Wiring Driving Lights

Post by **Fmx_Aus** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 7:52 am

Does anyone have a step by step process of wiring up driving lights??

I have a few here with no wires, any help would be great.

If this has been covered, please provide a link

Post by **BrentE** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:32 am

Heres a link

http://www.exploroz.com/Vehicle/Accesso ... ights.aspx

i think thats for when u turn on highbeam spotlights come on...

Post by **drivesafe** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:34 pm

Hi Fmx_Aus, these two diagrams will give you all you need to know for a good reliable set up.

One if for positive switched headlights and the other is for negative switch headlights.

Just use the diagram that suits your vehicle.

Cheers.

Post by **SLASH** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:18 pm

Hi guys.Hey Drivesafe,this might sound like a stupid question but wots the difference between positive n negative switched lights.

Post by **SLASH** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:22 pm

Hi guys.Hey Drivesafe,this might sound like a stupid question but wots the difference between positive n negative switched lights.

Post by **drivesafe** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:34 pm

Hi SLASH, on many vehicles, turning the headlights on requires connecting one side of the globes to positive, the other side is permanently connected to earth. Positive switched.

On other vehicles, predominately Toyotas, the globes are permanently connected to positive and turning the lights on requires connecting the globes to earth. Negative switched.

Post by **SLASH** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 11:56 pm

Thanx Drivesafe.Never knew that.I thought they were all the same.Now i understand.Thanx again.

Post by **Turbo Tonka** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:33 pm

just a question about this????today i was wiring up my spotties for my zook but didnt go through a switch,do i need to?? i went battery - 30,ground-85,87-both lights,86 just had it sitting on the high beam tab on the back of my headlight. i thought that it wouldnt power up the relay and spotties until hi beam was on but it runs the spotties all the time that way....have i done something wrong or do i need to go through a switch?? thanks for any help

Post by **macca81** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:08 pm

Turbo Tonka wrote:just a question about this????today i was wiring up my spotties for my zook but didnt go through a switch,do i need to?? i went battery - 30,ground-85,87-both lights,86 just had it sitting on the high beam tab on the back of my headlight. i thought that it wouldnt power up the relay and spotties until hi beam was on but it runs the spotties all the time that way....have i done something wrong or do i need to go through a switch?? thanks for any help

hilux is negativly switched, so by wiring up to the high beam wire you have now created an earth for your high beam and given power to your spotty relay... is to late for me to think how to fix this without re-wiring your headlights... ill sleep on it, unless someone else get in first.

if i was you, id upgrade your standard wiring harness and make the lights positivly switched, will make life easier for you...

Post by **Turbo Tonka** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:15 pm

haha sorry mate,this is being done on my zuk,not my lux it allready has lights....so how do i fix it.cheers

Post by **festy** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:19 am

I'm fairly sure Sierras have negative switched lights. That means that the common terminal has constant 12v on it, and the high and low beam terminals are switched to ground to turn on. When off, these terminals 'float' - they are not connected to anything.
Your relay is getting switched because while the high beam terminal is not connected, it actually has 12v on it through the filament from the common terminal, so your relay is turning on, and your high beam filament is probably glowing too, as the filament is being earthed via the relay now.
To fix, disconnect 85 from ground, and connect it to 30. That way when your high beam is off, both sides of the relay see 12v so won't switch on. When your high beam is on, 86 is at ground so the relay will energize.

And put a switch in, it's unroadworthy without it.

Post by **Turbo Tonka** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:37 am

ok thanks for that,so i should take 85 off and put it to 30 just like the power from the battery allready is you say????then does anything go to 85???ok ill put a switch in too,from hi to switch back to 86 right???sorry for the lack of know how haha

Post by **festy** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:59 am

You currently have 85 connected to ground. Connect this to 30 (batt) instead.
Just follow Drivesafe's green diagram and all will be good

85 and 86 are the 2 sides of the relay's coil. When there's 12v on one side and ground on the other, the coil will switch.
At the moment, you've got one side (85) at ground, and the other side (86) at 12v via the high beam filament, that's why the relay is always on.

If you connect 85 to 12v then when lights are off there is 12v on 85 and 12v on 86, so no voltage difference across the relay coil so no switching.
When lights are on, 85 is still at 12v but 86 is at ground (from high beam switch grounding that wire) so 12v across the relay and it will switch on.

