nick2326

Ok, so I know there have been multiple threads on this but most are several years old with all over the place information so I wanted a new one to see if anybody could help me out.

So I have a 98 Cherokee 4.0 AW4. When I bought it, the guy before me had an aftermarket set of fog/offroad lights on it already wired up on their own switch. Since I live in a extremely rural area with TONS of deer, I was wondering if there is anyway, and how to, wire those aftermarket lights into the high-beams BUT use a switch to turn them on and off.

Example: when I am driving at night on the back roads, I can flip the switch and have the aftermarket lights come on ONLY when I flip on the high-beams. BUT when I am driving in town, when I flip the switch off, the aftermarket lights will NOT come on and just the normal high-beams will run.

Is there any way to do that? With the switch on the aftermarket lights run with the high-beams but with the switch off they don't?

hoaxci5

Use a relay and have the trigger wire tapped into the high beam.

macgyver35

Since it is generally considered socially unacceptable and a hazard, and in some places illegal, to drive around town with your high beams on, I'm not sure why you would want to do what you are proposing.

If you are out in the country, just flip your off-road lights on.

That being said, the easiest way to do this would be to use the hot lead from the high beams. Run that to your on/off switch for you off-road lights. From the switch, run it to the hot coil input lead of standard relay.

In this scenario, if your high beams are and AND the switch is on, your relay will be activated and your off-road lights will also come on. With the switch off, the power can't get to the relay and activate it, so your off-road lights stay off. However, this would mean that your off-road lights can only be used if your high-beams are also on.

If you want high-beam activation, as well as stand-alone activation, you'll need multiple hot sources running to the relay coil, and some diodes in place on each hot source to keep the power from one hot lead from flowing into the other. In this scenario, you'd need two switches.

nick2326

See, that is the thing...the switch for the off-road lights is down on the left hand side of the center console...like halfway between the gas pedal and the seat. So I have to bend down to cut them on...so it is a hazard while driving and very unrealistic to cut it on and off when meeting traffic...which is why I was hoping to use that as like a toggle switch to flip it on so the off-road lights would come on with the high beams while I am driving the back roads which is like 85% of my driving...and then keep the switch flipped off when I am driving in town when I don't need them.

Thanks for your input. Yes, I would like for them to be able to operate independently of each other with the high beams working at all times but the off-road lights only being incorporated with the high beams when I flip the switch on. So I would need 2 switches for that?

Crazy 8s

Move your switch to a more comfortable position?....

nick2326

I don't mind moving it if I am going to need to use it for the setup I want...but if I am going to have to switch it on and off with the high-beams...it is just pointless and like I said...a driving hazard. I don't want to have to click on the high-beams and hit the switch every time I meet a car, lol. That is why I want to tie them in.

andrewmp6

Do you still have the stock headlights in the jeep?

freegdr

Wiring in a relay to high beams should do it. They do make a kit that also has a seperate wire to hook it up to a bypass switch .

cruiser54

Good question.....

nick2326

To my knowledge they are. I honestly haven't looked...I know I haven't done anything to them, so unless the previous owner did, which I don't think he did, they should be the stock ones.

md21722

Jeeps with the factory fog light package have a relay to cut off the fogs when the high beams are on because it is illegal in some areas to have fogs + high beams.

A previous owner on my 97 XJ wired the fogs to always come up with the low beams and left the relay in place so they cut out when I switch on the high beams.

A relay wired to the to the high beams would do what you want, but check the laws where you will be driving.

cruiser54

And, if it's foggy out, you don't want high beams on anyway.

cruiser54

I used to drive a 40 mile stretch of road at night with my Kenworth heavy duty wrecker. There were deer, coyotes, elk, and even a bear.

I wired my driving lights to be actuated by the high beam circuit. The cool thing was, in a flick of a switch you could dim them for oncoming traffic without blinding the poor guy.

Muddz

I have an older set of fog lamps with rectangular glass lenses I was thinking of installing on the front bumper. Wiring them something like.




If connecting to the high or low beams, might try using a three way switch. (ON w/high beams - OFF - ON all the time)



These are basic diagrams of two methods to wire a relay. The first diagram the relay can also be switched on the hot side of the coil. To install circuit protection you would need to decide for yourself on a solution or consult someone with electronics experience.

When making connections to the the OE wiring such as the OE lighting and power connection I usually use a resister, diode or Zener diode. Helps to protect the OE and prevent future electrical problems from occurring. Aux. lighting such as for tail-lights and directionals, you should always use diodes preferably with heat sinks to isolate the aux. lighting from the OE and to prevent the wiring from heating up.

Aux. switches should also be fused or circuit protected.

Unless you have specific insructions for your device(s) fusing an aux. circuit is up to the discretion of the installer, not all circuits and wiring are the same, circuit protection can vary from one install to another.

There are electronic specialists who recommend fusing both ends of an automotive aux. circuit.

chipmaker

All you have to do is go by the JY and grab a fuel pump relay out of a mid 2000's chevy. Run a FUSED power supply from the battery to one side of the relay contacts (there is a diagram printed on the relay) run the other side of the contact to your lights. For your control circuit run one side of the relay coil (little coily thing on the diagram) to a ground. Run the other side to one side of your toggle switch. As for the other side of the toggle. Look in the fuse panel in the passenger side kick panel there will be a fuse for high beams for each headlight. Use a fuse tap and run a wire from one of these fuses (dosent matter if you use right or left bulb) to the other side of your toggle. I have a 98 and run the same style set up for my homebrew light bar.