4RnrRick

Anybody got a good article on a clean and easy way to make all teh circuits on the headlight switch run off of relays. I'm getting ready to wire my truck up for trailer lights with a brake controller through a 7 pin connector and thought about just setting up the trailer lights to run on relays back under the bed but figured if I just make the whole truck run on relays, then I could kill two birds with one stone.


BTW I know how to wire relays, just looking for a clean setup and location to do it.

I found this but its only for the headlights.
http://ramchargercentral.com/index.p...owtoshow;id=55

wannadiesel

Take a peek in the sticky. There are a couple in there.

I'd put the trailer relays in the back, since the 7 pole already has a heavy gauge constant hot going back there.

4RnrRick

I could only find headlights in "the sticky" - not the whole headlight switch or a trailer setup.

Parking Lights, Right & Left Turn signals & Brake Lights is what I'm asking about.

wannadiesel

I can't think of a clean way to do that. The dash is a rat's nest already.

Jim5870

Headlight Relay Wiring Diagram

darkvader

for the trailer i used a hoppy isolator. plugs into your existing harness and uses a seperate hot wire for trailer load. your truck wiring is only used to trigger the solid state isolator. what the wiring though as their color code does not match any known code but diragrams are good. been on for years and no problems.
Clark

4RnrRick

Maybe a better question is "What usually burns out in th" headlight switch when it fails?"

BAsically if I just relay teh headlights will that take some of the load off the rest of the swicth - or are ALL the contacts of the switch just underated?

wannadiesel

Relaying the headlights and the trailer marker lights will make the headlight switch live forever.

Jim5870

I just finished installing headlight relays, can't wait till it gets dark
to try it out and to see the difference. I wired everything with #10 wire.

I couldn't believe the small size of the original headlight grounds,
looks like #20 wire size, I've seen speakers wired with better wire than that.

dpuckett

I've relayed the tail light circuits on my last 3 trucks, and this truck got the headlight lamp relays as well. Only thing I can say is WOW!!! These puppies is bright.

I have never replaced a headlight switch after putting the relay on the taillight circuit. That is the one that the trailer feeds off of, along with all the extra marker lights on a dually.

Daniel

KRB

I understand the plan for headlights. How does one do the tailights? Put the relay at the rear with a heavy gauge wire from the battery back there to feed it and use the original tailight wire to signal the relay maybe?

wannadiesel

If you have a 7 pole trailer harness you have a constant hot back there already. That's what I used for power when I installed driving lights under the rear bumper as auxiliary back-up lights.

Just putting the trailer harness and headlights on relays should be sufficient to keep the headlight switch from toasting. Another thing that helps is running the dash lights at full brightness. That cuts down on the heat generated inside the switch.

CowRazy

When I was replacing the headlight switch, there was an aluminum cylinder attached to a wiring harness. Didn't think too much of it until after the battery was hooked up, I happened to touch it and it was HOT (temperture).

Later, I noticed that the longer my doors were opened, the hotter it got. I had my coutesey lights switched off at this point.

What is it and what does it do?

wannadiesel

That's the delay timer for the halo ring around the ignition switch.

pred

In my off road truck, I used a continious duty relay to power 4 100w bulbs with no issues, For something as simple as a pair of 55-60w headlamps you can use any generic starter relay, The kind you could use a screwdriver to start your vehicle, They can be had at any junk yard for pennies, and ther are strong enough to power almost application that our trucks may need, They are simple, No plastic, and if you want new ones, they are about $8.00 each and much better than any bosch driving light relay!
Wanna, I also have that small round cylinder hanging around my headlamp switch, and it gets so hot it will burn me if the door is left open for a period if time, I have no halo ring around my ignition switch, I thought it was the dome relay???!!??
Peter.