Connect additional LED light on head light switch

[Conny Kronhed]

I want to install an additional LED light bar, and the light is to be activated together with head lights. But i can`t find any relay for the head lights? I need the wire from the switch to connect to the new relay. Has anyone done this installation, or can give a link to the electrical schematic for Journey -09?

[Conny Kronhed]

Anyone?

[jkeaton]

I don't know if the headlights are fused or not. Maybe the owners manual will say what controls the headlights. There are posts regarding installing lightbars, but most are running a separate switch.

[Cody Chornobey Powley]

Why on earth would you run them like that? Like jkeaton said run a seperate switch so at night the led bar does not come on while driving pass cars and blinding them...

[webslave]

If you are talking about a "running light bar", similar to what is on the KIT2000 car (remember that TV show?), then I would get a simple 12 volt relay, splice the relay into the hot line for one of the headlights, hook the led bar to the output side and then draw the power from the fuse box or the battery. The relay won't draw enough current to affect the output of the headlight, but, it will switch the light bar on when the headlights have power. Some states frown on the use of "display lights" used in general driving and I don't know of any states that allow high power off-road light bars in general use that is why I'm assuming that you are talking about a "display light"...depending on your state you might be able to get away that (similar to the "ground effect" lights). I would still put an on/off switch in the power feed to the light bar, just in case.

Edited January 21, 2016 by webslave

[Conny Kronhed]

Cody Chornobey Powley

I got lost in translation. LED bar to turn on with the high beam only

[Conny Kronhed]

webslave

It crossed my mind to use the hot line, but i was not sure if it will effect the headlight, or kill the relay. I´m from Finland and here it is allowed to have additional lights on high beam. I will connect and see what happen. Thanks for the tip.

[SeanTacular]

If you run it to the battery don't forget a fuse also in case there's a short circuit down the road. Don't want to kill your battery or fry something because of a forgotten $2 fuse. Been there and done that on my motorcycle. Wire rubbed and after 3 years it wore away the instillation around the wire and then fried every wire in the wiring loom. Took me 8 hours to re wire every god damn thing.

Edited January 24, 2016 by SeanTacular

[vozaday]

Here is how I have it set up in my truck and will have it set up in the Journey. First I must say that having the light bar controlled by the high beams is a very responsible thing to do. Here is why, when on a trail and you have your light bar on, you can shut off your high beams and bar at the flick of the high beam switch. Rather than them getting blinded as you flick off your high beams then find the switch for the light bar. Now I am not saying to have it only wired to your high beam and run it on the road. So this is what I did.

I tapped into the high beam wire at the headlight. From there I ran that line to a switch in the cab. From that switch it then went to a relay. The bar is of course powered through the relay. That way the switch is either automatic to the headlights or off ( for when you are on the highway). This will only work if you do not have DRL. If you have DRL you then need 2 relays ran in a series. One connected to the high beams and one to the low beams. The low beams one is because the DRL run off of the high beams, so for the bar to come on it would need both the low beams on (which come on at night) and the high beams to be on.

This prevents you from accidently leaving your light bar on during the day, as I see way too often on the highway, and allows you to quickly shut off your high beams and the light bar. So no accidently draining of battery or anything like that. This is why I believe this is a much more responsible setup.

Edit: If your laws allow more lights (which most only allow 2, so that option is out as we have a low beam and high beam on at the same time) then look into the RIGID dot approved lights. They will keep you legal as long as you are within how many lights you are allowed on at once. But they are quite expensive and IIRC the largest is a 10". Oh and of course use a fuse in the relay connection as meantioned above. Just make sure the relay can handle the dropped voltage of the PWM.

Edited February 4, 2016 by vozaday

[Lobitz68]

If you are talking about a "running light bar", similar to what is on the KIT2000 car (remember that TV show?), then I would get a simple 12 volt relay, splice the relay into the hot line for one of the headlights, hook the led bar to the output side and then draw the power from the fuse box or the battery. The relay won't draw enough current to affect the output of the headlight, but, it will switch the light bar on when the headlights have power. Some states frown on the use of "display lights" used in general driving and I don't know of any states that allow high power off-road light bars in general use that is why I'm assuming that you are talking about a "display light"...depending on your state you might be able to get away that (similar to the "ground effect" lights). I would still put an on/off switch in the power feed to the light bar, just in case.

This ^

[dhh3]

There was a Chevy Truck facing me at a stoplight, in the middle of the day, with one of these dumb-ass things. Must be his DRL, but it was blinding in the daylight!. Some of the these new cars with LED DRLs are way too bright. Cadillac comes to mind. Pure Bling, and ugly to boot.