kevj1977

Hi all, hoping you can help me out here.
Just fitted a set of Driving Lamps to my99uk turbo.
When I removed the blanks in my bumper, there was already a connector in place for the lamps, so i used these to connect them.
When it was complete, I tried them and they seemed to work ok, but when I tried to use then last night, my car electrics went t!ts up.
My Indicators & Brake lights came on and stayed on!!! I disconnected my driving lamps and battery, re-connected the battery and it seemed ok.
My question is this:
A) Has anyone ever had this problem and how did you fix it?
B) Does the existing wiring have the relay fitted or do I need to fit
the supplied relay somewhere?

Hope you can help me out as I now have a set of driving lights that don't work!!!

Thanks.

Kev.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

OK, for a start, the existing connector is for FOG lights, which are fitted to OE UK Scoobs. Is yours an import, or has it had the fogs removed to make it look like an STi6?

Anyway, main difference being that the fogs are wired so that they can only come on if your lights are on, and are only operated, (on/off) by the foglight switch.

Now, your driving lights must, by law, be wired in such a way as to go OFF when you select dip beam. In effect this means you wire them into the mainbeam circuit, but since your car's main beam circuit is already up to capacity, you need to use a relay.

Still with me?

Since you didn't mention a relay, I assume you haven't got one, so you need to go and buy one from Halfrauds, car shops, ans auto electrics place, etc. Get a simple on/off four or five connector relay, preferably with an integral fuse. The size of fuse depends on what wattage lights you have. If you can't get a relay WITH a fuse, buy an inline fuseholder, and NOT one of those that they used to sell for radios, and that used a glass cartridge fuse, you want a proper blade fuse holder.

Wiring is simple. Using a home made circuit tester, (or buy a proper one, the best ones being made of a brass barrel about the size of a pen, with a very sharp tip for piercing insulation, and a lead with croc clip on the end, cost about £3 from the same suppliers as the relay), find which wire, behind the n/s headlight, is live when main beam is selected, but ONLY when main beam is selected.

Tap into it using a Scotchlok, or similar, and run a length of wire to relay terminal 85.

Run another length from relay terminal 86 to a suitable earth, or back to battery, (it's nice and near)

Get someone to select and deselect main beam, while you feel if the relay clicks. It should do so.

Now run two wires from terminal 87, (or one wire from each terminal 87 if your relay has two), to the lights.

Earth the lights back to battery.

Finally, run a wire via fuseholder, if necessary, from terminal 30 on the relay to battery +ve.

It's a good idea to run a smear of silicone, or Araldite around the join of the relay cover to it's base to stop water ingress. Also, use covers on all spade (Lucar) connectors, and use ring terminals for connections to earths and battery +ve. Makes a secure job which won't give problems later.

Fuses: 2 x55W lamps, 10A (I prefer 15A)
2 x 100 W lamps, 20A
2 x 130W lamps, 25A.

There IS a method which allows you to further control the lights using the OE foglight switch, (so that when you flash your main beams, for instance, your driving lights don't have to flash too), but I won't go into it here.
PM me if you want to know how to do it.

Alcazar

kevj1977

Phew!!

Think I got all that, thanks.
I may have been a little naive in thinking that because there is already existing cabling there, that it would be set up right.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the advice, much appreciated.
I will print it off and give it a try when I get chance.

Thanks again.

Kev.

Chelspeed

Agree that the connectors will be for fog lights. Agree with the relay bit to convert them to drive lights.

Just a bit worried about the symptoms, brake lights and indicators coming on?

Surely drive lights plugged into fog light connectors would just come on like fog lights, on when you switch them on provided the sidelights are on. Can't think why drive lights in a fog light connector would cause any of the symptoms mentioned in the first post. If it were me I think I'd like to undestand why that happened before playing further.

On my prodrive style MY02 previous car it had blanks instead of fogs and I took them off and fitted scoobysport spots. Before I rewired for spots all the wiring was there for fogs but no switch fitted and no relay in the appropriate block. If no relay's been fitted in this case then could a back flow thro the drive lights to the relay block wiring have caused the symptoms described? Can't see it myself.