Flying Ram

I have PIAA P3000 lights to install. These have the white driving lights, Ion Crystal fog spots, and yellow marker lights in one housing. The main power (fused with relays) connects directly to the battery terminals (marker lights have separate power wire to connect to parking lights). The switch has a power lead that is recommended to be powered by a circuit that is powered on only when high beams are on. I wanted to be able to turn the fog lights on at any time, but the driving lights are to supplement the high beams. Only one switch power wire for both driving and fog lights! I thought of installing a switch that has 2 selectable power sources, 1) when ignition is on and 2) only when high beams are on. This way I can be legal (only on when High beams are on) for inspection and can throw the switch for the rest of the time to use fog lamps without high beams.

Any wiring suggestions? Where is the best place (inside cab, preferably near steering wheel) to get power only when the high beams are on? The factory fog lights go off when the high beams are on.

Thanks!

ptgarcia

I would tap into the high beam power wire at the headlight. By the time you remove all the interior plastics it will be more work to find a wire in the cab.

MikeyB

I would tap the high beam wires like Pauly mentioned and use as a trigger for the relay to the driving lights. All the wiring stays under the hood or can use a switch to have the ability to turn off the driving lights when not needed.
And you can do the same with the foglamps.

MikeyB

04ctd

you could do this:

run 2 relays, a control relay and a power relay.

control:
run a relay off the fog lamp circuit (this is a hardware controlled circuit) and have wire the relay so that ground flows thru it ONLY when the fogs are off (and the relay is de-energized)

the control relay controls the ground path for the power relay, so the if the fogs are off the power relay has ground to operate.
if the fogs are on, the relay breaks the ground path for the power relay.


and run a switch in the cab, and this provides power to the power relay.

so if fog lights are off (relay not energized) then power flows through the relay to the power relay.

and the switch in the cab controls the power relay, when the switch is on, it provides power to the power relay, which enegizes and lights the lamps

so when you have the fog lights off (By either the switch or the High beam) the driving lamps can be controlled by the switch.

is that what you want? need a diagram?

i would want ALL the lights on when i went to high beam,,
which could be done with a diode in the fog light power lead.

Flying Ram

I'm not that much of an Electrician and wouldn't know where to start in choosing relays! Here is the PIAA wiring diagram for the lights that already have several relays pre-wired in the circuit. My thoughts were just an additional "Mystery" switch in the cab to select the power source for the switch from ignition hot or high beam hot. Sorry if I confused you guys, but that's a steady state for me! :-)

Thanks for your help!

bakdoor

As a fellow PA Ram owner, I hear what you're saying about inspection. I like the idea of having two separate power sources for your lights, one "legal" and one "not so legal." You might even want to hide the switch under the hood so that you can put it in the "legal" position when it goes in for inspection, and then you can put it back in the "I want the lights on when I want them on" position" when you've safely got the sticker on the windshield! A switch inside the cab, anywhere near the stock light switch, would be a little obvious, I would think.

Either way, good luck!