Headlight Fuse/Switch...Need tap for clearance

opsbear7 · April 3, 2006

Hey guys,

Just got done installing the three light clearance orange kit from JCWhitney...They look great without being lit-up. Now i have got to get them all wired up. Anyways i want to hook them into the low/high beam set up. I want them to come on whenever the headlights come on. Where is the best place to hook this into (the manual suggests the fuse, but there are like 5 different fuses for the head/high lights. Please help! I am concerned that if i put them into the high beams then they will only come on with the high beams and vise versa with the lowbeams. Anybody have any HELP it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oh yeah...one other off topic electrical question. Can you hook a little LED light that draws next to nothing into any 12V source on the truck or are some 12V sources too "powerfull" Thanks!

bobcat5544 · April 3, 2006

your best bet is to hook the wire to the 10 amp fuse (FRT PARK) under hood fuse block and use a 15 amp fuse instead of the 10 amp

this way they will be on with high or low beams

opsbear7 · April 3, 2006

your best bet is to hook the wire to the 10 amp fuse (FRT PARK) under hood fuse block and use a 15 amp fuse instead of the 10 amp
this way they will be on with high or low beams

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Ok i got all the way up to the fuse part of your description...There is a 10amp fuse in the block right now. I am assuming that i just stick my hot wire into the fuse slot, replace the fuse with the stock 10 amp fuse....but then in the line leading to the clearance lights have a 15amp fuse?

bobcat5544 · April 3, 2006

no put a 15 amp fuse in place of the 10 amp the reason for this there will be more amp draw which may blow the 10 amp fuse.

firefighteremt3100 · April 3, 2006

Or why not just tap into your parking lights? It'd be easier to do that I would think. Just run a wire down to your front parking light and tap into that.

As far as your LED's, I'd tap into the parking lights with those as well. Actually, that is what I did. It will just share the power with the rest of the lights. Hope this helps.

-Brian

bobcat5544 · April 4, 2006

The problem with taping into a wire is now you are pulling more power through one small wire. This heats up that wire, now you run the risk of melting the circuit and even worse setting fire to your vehicle. Plus when taping into a harness if it is not done right to have a chance of the tap get dirt/corrosion build up specially in northern states Maryland being one of them where salt is used a lot during snow.

opsbear7 · April 4, 2006

Alright...I took firefighters advise....i have my clearance cab lights hooked into my front parking lights. it works great so far and i will definatly look into puting my LED's in there. I called the dealership and they said it shouldnt be any problems with fires

bobcat5544 · April 4, 2006

I know I was going a little overboard with fire, with those lights, but you do have to watch out when splicing into a wire harness, especially when the main wire is smaller than the wire being spliced into. Usually a bigger wire means higher amps are needed. That’s why it’s better to have it coming out of the fuse block at a fuse, the main power wire is larger and you can go from a large wire to a small wire.

mmmikkke · April 4, 2006

The place where clearance lights should be hooked up is right at the passenger end of the dash, under an access panel. One of the 6 sockets is for the clearance lights! It's right there at the base of the windshield pillar on the passenger side!

Should have done a search, you'd have seen that.

firefighteremt3100 · April 4, 2006

I know I was going a little overboard with fire, with those lights, but you do have to watch out when splicing into a wire harness, especially when the main wire is smaller than the wire being spliced into. Usually a bigger wire means higher amps are needed. That’s why it’s better to have it coming out of the fuse block at a fuse, the main power wire is larger and you can go from a large wire to a small wire.

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Sorry I should have clarified more. Adding a few lights will not harm the size of wire used for the parking lights. If they are LED, you can add quite a few without taxing the alternator. LED's draw very little, which is nice to be able to add them to most circuits. When I said tap in, I meant with weatherproof connectors and heat shrink. I have never had a problem when I have tapped into lights for more running lights. You are correct though in adding too many lights on too little of wire. Again, I apologize for the mixup

JimG · April 5, 2006

What about using relays? My practice is to tap into a wire when necessary and use a low amp fuse (max 1 amp) and tie this to a relay contact. I place anything that draws a load on a terminal post in the engine fuseblock with the appropriate size fuse for the load. This limits the load on the existing circuits, gives me an extremely reliable way to add accessories and virtually eliminates blowing fuses/fires.

My other practice is to limit anything I add to the dash in terms of switches (like the ones for my toolbox lights) to have only 1 amp brought up to the dash. Everything else is neatly tied in under the hood.

Edit - I should add a few things about this method: 1. It takes a while, 2. It definitely uses more wire, 3. I solder or crimp and solder every connection followed by heat shrink tube and electrical tape. This is the curse of working on control systems every day and seeing these practices used all over the place.

firefighteremt3100 · April 5, 2006

What about using relays? My practice is to tap into a wire when necessary and use a low amp fuse (max 1 amp) and tie this to a relay contact. I place anything that draws a load on a terminal post in the engine fuseblock with the appropriate size fuse for the load. This limits the load on the existing circuits, gives me an extremely reliable way to add accessories and virtually eliminates blowing fuses/fires.
My other practice is to limit anything I add to the dash in terms of switches (like the ones for my toolbox lights) to have only 1 amp brought up to the dash. Everything else is neatly tied in under the hood.

Edit - I should add a few things about this method: 1. It takes a while, 2. It definitely uses more wire, 3. I solder or crimp and solder every connection followed by heat shrink tube and electrical tape. This is the curse of working on control systems every day and seeing these practices used all over the place.

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Sounds pretty good. I just posted what I do. I dont think adding a few lights...meaning 5 or so puts much of a load on the circuit wire unless they are huge lights with huge bulbs. I run LED's mostly so its not a big deal. What you guys are posting here is probably valid. I'm not arguing that it isn't. I just suggested what I do

opsbear7 · April 5, 2006

mmmiiikkeee.....

I have a 1500 so i was not sure if i had that set up....but, if i already am wired up for clearance lights i would love to have them wired to their correct place. I took a look at my truck...i took off that plastic cover of on the passenger side and saw about six large wiring things...i am not really sure what i am looking at though...could you descibe in more deapth of what i am looking for and where i would plug into?

Domano 68 · November 9, 2006

mmmiiikkeee.....

I have a 1500 so i was not sure if i had that set up....but, if i already am wired up for clearance lights i would love to have them wired to their correct place. I took a look at my truck...i took off that plastic cover of on the passenger side and saw about six large wiring things...i am not really sure what i am looking at though...could you descibe in more deapth of what i am looking for and where i would plug into?

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I am hooking up clearance lights. I have also found the wiring harness panel on the passengers side but have no idea where the cab lights hot and ground wires go in this panel. Detailed descriptions or pics would be great!!

I also want to wire in a switch that came with the kit. The switch has two leads on the bottom. I assume only hot connects to the switch? Thanks in advance!