here are the driving lights I got for free,not sure what they came from.
driving lights
here are the driving lights I got for free,not sure what they came from.
All I know is they say Bosch Ei on the glass.
I like/want them, but I don't know how to do wiring.
Red wire to + on battery. Black wire to the body. Switch somewhere along the black wire to cut the power, and fuse no more than a few inches from the + on the battery.Originally Posted by Charlie
Switches are typically placed on the hot side of the circuit. Here's what I would do:
1. Make sure of the color of the wire going to the filament of the bulb (the hot wire). Let's say it's red. The other wire is the ground wire (it will be connected to the base of the bulb - let's say it's black). If there's only 1 wire coming from the lights, it means that the light is grounded through the mounting bolt (unlikely). If you have that kind of light, you'll have to make sure that the switch mounting bolt goes to a metal (grounded) part. Anyway, if there's only 1 wire, that's the wire that will provide the power to the lights.
2. You are going to run a wire from the battery, through an in-line fuse, to an on-off switch, and then to the (red) wires of each light. This is referred to as the "hot" wire. If the lights are about 60 watts each, you'll need this red wire to be either 12 gauge or 10 gauge to handle the current. The gauge number gets smaller as the wire gets bigger, so 10 gauge is bigger than 12. Do not use 14 for example. A too-small wire acts like an electrical heater, and in extreme circumstances could cause a fire.
3. Go to Radio Shack and get some wire connectors that you can squeeze together with pliers or a vice. You can use them to connect the wires from the lights to your wiring. Get a circular one to put over the bolt that tightens the (+) battery clamp. Get some smaller circular or spade ones to attach to your new on-off switch. Radio shack sells a box of assorted connectors. You might consider getting a soldering iron, flux, and some solder and learning to do that too.
4. REMOVE THE GROUND CABLE FROM THE BATTERY'S (-) TERMINAL. Attach the new wire (with the circular connector you've attached to it) to the (+) terminal. Go a foot or two and install the in-line fuse connector (also from Radio Shack, get a 15 amp fuse), and keep going (neatly) through the engine compartment, through the firewall, to your switch location. Get a switch rated for at least 15 amps. Connect the wire to one side of the switch and start another wire from the other side. That wire will go back through the firewall to the (+) side of each light. Use one of the squeeze-together connectors to split the wire coming from the switch into one going to each light. A soldered connection would be best, but whatever. Wrap with electrical tape when you're done.
5. From each light, take the ground wire and find a good, clean spot to attach it to the car's metal body (you can of course connect the ground wires together and then go to the ground attachment location). Clean off the area with sandpaper, and put a circular connector on the end of the wire(s), the drill a small hole and screw down the end. You don't have to use electrical tape on ground wire connections. Get some dialectric grease and put some on there, it will keep it working longer.
6. Put in the fuse if you haven't. Turn the switch to "off." Connect the ground wire of the battery. Go turn on the switch and hopefully you will have lights! Remember, the lights will go on even if the motor is off, so remember to turn them off when you leave the car.
7. Do a neat job. Don't just twist the wires together, take your time. It will pay off in an installation that won't give you trouble down the line. Remember when you mount the lights, to do it in a way that will let you take them off if you need to.
Last edited by w261w261; 02-17-2010 at 02:37 PM.
^ pft details.
Using the ground is safer IMO. Not running live 12v all over the car. If the wire shorts, the lights just stay on. Sure you have the fuse, but you could short it without drawing enough current to blow the fuse, or blow 50 fuses trying to track down the short... You're also not running all that current through the switch... Just IMO.
And if you want to get technical, you really should use a relay for any heavy lighting application anyways.
Last edited by 2ndGenGuy; 02-17-2010 at 01:34 PM.
This summer, god willin' and the creek don't rise, I'm going to install new fog and driving lights. When they go in, you can bet they'll be on relays, and at the same time I'm going to put the headlight circuits on relays also. Then we'll see how good the headlight connectors are, as I'm going to increase the bulbs to maybe 80w. I learned my lesson about this several years ago, when I discovered the weak point of the headlight circuit, the switch. Cost me a new one.^ pft details.
Using the ground is safer IMO. Not running live 12v all over the car. If the wire shorts, the lights just stay on. Sure you have the fuse, but you could short it without drawing enough current to blow the fuse, or blow 50 fuses trying to track down the short... You're also not running all that current through the switch... Just IMO.
