zachv

I am going to be fabricating a light bar to fit three 7" HID "off road" lights over the front bumper on my 2005. I have some options on how to have them actually operate and would like to hear what others think. I usually run my stock fog lights with the low beams for better coverage just in front of the truck. I do not really want the new lights to run all the time I have the fogs on, but I would like to run them through a relay and the stock light switch.

What would you do?

Sur5er

Trust me when I tell you that I'm no electrician, but isnt the light switch a rotary, 2 position switch with a push fog on/off.........that is tied into the TIPM? I'd probably go with lighted 2 position rocker switches that are mounted out of the "oops" area of your hands. You will definitely need the relay, and depending on draw, perhaps multiple relays and some 12ga wire to feed the stadium array. You planning on playing baseball under the lights are you?

.boB

This is a fairly easy task to accomplish. You'll need a switch, a relay and socket, a fuse or circuit breaker, and some wire.

Or, you could simply buy a ready made harness from companies like KC.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d-t278355.html

zachv

That is funny that you linked to lights you purchased at Truckaddons.com in that thread--I am in the middle of a horrific transaction with them. They sent me the wrong item and are trying to make me pay a re-stocking fee! I would never deal with them again if the items were free. I had way better service with http://www.xtremediesel.com/ for my Mag Hytec pan purchase. Got here in one day... and was the right part.

bob4x4

Do not tie them into the factory system,1 reason is the HIDs will be illegal on the hiway 2nd you don't even want to know how much it will cost to repair the factory system.3rd HIDs do not like to be turned on and off like the halogens can live with

Steve034x4

You'll need a second switch and if you want to have them on when your normal high beams are on, a relay that is powered by the coil (via the switch) when high beams are on. If you run them through your stock light switch, you'll be turning them on and off every time you flash your lights...not a good thing for HID's.
Hint - use 5 or so diodes reversed so that you drop 0.7 volts *5 as there is enough voltage due to the DRL's being on to trigger the 12v relay and you need to drop this so you don't have the HID's triggered by the DRL's being on. Somewhere there is a thread on this....
I have a set up like this and will be installing HID's next week for use on back roads when I know I won't have to turn them on and off for oncoming vehicles - this way I still have the option of using stock high beams with or without the HIDs.

zachv

I did not know that HIDs were not supposed to be turned on and off. That is good info. I may just wire them independently of the stock lights so I can use them when I really need them. To be honest, I want them on the front primarily for appearance anyway, but I would like to use them when needed.
Thanks for the help.

.boB

Mine are tied in with the stock lights. When the high beams come on, the driving lights also come on. Dimming the driving lights and the high beams is accomplished with a simple flick of the stalk.

The KC fog lights are connected to the fog light circuit for the same reason.

But, both lamps also have their own switch hidden away and easy to get to. That allows me turn off the auxillary lamps and only use the stock ones. So far, I have not found a reason to do this for the driving lamps. But I keep the fog lamps turned of because they have a plastic cover over them. It's too easy to accidentally turn on the stock fog lamps.

They both tap into the stock circuit to only run the relays, <0.5A. No power for the auxillary lamps is run through the stock lamp switch.

The lamps I bought included the wiring harness and instructions. Pretty easy to do.

ZachV, I read about your troubles. If I had read that a little sooner, I might not have ordered from them. Fortunatly, I got exactly what I paid for, in the time I expected it. Hassle free and a good price: 10% off and free shipping.