Wiring LED light bar via factory fog lights?

ShimShim

ShimShim

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2005
Location
Charlotte, NC
So I bought a cheap LED light bar to go in the new winch bumper. There is no place for the factory fog lights to go in this bumper. The light bar is a two wire circuit and came with battery leads, , inline fuse, relay and switch. I assume the factory wiring for the fog lights goes through a relay and it is also a two wire circuit. Provided I don't wire it up backwards, is there any issue wiring this bar into the factory fog light circuit so that it's switched on via the headlight circuit/switch in the turn signal stalk?

Am I overthinking this and I should just do it?
 
Should be no problems if used with a relay. Plenty of current to switch both the fog light relay and the light bar relay; relay coil current is small, which is one of the main reasons for using a relay.
 
@Fabrik8
Let me make sure I'm understanding right. I should use an additional relay in line between the factory fog light wiring and the light bar? My assumption is that the factory wiring already has a relay between the fog light switch and the plug.

For clarity, the pic attached is the factory fog light wire. My intent is to cut the plug off (because I couldn't find a female 9145 to put on the light bar wire) and the just connect power and ground from here to light bar. You are saying I still need a relay in here too?

IMG_0430 copy.jpg
 
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If you're deleting the fog lights, no problem.
If you're adding to them you shouldn't wire direct, but use the fog light circuit as a trigger for the relay of your light bar.
 
Bebop said:
If you're deleting the fog lights, no problem.
If you're adding to them you shouldn't wire direct, but use the fog light circuit as a trigger for the relay of your light bar.
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Ok perfect. Fog lights are being deleted and replaced with one LED bar. So no new relay. That helps a lot. Thanks guys.
 
Do the fog lights come on only with the low beams? If so, bad idea to replace them with a light bar as it should only be used when high beams are on/ off road.
 
rattlecanpaint said:
Do the fog lights come on only with the low beams? If so, bad idea to replace them with a light bar as it should only be used when high beams are on/ off road.
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+1
 
rattlecanpaint said:
Do the fog lights come on only with the low beams? If so, bad idea to replace them with a light bar as it should only be used when high beams are on/ off road.
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Dammit that advice is about three weeks too late. Good thing the light bar is really there to just fill the hole that's meant for it cause I hated the open space. I don't actually see myself doing much night wheeling. We'll call it a poser light.
 
ShimShim said:
Dammit that advice is about three weeks too late. Good thing the light bar is really there to just fill the hole that's meant for it cause I hated the open space. I don't actually see myself doing much night wheeling. We'll call it a poser light.
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It’s not about night wheeling, it’s about driving on the street.
when your low beams are on, ie meeting an oncoming car, you don’t want your light bar on blinding them
 
Ron said:
It’s not about night wheeling, it’s about driving on the street.
when your low beams are on, ie meeting an oncoming car, you don’t want your light bar on blinding them
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That's not how I'll be using it anyway. I have no plans to run the light bar on the road. Using the fog light switch was solely for convenience of wiring. Believe me, I try to be as anti-douche as I can so no running the LED on the road. As it's wired now, no light bar unless I specifically turn it on WITH the low beams. I can still run low/high without the LED.
 
ShimShim said:
That's not how I'll be using it anyway. I have no plans to run the light bar on the road. Using the fog light switch was solely for convenience of wiring. Believe me, I try to be as anti-douche as I can so no running the LED on the road. As it's wired now, no light bar unless I specifically turn it on WITH the low beams. I can still run low/high without the LED.
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That makes sense to me now. I'd still want the power of the sun with the high beams but I've done what you did on my last jk. Had I not sold it I was going to put them on the high beam circuit with a switch to cut them off manually.
 
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