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Driving Light Relays Question


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tpi monte ss 
Member - Posts: 6
Member spacespace
Joined: November 25, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: November 25, 2005 at 8:26 PM / IP Logged  

Hi all,

I've searched the forum extensively to find some information. I have a 2001 Cherokee Sport and would like to add a set of driving lights, but of course I need them to turn off when I hit the highbeams or I will fail inspection. My search turned up this diagram -

Driving Light Relays Question -- posted image.

My question is - can I alter this circuit so that I can have a switch to turn the driving lights on/off? In this diagram, they're on any time the parking lights are on.

If it helps at all, my truck has some wiring for driving lights from the factory, but not all. There is a harness behind where the factory switch would be, and I put a test-light on it today. Sure enough, when the headlights are on, one wire (the illumination feed for the switch, I presume) has power.

 

SSeeya,
Steve Ragusa - North Jersey
'88 Monte SS - Budget-built Pro-Tourer
'01 Cherokee Sport - Family/Parts Hauler
Hoptup32 
Copper - Posts: 87
Copper spacespace
Joined: December 25, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 25, 2005 at 9:44 PM / IP Logged  

Here's a modified version of the relay setup:

Driving Light Relays Question -- posted image.

You can use any +12v source(preferably headlight switch or ignition source) to the switch to power the driving lights.  You could use the factory harness illimination feed you spoke of.  That way, even if the switch shown is in the "on" position, when you turn off the headlights, the driving lights will go off also.

The switch shown can be any type of on/off switch you prefer.  It will carry a very small current load.  The relay on the right is for overall switching purposes only.  The relay on the left is the high current load to actually power the driving lights.  

tpi monte ss 
Member - Posts: 6
Member spacespace
Joined: November 25, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: November 25, 2005 at 11:22 PM / IP Logged  
Thanks very much Hoptup! I'll head back to Autozone in the morning to pick up another relay and get this wired up. I will post my results tomorrow!
SSeeya,
Steve Ragusa - North Jersey
'88 Monte SS - Budget-built Pro-Tourer
'01 Cherokee Sport - Family/Parts Hauler
96hawkcnvt 
Member - Posts: 47
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Joined: November 19, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: November 26, 2005 at 3:46 PM / IP Logged  
Do you want to use your driving lights with the hi-beam on? If so, that ckt will not work. They will still turn off when the hi-beams go on.
tpi monte ss 
Member - Posts: 6
Member spacespace
Joined: November 25, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: November 27, 2005 at 12:13 AM / IP Logged  

96hawkcnvt wrote:
Do you want to use your driving lights with the hi-beam on? If so, that ckt will not work. They will still turn off when the hi-beams go on.

I want the circuit to turn off when the hi-beams are on. I wired the relays as instructed, and the lights are on only when the high-beams are on.

What could be wrong?

SSeeya,
Steve Ragusa - North Jersey
'88 Monte SS - Budget-built Pro-Tourer
'01 Cherokee Sport - Family/Parts Hauler
96hawkcnvt 
Member - Posts: 47
Member spacespace
Joined: November 19, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: November 27, 2005 at 12:49 AM / IP Logged  
Sounds like you wired the switched 12 volts to terminal 87 vs. 87a. According to the ckt that you posted, when your high beams go on they engerize the relay on the right which will disconnect terminal 30 from 87a and connect it to terminal 87.
You must have also disconnected the wire from the parking lights to 87a since that would normally engergize the left relay (turning the driving lights on) when the high beams are off.
Make sense?
Todd
Hoptup32 
Copper - Posts: 87
Copper spacespace
Joined: December 25, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 27, 2005 at 6:45 AM / IP Logged  

Recheck your wiring connections on the relay on the right.  The high beam connection never supplies power to the driving lights, it only switches the power off to them instead.  As 96hawkcnvt stated, you must have the 87 & 87a terminals wired incorrectly and/or the 30 terminal.

To simplify things, disconnect the high beam tap and get the driving lights to work using the on/off switch first.  Then connect the high beam tap and see if the lights go off when the high beams are turned on.

Recheck your wiring and post back with the results.

tpi monte ss 
Member - Posts: 6
Member spacespace
Joined: November 25, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: November 27, 2005 at 8:10 AM / IP Logged  

Guys, thanks for the help. I have checked (and re-checked) the wiring, and it is all OK. Here's what I've found:

When I disconnect just the high-beam tap, the lights do not come on at all.

I have used the switch on 87a and 87, and it made no difference; the lights were still on (only on high-beams).

I checked the FSM for the truck, and the high-beam tap wire would be 12v coming into the relay, will that affect how the relay switches?

Thanks in advance guys!

SSeeya,
Steve Ragusa - North Jersey
'88 Monte SS - Budget-built Pro-Tourer
'01 Cherokee Sport - Family/Parts Hauler
Hoptup32 
Copper - Posts: 87
Copper spacespace
Joined: December 25, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 27, 2005 at 9:10 AM / IP Logged  

If the driving lights work with the high beam tap connected and not with the switch when the high beam tap is removed, then you still have something wired incorrectly on the relay on the right.

Yes, the high beam tap should be +12v.  When the relay on the right sees power to terminal 86 from the +12v from the high beam tap, it switches the connection from terminal 87a to terminal 87, which has nothing connected to it, so the driving lights should not be seeing any power, therefore, they should not be coming on.

Likewise, the +12v power from the on/off switch is a direct connection from terminal 87a to terminal 30, which routes the power to the relay on the left to activate the relay to power the driving lights.

If the lights do not work with the on/off switch, but work with the high beams on, then you still have something wired incorrectly on the relay on the right. Have you checked to make sure you have +12v coming thru the on/off switch?

I know you said you rechecked the wiring, but trust me, something is still not wired correctly. Humor me and recheck it again, pull all of the wires off of the relay on the right and start there from scratch again.

Post back with the results.

tpi monte ss 
Member - Posts: 6
Member spacespace
Joined: November 25, 2005
Location: United States
Posted: November 28, 2005 at 8:05 AM / IP Logged  

Hello again. Hoptup, I should have been more clear. What I meant was, the driving lights do turn on and off with the switch, but ONLY when the highbeams are on. When the parking lights or lowbeams are on, I have no driving lights. The switch does have 12v coming out any time it is switched to on.

Is it possible I have a bad relay? I will try another one that I found in the garage and see if that one works properly.

SSeeya,
Steve Ragusa - North Jersey
'88 Monte SS - Budget-built Pro-Tourer
'01 Cherokee Sport - Family/Parts Hauler
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