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How to wire up driving lights 

 

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 Post subject: How to wire up driving lights
Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:10 am 
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The easiest way is to wire them to your Low-beam headlight wiring in the headlight loom. This is how most driving lights are connected and saves a lot of time. If they are connected straight to the Headlights, Two more lights put a strain on the fuse handling headlight and taillight power. If that fuse blows you lose everything. Headlight, driving lights, etc. etc..... Some just put in a bigger fuse but that isn't a solution, it's a bandaid.

The "Best" way to wire your new lights is to their own circuit. That way if anything goes wrong, like you blow a fuse, you always have some light in front. This only requires a 12 volt relay and a bit of wire.

The circuit:
Battery + to the 30 post of a 12v relay (available at any automotive place) the other side of the relay (87) to both of your lights. Route the wire right along with the original harness using zip ties. Suggest 14 or 16 Gauge. Overkill maybe but what the heck. You'll want to put a 10 amp fuse in this line if you are running anything higher than 35 watt bulbs.

You still have two posts on the relay. One (85) goes to ground. Anywhere on the body of the car ( e.g. I use the Bolt that I mounted the relay to the body of the car). From the remaining post (86) run a wire, you can use 20 gauge or maybe smaller for this, and tap the wire into the low-beam wiring in the headlight loom.

A fuse in this line is also recommended. Try to keep this wiring neat as to keep a factory appearance.

That is so the Driving Lights will go on when you turn your headlights on.
If you want to have the lights only come on when your High Beams are on then tap the high beam globe wiring with the wire from the (86) post. This will turn the lights on when you put your high beams on.

Thanks to Gadget for the original wiring diagrams I used for my bike and car. www.gadgetjq.com/wiredrivinglights.htm

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Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:54 am 
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Hey, nice one mate!

 

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Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:59 pm 
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i thinks u will find to be legal driving lights must be wired so that they can only be "ON" when the high beams are on and must be switched so they can be turned off
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 2:35 pm 
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tiny56 wrote:
i thinks u will find to be legal driving lights must be wired so that they can only be "ON" when the high beams are on and must be switched so they can be turned off
driving lights or spot lights???

 

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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 3:50 pm 
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Also, the lights should be switched so that they can be turned off. Fog lights and marker lamps should be the only ones which get wired up to the low beam circuit. All others get wired to the high beam circuit. When choosing a switch it can be hard to integrate it into the car neatly. You can either hide it under the seat or under the dash, or, like me, you can use either a second hand rear demister switch, or a wagon tailgate wiper switch combination. The demister switch is only a momentary switch; It turns itself off bya spring which is no good to us. But if the switch is pulled apart, and the rocker bar is flipped over it will stay on continuously.

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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:44 pm 
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tiny56 wrote:
i thinks u will find to be legal driving lights must be wired so that they can only be "ON" when the high beams are on and must be switched so they can be turned off

chunkz wrote:
driving lights or spot lights???


i think driving lights are the same thing as spot lights

only fog lamps could be connected to low beam and they should be able to be switched off when not needed
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:56 pm 
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i assumed when you ment driving lights you ment fog...

 

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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:32 pm 
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Sucks to the law, I say

 

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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:45 pm 
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Here's one I prepared earlier

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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 1:46 am 
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my `rents recently brought a Hyundai Tuscon City thing, and its got driving lights on it - they cant be turned off independantly from the headlights. they come on with the parkers too...

so driving lights must be legal then in some form i guess?

PS - DONT EVER buy a Getz - i had the unfortunate experience of driving the new model Getz... that thing is f****n GUTLESS! My Daewoo has more power, easier to drive and more comfortable.
</rant>

*gets back in box*

yeah my point, this car has factory driving lamps that can ONLY be turned off when the headlights & parkers are off....

 

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