correct. (see above post). in a rush to draw that up before work i made the most simple mistake in any electric wiring. anything connected to a power source at any point in any manor will get power when "live" if there is no resistance to stop it.

 

Okay, so i thought about it last night, and thought about it last night.


You can not use a 5 terminal (30, 85, 86, 87, 87a) relay to solve the problem while retaining a 3 switch.

The reason being that because with that relay, normaly when post 30 is your main power(from the battery with a fuse) 87 is not active until post 85/86 active the relay causing post 30 to provide power to post 87 providing power to your lights. (it is reall simple to grasp when you know what the inside of one looks like. Basically an electro magnet is controlled by 85/86, so when power runs thru 85/86 (only needs about 300mA min, 30A max to activate) it pulls down the contact "wire" between 30 and 87 proving power out thu 87.)

with a 5 terminal relay. when 85/86 are not activating the relay terminal 30 is supplying power to post 87a... (when the electro magnet is off the contact "wire" is connected to 87a so 30 and 87a is actively providing power out when the the switch is "off" and then again when the electro magnet is activated it pulls that contact "wire" from 87a to 87, now turing 87a off and turning 87 on to provide power out)

so when you had the switch "off" your outer lights would be on no matter what and when you had the switch "on" you would just be turing on the 3 inner lights. when put in the up position and down "on" would turn on your 3 inner lights but not the outer ones.


basically simple solution get a diode (like posted before me) and use that. Its cheap and easy to instal.

They even make them with the blade style terminal input/outputs on them. I can probably find a few in my electronics box and snap a picture for you later.

 

instead of using one switch for five lights use two separate switches and you don't need a diode.

 

You can use two switches, and it is easy to wire it that way, but the hole point of the convo is how to wire it using a single on-off-on switch

 

does anybody know how to wire 4 roof lights into a factory fog light switch? i did it before with 2 lights but i didnt use a relay. i would like to use a relay cause i am using 4 lights this time. i would like all 4 lights on the same switch if possible cause i am not gonna use them unless i use all 4 of them at the same time. a picture is best for me. hope you all can help me. thanks

 

still would like to know how to wire my offroad lights into a stock jeep cherokee fog light switch...

 

splice the stock wire that leads to the stock relay that turns the lights on. the wire you added goes to the new relays. that wire goes to the prong "that turns it on". then hook up a ground for the relays. mount your lights and connect two of your lights to relay 1 and two of them to relay 2. then ground your lights to the body. run 2 wires from the battery to the "power" prong on the relay. it is up to you if you want to put a fuse on the "power" wire, if you do, make sure its within 16 inch of the battery. any questions just pm me.

 

I am pretty sure I am not the only one that feels this way.. but I would really avoid using the factory fog light switch. They tend to burn out (physically melt) under just the load of the stock fog lights.
If yours is still good, you may be able to find a way to use it with a relay.

 

so there are 3 terminals to plug into in the back of the switch, which one is for the switch from the relay, which one is ground and which one is switch power for the light?

 

eh just out of curiosity what is the wattage of your lights? you could get away with 16 guage wire if there just 55 watters. easier size of wire to run. but they always say bigger is better. as for your 3 position toggle ya cant use it to run one set then 2. ya will get voltage bleed and they will all be on. the diode wont fix that and youd have to have a large diode anyways. just use multiple switches. imo.

usin the stock fog switch is nice for a stock look on your dash. but what if ya want the lights on without the headlights? well u could always do some custom work

 

this is exactly what i am doing. mine didnt come with a factory fog light switch, i pulled it out of my 1988 jeep that i used on my 55wat hellas (x2) up front on the bumper with no problem. i also didnt use a relay during that time. so i have no existing wiring there and need to know which wires goes where. it is the switch that only goes on and off but has a little light on the switch that turns on when the switch is turned on. thanks for all the input though, really helps

 

I have posted this before and nobody commented that it wouldn't work. It eliminates the diode but requires an additional relay. Sorry for the crappy drawing. Drew it by hand and then scanned it. Also.. instead of the two top relays you would need 3 since you have more lights than the individual I originally drew this for.

 

so i have 4 HID 35w lights on the roof and was wondering if i can use a single 10 gauge wire to run down to the relay and only use 1 relay for all 4 lights instead of 2 or do i have to use 2 of them?

 

i think that would work

 

anybody else think it is ok for just one relay and not two?