently. Seems to me if you have a single switch you can then turn them on/off whenever you want.
 
97ranger4x4 said:
Just curious but how do these lights turn on/off currently. Seems to me if you have a single switch you can then turn them on/off whenever you want.
Click to expand...

haven't wired them yet :woot: but I know how to connect them to the high beams through a relay so they come on at the same time, and I know how to wire them (through a relay) so they go on and off with the push of a button, but i don't know how to make it so it does both as well as keeping it from turning on with the high beams on (to stay legalish)...:icon_confused:

Thanks for all the help so far guys! I was hoping this would be an easy fix with a three position switch but it doesen't seem to be the case.
 
Wire one side of the relay's coil straight to ground.
Wire the other side of the relay coil to the center terminal of a SPDT "center-off" switch.
Wire one side terminal of the SPDT switch to a constant 12V source.
Wire the opposite side terminal of the SPDT switch into the Hi-beam circuit.


When the switch is in "center", everything is off.
Switching it either way selects either "ON" or "On w/hi-beams".

Hope that helps.

I have everything on mine wired like this (driving lights on the hi-beams, fog lights on the lo-beams, and reverse lights on the backup light circuit. Everything can be switched on straight, or switched off entirely as well)


If you tap into the Hi-beam & 12V wires under the dash, you'll only be running one wire through the firewall with this setup as well.
 
Thanks man that helps...i assume its a five prong relay right and not a four.
 
?

No, it's a regular 4 prong (the relay is SPST)
 
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