I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler Sahara and i already have the Hella 500 fog lamps and a switch. I need to know how to wire them to the switch and what i would need to do that and to protect the rest of the elctronics in the jeep. I also already have another set of aftermarket fog lamps that are wired to the rightmost switch in the dash, but i would like the Hellas wired to the middle switch but still operate like the other fog lamps.
Install relays to handle the power, just use the interior switches to trigger the relays.
Can you give me like step by step instructions? I have only a little electrical experience and am not totally sure what i am doing.
I got lazy and told my wife to have the Honda dealer put fog lamps on her CR-V. Writing the check hurt a little, but only a little. What kind of vehicle are we talking about here? It makes a difference.
Earle
You mention you have the lamps and a switch, do you have the relays and wiring also?
Here are the instructions from their website:
I don't have any of the wiring or relays because i wasn't sure of what gauge wire and what type of relays i would need. Thank you all for your help so far.
What wattage bulbs and how many?
Are you going to add any more?
The original post says "2000 Jeep Wrangler Sahara"...
"Earle Horton" wrote before he read in message ...
I see that now. She took out the "Re:" and it looked like the start of a thread. I don't know how many threads I have seen that started our that way.
Earle
I have 2 55 Watt lamps and they are all I am going to mount and wire.
Do you need an inside switch or just have them come on automatically with the low beam headlights (easier install)
I already have an inside switch and it is already mounted, but does not have the wiring harness it needs to be plugged into it. It is just sitting in one of the slots not powered or even plugged in.
Is there power to the switch (just for triggering the relay)?
Do you have any wire or a relay or do we need to make a shopping list?
What do you have in the way of common hand and power tools, soldering iron, etc.?
Do the lights have their own ground wire or do they ground through the mount?
If she pays an experienced auto electrician to do this, she'll never have cause to regret it. If she gets one of those drive in stereo installers to do it, well that's just about the worst thing you could ever do. If you don't have a plug in harness, then you really do need an electrician. Just my $0.02.
Earle
If it was me I would use the low beam circuit to trigger the relay automatically but the I have the tools, etc. to do the install.
Powering the switch and running the relay wire through the firewall are going to be her hardest part.
Yeah, but believe it or not, there are people who get that deer in the headlights look, just from people saying "relay", "wire gauge", "circuit breaker" or whatever.
Earle
Are they 'fog' lamps or 'driving' lights?
There are places where fog lights have to be tagged to the low beam circuit by law and 'driving' lights need to be on the high beam circuit.
These are two distinct types of lights. One is for fog and is totally useless otherwise, the other is for night driving to supplement the highbeams or as ditch lights to spot light animals.
I have the Hella Black Magics which are spot lights that can light up ditches 'way' up the road or turn a trail into daylight. I power them with a micro switch on my dash using the ground wire for the trigger so I only need one thin wire running through the firewall with the other tagged to the dash ground.
Here is a link that explains relays:
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: N>I prefer this wiring plan.
They are a set of fog lamps, but i would like them to work independently from the low and high beams if i can. Otherwise i would need it wired to the low beams.
I have mine independently wired up just like the last drawing. For the power wires, 10 gauge is the best and it needs to be fused close to the battery or power distribution box power bolt.
If you follow one battery cable, you will find it goes to the power distribution box. The first bolt there is the place to hook in for independent power. The Jeep's harness fuse links hook on there too. You should run a dedicated ground line for them so you don't overload the stock ground straps. You can also attach this where the battery cable ends on the same bolt to save messing around on the battery clamps.
The long run into the switch for the trigger can be done in 18 ga. or less even. If it is used for the trigger ground you can run a two wire strand like cheap speaker wire and ground it back at the same place or it would be safe to ground that to the body because it draws very little power.
Just FYI, I don't like 'fog' lights for off road use. They are mounted low so you lose the bottoms of the potholes in shadows and can't see how deep the suckers are.
I love fog lights for fog though! The yellow lenses are the best by far for that. Over on the east coast of Canada at least, all the main coastal highway intersections use yellow, same as the bridges. Coming up on a white street light vs a yellow one there is a radical difference in how soon you can see them. The white one just pops up out of nowhere.
Mike
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