Just a point on drivesafe's diagrams - if you ground the switch's unused pin (pin 1 on the green diagram) this is also unroadworthy, as the driving lights are either always on with high beam, or on *without* high beam, which is not allowed in nsw. Just leave that pin unconnected. Also if you connect your lights directly to the battery, put fuses on the negative wires too, it could save an engine bay fire if your main earth connection fails - otherwise just connect them to an earth point on the body. You'll probably only draw 8 or 10 amps each, they don't need direct battery connection.

Post by **Turbo Tonka** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:35 pm

ok thanks fellas for all your help.didnt get a chance today to try anything new but tomorrow i will run my ground to the 30 aswell and ill run a switch to power my 86 for rego.

a mate of mine has said this arvo that my 85 earth could go to the negative at the headlight and 86 to the hibeam as i had,is this another way around it all?cheers

Post by **-Scott-** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:05 pm

Turbo Tonka wrote:ok thanks fellas for all your help.didnt get a chance today to try anything new but tomorrow i will run my ground to the 30 aswell and ill run a switch to power my 86 for rego.

a mate of mine has said this arvo that my 85 earth could go to the negative at the headlight and 86 to the hibeam as i had,is this another way around it all?cheers

If you connect 85 and 86 to the two outer pins of the H4 socket then the relay should only energise when high beam is on. I'm not sure if a switch is required by law (high beam without spotlights?) - if you have the switch in the circuit, it's one less thing for the rego guys to argue about.

Post by **Turbo Tonka** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:55 pm

yeh ill prob go with a switch neways,so r u saying scott that 85 and 86 goes to each high beam at the back of my headlights???not to ground or to the 30 pin???its seeming like there is many ways it may be done

Post by **-Scott-** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:07 pm

Turbo Tonka wrote:yeh ill prob go with a switch neways,so r u saying scott that 85 and 86 goes to each high beam at the back of my headlights???not to ground or to the 30 pin???its seeming like there is many ways it may be done

Yep. Electrons are clever little buggers - if there's a way, they'll find it!

Of course, both of drivesafe's diagrams work (in their intended application) but they rely on identifying the correct wires in the OEM headlight wiring. For anybody with a little bit of electrical knowledge it's quite simple, but for electrical novices it can be a little trickier.

Ultimately, you want 12V across the relay coil when high beam is on - it doesn't really matter where that 12V comes from. Conveniently enough, when high beam is on, there is 12V across the high beam filament - so that's one way to solve the problem. There are other ways too. At the end of the day, if it works, run with it.

Post by **drivesafe** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:33 am

Hi Turbo Tonka, here is one of the diagrams from one of my COMBO Headlight Wiring Upgrade Kits.

The relay is different to the one you are using but it will give you an idea of how to carry out what Scott posted.

The diagram also shows how to wire the switch in.

Post by **Turbo Tonka** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 5:15 pm

ok so i am now out of ideas i dont know whats happening with it. i have from battery to 30,85 going to 30 aswell now.87 to the spotties,and 86 tapped into headlight,nothing permanent yet while i try getting it to work.now it isnt doing anything,i have followed the green relay im sure.

any other ideas thanks again

Post by **Dooley** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 5:54 pm

Turbo Tonka wrote:ok so i am now out of ideas i dont know whats happening with it. i have from battery to 30,85 going to 30 aswell now.87 to the spotties,and 86 tapped into headlight,nothing permanent yet while i try getting it to work.now it isnt doing anything,i have followed the green relay im sure.

any other ideas thanks again

My zooks wired up so that the spotties turn off when it's on low beam, with a switch.

I can have a look at mine tomorrow as I'm wiring in an alarm, not sure off the top of my head as my old man did it a few years ago before I learned this stuff myself. Could whip together a quick drawing if ya like.

Post by **-Scott-** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:32 pm

Turbo Tonka wrote:ok so i am now out of ideas i dont know whats happening with it. i have from battery to 30,85 going to 30 aswell now.87 to the spotties,and 86 tapped into headlight,nothing permanent yet while i try getting it to work.now it isnt doing anything,i have followed the green relay im sure.

any other ideas thanks again

Try moving the 86 connection to another wire on the headlight plug. It should NOT be on the middle wire on the plug - it should be one end or the other.

Post by **Turbo Tonka** » Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:36 pm

thanks scott,as i was sitting before chillin i realised where i had gone wrong,the pin off the headlight that i thought was hi beam was still getting power when i flicked it to hi beam,so silly me had the wrong one.its the outside one i want,it loses the power when hi beams on,therefor giving me the pos and neg across the relay.thanks again for all help,tomorrow it will be done once and for all i hope haha cheers

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