Driving Light Wiring

Submitted: Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 17:44
ThreadID: 59681 Views:27441 Replies:8 FollowUps:13
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Hi all, first time thread. Would like to know if anyone knows how to wire spotlights to a HZJ75 Landcruiser. Been told they are different to normal cars and require wiring different. I thought that i would just wire them as follows,

Battery to Relay(Relay Terminal 30) 25amp wire
Relay Earth (Relay Terminal 85) 25 amp wire
High Beam wire to switch to Relay (Relay Terminal 86) 5 amp wire?
Relay to Driving Lights (Relay Terminal 87) 25 amp wire
Earth Driving Lights to Bullbar 25 amp wire

Is this correct and i suppose 5 amp wire would be sufficient to turn relay on from High Beam circuit. Was told that Tojos were negative switched or something and were a bugger to wire lights up on. Anyone done there own before?

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Reply By: Member - Matt M (ACT) - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 17:54

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 17:54
Kroozer,

Just did my 80 series a couple of weeks ago and pretty much exactly as you described, just brought the light earth wires back inside the grill and earthed to the chassis, but either works if the earth is good.

Matt.
AnswerID: 314838

Reply By: Lex M - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 18:02

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 18:02
On my hilux the headlight switch puts 12v to the common of the headlight (via a relay)and the high/low switch connects ground to either the high or low beam filaments.

I believe this is common on Tojos

Oh yeah.. and the high beam indicator is connected from the low beam filament to ground so is turned on by 12v from the headlight common through the low beam filament when the filament is not grounded and turned off when the high/low switch grounds that point to turn on the low beam.

Confused now?
AnswerID: 314840

Follow Up By: Kroozer - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:29

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:29
Confused aint the word. Lost me midway through the 1st sentence. Really ahve no idea what language your speaking there mate, but wouldnt mind learning it thats for sure.
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FollowupID: 580909

Reply By: Member - Nick (TAS) - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 18:04

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 18:04
!05 series cruisers are normal wiring but I know the latest model hiluxes are neg switched.
AnswerID: 314841

Follow Up By: Kroozer - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:31

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:31
GJC074 seems to think they are negative switched. Any ideas how to be certain. I really dont understand what negative switched is.
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FollowupID: 580910

Reply By: gjc074 - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 18:18

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 18:18
Hey Kroozer,
I wired up my 100 series pretty much the same way.From memory mine is negative switching,so I ran a fused positive wire from the dash switch to the relay and used the high beam wire for the earth.The 5 amp wire is enough for the switching wire.To find out if it is negative or positive switching just use an led testlight on the high beam wire.
I find for 4wding purposes that running a twin core 6mm wire to the driving lights is a better idea with the earth connected directly to the battery.This helps to elliminate bad earths and voltage drops resulting in poor lighting.
AnswerID: 314842

Follow Up By: Kroozer - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:27

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:27
How do i check if its negative switched sorry, with a test light what do i have to look for. Than ks for the help. Its just i have Lightforce 240s that were hooked up with an ABR Sidewinder harness by an Auto Sparkie and he has added a 2nd relay and ran extra wires to other relay and to battery and earth and i dont understand why. I now have another Sidewinder harness for my Hella 4000s and i just wanna know if its easier to wire it myself or just use the Sidewinder harness. I really dont know why they added extra wires and relay.
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FollowupID: 580908

Reply By: Kroozer - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 19:42

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 19:42
How do i check if its negative switched sorry, with a test light what do i have to look for. Than ks for the help. Its just i have Lightforce 240s that were hooked up with an ABR Sidewinder harness by an Auto Sparkie and he has added a 2nd relay and ran extra wires to other relay and to battery and earth and i dont understand why. I now have another Sidewinder harness for my Hella 4000s and i just wanna know if its easier to wire it myself or just use the Sidewinder harness. I really dont know why they added extra wires and relay.
AnswerID: 314855

Follow Up By: gjc074 - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:46

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:46
Sorry ,my vehicle just got home and it is positive switching.
To check with a test light, place the alligator clip to earth and using the probe side, with ignition on,check to see if there is power to any of the wires at the plug on the back of the headlight.If no power is there then you have positive switching.To find the high beam wire get somebody to use the flashing mode on the blinker switch and see which wire causes the testlight to light up.I find it better to use the flashing mode as you don't get confused with the lowbeam wire which will light the testlight up if you turn the headlights on whilst checking.As for the wiring harness you are talking about I have not seen one. sorry.Did the auto elec use two relays,one for each spotlight?
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FollowupID: 580911

Follow Up By: Member - Shane D (QLD) - Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 at 08:23

Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 at 08:23
My test light is the LED type and shows red or green.
If you put the alligator clip on NEG and the probe on POS it shows red, If you put the alligator clip on the POS and the probe on NEG it shows green.
It comes in real handy if you don't have a multimeter and are searching for faults.
Shane
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FollowupID: 580977

Reply By: Bob Y. - Qld - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:38

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:38
Kroozer,

About the only vehicles I've wired d/lights on have been Toyotas, and I do as you describe.

