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Post by pinstryper on Mar 28, 2016 23:16:36 GMT -5
Could it be done? All the switch does is trip the relay right? Very little draw there. Could run a jumper from high beam lead instead of running a seperate switch. And activate lightbar with. Hiighbeams?
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Post by dirk on Mar 29, 2016 8:10:38 GMT -5
You could run a signal wire to the relay from the high beam relay, but could you imagine coming over a hill and having those blast you for the split second it takes to go to low beams? Lol
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Post by pinstryper on Mar 29, 2016 9:54:53 GMT -5
You have not been to S. Texas have you? And the way that bar is aimed, I have drove with it and not even been flashed
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Post by MonteroSportHonduras on Mar 29, 2016 13:21:31 GMT -5
Yes you can. My bro's 5"LED lights are wired that way. We wired them to the headlight socket that is not in use since he has HID as well. LED lights draw little amps anyway so you wouldnt even need a relay. I have mine without one and never had issues.
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Post by jkdv8 on Mar 29, 2016 14:36:46 GMT -5
Some of those light bars do however draw some power. It would depend on the bar and how it is wired as well as the current draw. Even the high beam circuit is only 6-7 amps which isn't very much.
To be on the safe side and for those who don't have HIDs I would wire another relay off of the high beam side of the headlight relay. So pretty much put a relay in place of the dash switch. I think the low/high beam use the same relay but would have to look at the circuit diagram.
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Post by pinstryper on Mar 29, 2016 18:00:41 GMT -5
That's the plan, let the feed from that relay trigger relay #2.
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Post by 91clipseDOHC on Oct 12, 2016 18:58:21 GMT -5
I realize this is an older thread, but I just wired up my 28" bumper mounted light bar this same way. I used the high beam wire coming out of the headlight assembly to trigger the relay. Works great!
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Post by dirk on Oct 12, 2016 19:13:22 GMT -5
Wire out of the headlights is a lot more power than needed to trip the relay for the light bar I would think. Or did you wire out of headlights directly into lightbar? In which case wouldn't the current draw be too great for the headlight wire/relay/fuse?
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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 14, 2016 14:46:31 GMT -5
This method is quite common. The coil side doesn't pass current like the switched side does. One side is connected to the switched source and the other is connected to ground. It just uses it as a signal so to speak as long as the signal voltage is enough to trip the coil. If you want piece of mind then wire the light bar relay off of the column switch wire before the high beam relay instead of the actual high beam light wire. It's just easier to find and tap a headlight wire then it is to hunt down the schematics and find the column switch wire.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Nov 4, 2016 16:09:17 GMT -5
... Or did you wire out of headlights directly into lightbar? In which case wouldn't the current draw be too great for the headlight wire/relay/fuse? Yea, that would be a really bad idea. This method is quite common. The coil side doesn't pass current like the switched side does. One side is connected to the switched source and the other is connected to ground. It just uses it as a signal so to speak as long as the signal voltage is enough to trip the coil. If you want piece of mind then wire the light bar relay off of the column switch wire before the high beam relay instead of the actual high beam light wire. It's just easier to find and tap a headlight wire then it is to hunt down the schematics and find the column switch wire. T off one of the high beam leads at the socket to a relay that controls the light bar. That's how the aftermarket headlight harnesses work. One OEM socket plugs into the new harness. Its not for power, its just to control the relays in the new harness. I have the coil amperage required to trip a relay documented in the wiring diagram in the Off Road section - "Cornering lights - opinions". The big 70A relay takes about .26A and the little 20/30A relays are around .14-.15A. This is trip, not hold. Amperage typically goes down once the coil is engaged. An extra .1-.15A off the headlight circuit probably isn't going to affect anything. IMHO, I would stick with a headlight socket wire rather than horking around in the column. Edward
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Post by jkdv8 on Nov 4, 2016 20:58:18 GMT -5
IMHO, I would stick with a headlight socket wire rather than horking around in the column. Edward Yep that's what I was thinking but you don't necessarily need to run it off the actual column switch wire. I was just sayin that's the wire you need to find but you may have to depending if it runs to the under hood fuse box or somewhere in the engine bay. But, yea you would definetly need the wiring schematics going that route.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Nov 7, 2016 13:21:18 GMT -5
IMHO, I would stick with a headlight socket wire rather than horking around in the column. Edward Yep that's what I was thinking but you don't necessarily need to run it off the actual column switch wire. .... Yep. I THINK the headlight fuse is in the box under the dash. My thinking is if you're going to trip an exterior light, it's probably easier to take the lead off an external wire rather than have to run it back through the firewall. I was thinking you could run the cheaper non-wetherproof relay if its under the dash but that doesn't make any sense. It would be kinda silly to run the power leads from outside to the cab and back just for that. Edward
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