And if you want to get technical, you really should use a relay for any heavy lighting application anyways.
I can't agree with you on switched grounds. I remember going to put in a new light in the laundry room of my house. Instead of flipping the breaker like I should have, I just turned off the light at the switch. Once I had disconnected the old light, as a matter of habit I brushed the wire against a copper plumbing pipe. KA-POP! The P.O. had wired the switch through the ground, so the wire was still hot.
I don't know if our cars have any switched grounds or not, but if they do, they're few and far between.
Last edited by w261w261; 02-17-2010 at 02:39 PM.
^^ True, I guess the other downside being that there's always power at your light, and you can cause a short while you're messing with them. I haven't put in any aux lights in a long time. But always used relays that switched the + side of the circuit anyways.
I'm planning on using a relay ,but instead of a switch i am gonna run power from the fuse box.There is a terminal for ignition there i believe.
that's what i used for mine on my civic. minus the indicator, my switch has a light inside of it so i clearly know when it's receiving power.
dead white and blue
Now that we've segued over to relays (btw, nice simple diagram Stat1k), I got to thinking about whether, if one were to convert over to relay controlled headlights, whether it would be best to put each one of the low beams on its own relay. The highs could be off of one. My thinking is, if both lows were on one relay, and that relay failed, you would have no alternative than to use the highs, which wouldn't be good at all.
However, in my case, I intend to do all this when I install the fogs, so in that case if the low beams were both on one relay, and it failed, I could limp home on the fogs alone.
I did my foglights exactly how stat1K posted except they're on individual relays and hot wires. Huge pain in the ass but it's the correct way to go IMO.
i have both of mine on the same hot wire but mine are literally 24" apart maybe? so the extra 2feet of wire from one hot wire to the other doesn't bother me. my ground is actually just the casings for now and they seem to do alright, i haven't had a flicker problem but i do have a wire for the ground it's just not long enough. i rarely use mine as i don't drive on the backroads anymore.
joay i pm'd you answer me !!!
dead white and blue
were you wanting to sell them or something?
No I'm just looking for some info on them,tried looking but couldn't find anything.Are they good driving lights?
I'm planning to install the lights in the grill, as I don't like the look of the OEM fog light location. As I may put in 2 lights on either side of the license plate, I am a little concerned that between the license and the 4 new lights, I may be limiting the cooling air too much. Has anyone experienced cooling difficulties in this way?
Since I'm going to be modifying my grill, I'd like to start with one from a junker to see how best to do it. Anyone have a spare one ('89 sedan) they'd like to sell me? Thx.
I did mine using numberplate brace, that plate that hides behind your numberplate. and welded on brackets for driving lights. Simple, in summer just take youp plates off and get rid of them until next winter..
I can take pick in the morning for you guys.
Its prttey fnuny how you can raed tihs eintre snetnece with all tehse ellters out of palce...
My Build Thread
i have them on the center grill under where the front license plate would go on my civic, i haven't had a single cooling problem but my d15 is smaller and aluminum block. also i have a slim fan and a fluidyne full core radiator. so this may contribute to why i don't.
dead white and blue
Are there factory brackets for the driving light on our cars or do you have to make your own.I haven't decided weather to put them under the headlights or down in the grill area, i think farther apart would be better though.
if you look up under the bumper area you will see two threaded holes, this is the best location to mount them for the least vibration, i have a bar mounted there on mine. Of course I cut out the plastic crap grill too and made an aluminum one.
Do you have any pics of this lost
Same here I always use ground for triggering relays. Less wire to run too - I can simply ground the switch to the nearest metal instead of running them all the way to battery source. And another fuse to worry about too.^ pft details.
Using the ground is safer IMO. Not running live 12v all over the car. If the wire shorts, the lights just stay on. Sure you have the fuse, but you could short it without drawing enough current to blow the fuse, or blow 50 fuses trying to track down the short... You're also not running all that current through the switch... Just IMO.
And if you want to get technical, you really should use a relay for any heavy lighting application anyways.
https://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70141
On the switched-ground question, I've noticed that the heater blower controls are past the load, in the ground wire circuit. So I guess I was wrong about mostly always having the switch before the load, although in this case there is some wiggle room because the circuit comes from the ignition switch in the "run" position for it to be hot.
Last edited by w261w261; 02-23-2010 at 10:33 AM.
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