Wiring offroad lights to high beams and whenever?

[slosurfer]

Here is what my wiring diagram looks like now (I suck at photoshop )

[Seanz0rz]

yes that is two relays. one provides power when the vehicle lights are on (reverse in this case, it could be any lights) and then another that provides power from a separate switch, independent of the vehicle lights. many people would just imply add a switch to control the lights in place of that relay. the problem with that is when running high draw devices, such as halogen offroad lights, which can exceed 200 watts, most switches are not designed for that current flow. even if they are, i still think its a good idea to wire it this way. for other projects ive used microswitches, tiny toggles, etc to control high draw devices, and this is how i did it. it may be an extra relay, and some extra connectors and wire, but i believe this to be the correct way to do this.


a reason for not putting a switch on the vehicle light side is if you dont want to have the vehicle lights on when you put the aux. lights on. you could use a diode, but again, im not sure how that would stand up to a large current.

this maybe not the most efficent way of doing it, but its the way that has always worked flawlessly for me, given me the most control over my circuits, and if something does go bad (relay, switch) i have spares, (unlike a diode, which i dont carry around)

[4runnerchevy]

Current is Watts divided by volts = Amps. In your case 200 watts is 16.6666 amps. Too much for a common switch. The proper way, like previously stated, is using a relay (at least 20A rated). 16 amps is 12g wire to be safe (both hot and ground). The hot side of the coil (in the relay) can just be a simple 18g wire (since this usually draws .2 watts) as well as the coil ground. Don't forget fuses for both the coil hot and the lighting hot wires.

[slosurfer]

^^^^yep, I don't think anyone here is saying to not use a relay, but it is good to add that in there to clarify for others who are searching here. Which is why I just tapped into my LF harness for my third light, I will eventually get a relay and another switch so I can control my center spot seperately.

[4runnerchevy]

Nice