Hook up relay fog lights

Pictured is my wiring diagram for installing two fog lights with fuses, a switch, and a relay. If you need assistance drawing a diagram, refer to.
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Amps are a measure of current flow; volts are a measure of the force behind the flow of current. To protect my gauge wiring I will be installing amp inline fuses.

How To Wire Fog And Driving Lights

The rule of thumb is this: This will ensure that you blow the fuse before you burn the wire. I will need several colors of gauge wire: The reason is simple, the color identifies the purpose of each wire and if I ever have a problem I can track it down using my wiring diagram. Here is what I need to complete the job:. Before cutting any wire, a good diagram is in order. Draw a diagram on plain white paper with wire gauge noted and colors identified. Each component must be labeled. This wiring diagram will stay with the car so make it neat and easily readable. Pictured is my wiring diagram for installing two fog lights with fuses, a switch, and a relay.

Relays are an important component in wiring fog or driving lights with a A draw. Basically, the relay protects the switch from getting hot and creating unwanted resistance. The low current through the switch triggers the relay to make a higher current connection to the heavy load of the fog lights. If you purchased your relay from a reputable source, it will have numbered terminals, which aid greatly in connecting everything correctly.

The fog lights are positioned first, the switch second, and the relay last. Since the switch will be on the dash and the fog lights at the front of the car, the only location decision to be made concerns the relay. I want the relay in a protected place near the front of the car. It needs to be near a 12V power source. I have chosen a position on the inner fender arch away from heat, but protected from road spray. Use a test light to confirm your power sources for both the relay and the switch. I will splice into this wire so that my fog lights will work only when the low beams are on.

I found a hot connection at the fuse block for the switch. Both of these 12V power lines need a amp inline fuse. Now you are ready to run your wires according to the wiring diagram.

Do I Need A Relay?

Keep wires close to an existing wire loom and be careful of loops and sagging wires, which may snag on a moving component of the car. Do not add the crimped ends to any of the wires until all the wires are in place. Cut and leave about 6 inches of extra wire at every terminal point.

How to WIRE A RELAY to a switched circuit for auxiliary lights

Start with the ground connections for each component. This must be done for the switch, the relay and each of the fog-lights. Drill the required hole in your dash for the switch; leave the switch free for the moment. I like to start wiring everything together at the switch and work my way toward the relay and the front of the car. The switch has two remaining terminals. The last terminal on the switch connects to the power source. This white wire will need a 10 amp inline fuse and is connected to the fuse block. The relay is wired next.

The power source for the relay is drawn from the low beam wire of the left headlight, as noted above. The fog lights each have two wires, one for ground and one for the 12V power. One of these wires from each fog light has already been connected to ground. Finally, attach the switch to the dash and the relay to its location. A test is in order before you use the lock ties and button everything up.

Harness Wiring

Turn on the ignition and hit your switch. Toggle the switch and see that the lights work properly. Use lock ties to secure all wires. You are now ready to move about the country! August 9, 8: Ric, Compliments on a well-written and informative article, but I have to offer one criticism. Fog is a problem for drivers because it reflects most of the light from standard low beam lamps, and much of that occurs because of the beam pattern, the way headlight lenses aim and disperse the light. Nothing can do that in fog except maybe infrared or radar. For that reason, in heavy fog meaning the kind where your low beams are not very helpful , to see an improvement you must turn off the headlights and turn on the fog lights.

August 14, 2: You must not use regular lights in combination with fog lights. True fog lights, correctly used, are a fantastic asset during heavy snow falls. September 13, 3: If I understand correctly, you have the power for the new lights tapped off the low-beam source, and the power for the relay coming from the fuse-block.

Would it be better to reverse them and have the new lights coming from the fuse-block and the switch wiring off the low-beam wire? Functionality remains the same. December 14, 2: I agree — assuming the switch activates the connection between 30 and 87on the relay, I would have thought 30 on the relay should be connected to the fuse-block and the low current supply to the switch from the low-beam wire. September 21, 7: Many years ago, I was driving late at night on a rural country road in very thick fog.

I had maybe foot visibility. As I was coming around the mountain, all I saw was a single light. Use a self-tapping screw and a solderless ring terminal and attach this wire to the metal. This needs to be a good connection, so make sure that there is no paint under the terminal. Run a wire from the toggle switch to relay terminal Use solderless female spade connectors on both the switch and the relay. Connect relay terminal 87 to one of the circuit breaker terminals. This will require one solderless female spade connector and one solderless ring connector. Connect the other terminal of the circuit breaker to the positive terminal on the battery.

This will also require one solderless female spade connector and one solderless ring connector. Install the fog lights in the desired location with the provisions in the kit. Install a piece of gauge wire with a yellow butt connector to the black ground wire at the fog light and attach it to a good ground on the frame with the yellow oval connectors. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. Attach the relay in an easy access location as close as possible to the fuse and relay center on the driver's side fenderwell. Attach another piece of gauge wire from the relay to the fog lights using a yellow female blade at the relay and t-ing both fog lights into a yellow butt connector.

Attach a gauge wire with a blue female blade to the ground side of the relay and to a good ground using the blue oval connector. Attach a gauge wire from the last terminal on the relay through the firewall to the switch using the blue female blades.


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Locate a straight blade terminal on the driver's side fuse block that has power only when the lights are on. Use the voltmeter to check for power.


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  • The harness from the headlight switch can also be used. Once a terminal or wire is found that has power only when the lights are on, attach a gauge wire from there to the switch.

    How To Wire Fog And Driving Lights Harness Wiring Diagram

    Reconnect the battery negative terminal. Now the fog lights will only turn on when the headlights are on. They can be turned on or off as long as the main lights are on. When the headlights are off, so are the fog lights. Drill and assorted drill bits Phillips screwdriver Wire crimping tool Set of wrenches Voltmeter 4 standard yellow female blade connectors 2 yellow oval butt connectors 3 yellow butt connectors 2 blue oval connectors 2 blue female blades 2 blue butt connectors.

    Open the hood and locate the backs of the fog lights in the front of the engine bay. Insert a narrow tool like a screwdriver through the hole that's adjacent to the fog light housing. Push the screwdriver against the clip that holds the fog light in place to release it. Make sure the fog light does not fall out when you release it.