Adding lights to fog light switch (1 Viewer)

[BloggerL]

So I've got an order in the works for the Offroad Animal Toro front bumper:

It will be here in about 6 weeks. I'll be getting the embedded LED light strip that runs almost as low as the fog lights. I will not be getting the round driving lights over the grille.

My SwitchPros is saturated, and (as some folks may have seen from my previous posts about my firewall disaster) my driver's side firewall is crammed full to the absolute maximum. I'm thinking it might be nice to simply wire the LED strip into the same circuit as the factory fog lights, so that when I turn on the fog lights at the steering wheel stock, all three lights come on together. I can't really envision a situation where this would be problematic, except possibly when it comes to certain local laws about offroad lights, in which case I don't need to have them on.

Has anyone done anything like this? Is it possible to tap into the factor fog light switch in this way?

 

[radman]

no problem at all. The stock wiring is about a 20ga wire (10-11 amps), so just make sure you don't overload it (should be hard with LEDs... maybe)

Dissent Front/Rear Bumper install instructions (LX)

Done and done. Not sure why yours is so much cleaner than mine 😂

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[BloggerL]

no problem at all. The stock wiring is about a 20ga wire (10-11 amps), so just make sure you don't overload it (should be hard with LEDs... maybe)

Dissent Front/Rear Bumper install instructions (LX)

Done and done. Not sure why yours is so much cleaner than mine 😂

forum.ih8mud.com

Thank you for this @radman !

 

[TeCKis300]

Yup, just tap the stock fog power wires and run it to a relay that would then power the light bar.

If you want to go upstream of the fog circuit, there are tap points under the fuse box too. The 2016+ fuse box will be slightly different but the concept is the same

Switch Panel / Switchpros Install Underhood Tap Points

Lots of people have installed these but I couldn't find a good reference as to where to tap for various things underhood. Here's my attempt to document some of the more common taps and triggers. Including a much wanted stock fog light override function. I'm using a 1/4" gland fitting to route...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[linuxgod]

FYI from what I've seen state laws generally allow 4 DOT-approved lights to be used on your vehicle at hood height or lower. That's part of the reason your fog lights go off when you turn on your high beams as it ensures vehicles meet the lighting rule for all 50 states.

Obviously you could just turn the fog lights off and it'll turn off the light bar, so you can comply if you desire. But technically if you run both fogs and the bar you have 5 lights and therefore it's not legal in a surprising number of states.

There are also states like CA where I've heard they will sometimes ticket you for having uncovered offroad lights, even when not in use. I've not experienced this firsthand, just something to keep in mind.

 

[BloggerL]

FYI from what I've seen state laws generally allow 4 DOT-approved lights to be used on your vehicle at hood height or lower. That's part of the reason your fog lights go off when you turn on your high beams as it ensures vehicles meet the lighting rule for all 50 states.

Obviously you could just turn the fog lights off and it'll turn off the light bar, so you can comply if you desire. But technically if you run both fogs and the bar you have 5 lights and therefore it's not legal in a surprising number of states.

There are also states like CA where I've heard they will sometimes ticket you for having uncovered offroad lights, even when not in use. I've not experienced this firsthand, just something to keep in mind.

Good to know. Hmmm... maybe I'll run a switch--not sure.

One cool feature of the Offroad Animal is that they make a nifty light cover panel.

 

[linuxgod]

My driving lights are tied to a switch and my high beams. Both the switch has to be on and the high beams have to be on for them to work. Allows me to easily run the high beams without them if necessary. Wish I had the ability to do the opposite as well at times, but I've never found a DPST switch that'll work in our blanks. Like you I'm running out of open spots in my panels.

 

[kcjaz]

So I've got an order in the works for the Offroad Animal Toro front bumper:

View attachment 2573231

It will be here in about 6 weeks. I'll be getting the embedded LED light strip that runs almost as low as the fog lights. I will not be getting the round driving lights over the grille.

My SwitchPros is saturated, and (as some folks may have seen from my previous posts about my firewall disaster) my driver's side firewall is crammed full to the absolute maximum. I'm thinking it might be nice to simply wire the LED strip into the same circuit as the factory fog lights, so that when I turn on the fog lights at the steering wheel stock, all three lights come on together. I can't really envision a situation where this would be problematic, except possibly when it comes to certain local laws about offroad lights, in which case I don't need to have them on.

Has anyone done anything like this? Is it possible to tap into the factor fog light switch in this way?

I did this with my TJM lights that came with the bumper. They just plugged right in to the OEM harness except the issue I had was that the TJM lights drew more amps than the fuse on the OEM fog light circuit. I had to add a relay and power the lights from a different circuit using the OEM fog light circuit to switch the relay. The fog light circuit differs between MY. My 2013 had a 7 amp fuse I think and I needed 10 amps.

 

[Hendlerj]

How do you like the Offroad Animal bumper? I may want to order one. Is it yet deer tested?