However I get high beam switching from the back of the headlight, on driver's side. Turn the headlights onto low beam, check which 2 wires are live, and the third one should be high beam. To get a good connection, I've soldered a wire onto this high beam terminal, but only after checking that everything works as required.

Why I don't find the high beam loom inside the cab is that it is too easy to damage wiring there, while you're standing on your head, and a replacement loom is very exxey.

Good luck,
Bob.
Seen it all, Done it all.
Can't remember most of it.

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AnswerID: 314863

Follow Up By: Lex M - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 21:50

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 21:50
If you've got two live wires you have a negative switched system and the other wire is the low beam wire switched to ground by the dip switch.
Connecting the relay positive to this means you are powering the relay through the low beam light. This reduces the voltage to the relay and wont do anything for its reliability.

OK I know it will work but that doesn't mean its the right way to do it.

If you got 2 live wires on low beam then switch to high beam and find the wire that's not live. connect that to relay ground 85 and connect the relay 86 to the battery (through the a fuse.)

If you only find one live wire then you need to switch to high beam and find the live (other)wire and connect that to relay positive 86 and connect the relay 85 to ground with a switch in whichever line is easiest
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FollowupID: 580931

Follow Up By: Lex M - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 22:11

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 22:11
This might help (or confuse further).
Image Could Not Be Found
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Follow Up By: Stephen M (NSW) - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 22:29

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 22:29
Hi Lex M, so when I did my lights a few weeks ago I put the aligator clip on the negative of my battery with the ligts on normal beam I stuck the pointy end in one of the wires, nothing, stuck it in another one, nothing, stuck it in the last one left and the light come on the test light, presumed this was the power for the normal low beam, flicked high/low beam switch to high and found one of the other two wires now lit up the test light one of them still nothing so presumed it is the earth??. Turned off the high beam the testlight went out so I used that to activate the relay for the driving lights to come on. So with all this does this mean I have a positive switching not negative ?? Hope all makes sense to you. Im just a bit concerned that with your reply "it will still work" right way/wrong way. Dont want to burn anything out. have been useing them so far no issues YET. LOL. regards Steve M
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FollowupID: 580946

Follow Up By: Lex M - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 22:50

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 22:50
Stephen M

I see no problem with that. That's a positive switching and should work fine.
Exactly what I said in the last paragraph above.

cheers
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FollowupID: 580950

Follow Up By: Lex M - Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 at 08:09

Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 at 08:09
WHOOPS CORRECTION.

should have proofread as well as spell check.

If you got 2 live wires on low beam then switch to high beam and find the wire that's not live. connect that to relay ground 85 and connect the relay 86 to THE THIRD WIRE. THE ONE THAT WAS LIVE ON BOTH LOW AND HIGH BEAM.

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FollowupID: 580975

Reply By: Affordable Batteries & Radiators - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:47

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 20:47
email me and I will walk you through it.

techhelp@sidewinder.com.au

Regards

Derek.
AnswerID: 314865

Reply By: Affordable Batteries & Radiators - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 21:11

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 21:11


AnswerID: 314874

Follow Up By: Kroozer - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 21:27

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 21:27
Thanks Derek. Friday night and within 2 hours i had an answer to the question that had me stumped. Thats what i call customer service and dedication to the job. Thankyou to everyone else who replied too it all helps.
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FollowupID: 580920

Follow Up By: Stephen M (NSW) - Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 22:17

Friday, Jul 11, 2008 at 22:17
Hi there Derek, Referrg To Lex M's reply above "it will work either way".I 'm pretty sure it was the hilux Im referring to (not 100%) but I remember doing the driving lights on one of my vehiclesand when I turned the lights off the driving lights come on. Turn the headlights on the driving lights went out, would this have been the negative switched situation ?? I ended up getting done by auto sparkie as it had me stumped.I have just done the prado myself (lighforce) and wired up as what you would class the norm (positive switch). So if I have done it the wrong way with what Lex M is saying even though they are working it could be the wrong way ??? Dont want to burn anything out. Regards Steve M
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FollowupID: 580943

Follow Up By: Affordable Batteries & Radiators - Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 at 09:27

Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 at 09:27
You can get back feed through the globe filaments. If in doubt do the test with both the headlights unplugged.
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FollowupID: 580982

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